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"Daddy?"Upon being called, Haruka peered over his shoulder to where Umiko and Mizuki were sat at the kitchen table. He had just picked them up from school and was now pouring them a drink and getting their afternoon snack. "What?""I want to paint," Umiko said, mindlessly tapping her fingers against the wooden surface while she was waiting."Paint?" Haruka questioned as he put the cups in front of them - lemonade for Umiko and fruit juice for Mizuki - to which she nodded vigorously.It wasn't very surprising that she wanted to paint because she had been getting more and more into arts and crafts lately. Ever since she had found one of his old sketchbooks from back in high school with Makoto's image plastered all over it in the attic, she constantly wanted to draw and colour to improve her own skills, like the portraits and illustrations her dad had made of her father had inspired her to master the art as well. Perhaps it was only a fleeting interest and she would become obsessed over something entirely different next week, but Haruka wanted to encourage her creativity and enthusiasm nonetheless and he knew Makoto completely agreed with that; he honestly thought it was adorable that Haruka was such a role model for her and when Haruka told him about her discovery in the attic, he was endeared with reminiscence. But then he remembered some of the drawings Haruka had made in the past and his endearment turned into mortification, but Haruka assured him that she hadn't found one of the more… eccentric and intimate sketchbooks he owned because if she had, then she definitely would have asked him about it. He had made sure to tuck those further away and out of sight and reach of the children that night to spare them all from a highly inappropriate conversation taking place in the near future."We can paint. It's a nice day so why don't we take advantage of that and go paint outside?" Haruka proposed, seeing that as a chance to not only enjoy the nice weather, but also to keep the house clean."Yes!" Umiko cheered before taking a big gulp of her drink."Slow down a little," Haruka advised with a chuckle, mentally shaking his head at her eagerness, "There will be plenty of time to paint later so there's no need to rush.""Yeah," she agreed, catching herself on her own enthusiasm and she put her drink down, still grinning to herself.Seeing how excited she was made Haruka smile as well as he walked back to the counter to get the plate of leftover chocolate-chip cookies from the batch he had made earlier that week. Before he went to put it on the table though, he grabbed a few of them and wrapped them in the aluminum foil that had been covering the plate. He knew Makoto would want some too when he came home because he had mentioned craving his homemade cookies when they were having lunch together earlier that day, and he couldn't seriously expect their little monsters to resist the temptation and leave some for their father so Haruka made sure to hold some back for his husband beforehand. He was certain Makoto would really appreciate that.With the plate and a mug of tea for himself in hand, Haruka joined their kids at the table, sitting down in his usual seat. In his head he was already planning what the best setup would be for painting in the backyard and it was then that he realised that Mizuki hadn't actually confirmed that he wanted to paint as well. Although he usually wanted to do whatever his sister was doing too, it could be that he had something else in mind as to how he wanted to spend his afternoon, which was fine as long as Haruka could keep an eye on both him and Umiko. He figured that it didn't hurt to ask him directly rather than just assuming."Mizuki?"The little boy, who had been completely focused on the cup that was clutched tightly in his tiny hands as he held it to his face, looked up to his dad without ceasing to drink.Knowing that he had his attention, Haruka asked, "Do you want to paint too?"Mizuki only nodded in return before he put his empty cup back down onto the coaster and then he grabbed a cookie from the plate, taking a bite that was slightly too large for his mouth. This didn't stop him from trying to speak, though."Don't speak with your mouth full," Haruka gently reminded before he could finish his sentence."Oh, right. Sorry," Mizuki mumbled instead, completely unaware of the fact that he was still chewing while he said it and Haruka couldn't repress a snort of amusement. Disciplining little kids was so hard when they didn't even notice what they were actually doing; since Mizuki had already apologised and wasn't even aware of his own action, Haruka decided to let it slide. When his mouth was empty Mizuki made a second attempt. "Can I have more juice?""Of course," Haruka answered and he got up to go to the fridge again, "Umiko, do you want more too?""Just a little."Once he had provided both of their children with a refill of their respective beverages, he sat down in his chair again and took a sip of his tea. Immediately Mizuki put the remaining half of his cookie down on the table to drink some more, the action leaving Haruka in bewilderment."Are you that thirsty?" he wondered at the rate he was gulping down his juice and Mizuki simply nodded again. "You must have had a busy day if it made you that thirsty.""Yeah," was all Mizuki said in response and it made Haruka smile once more out of fondness. In some aspects their son really reminded him of himself when he was younger, like in how quiet and reserved he was, not wasting any words when he spoke and only answering questions and remarking the things he wanted to mention. But his silence shouldn't be mistaken for shyness or disinterest, because he was always perfectly able to make clear what he wanted without holding himself back. At home he could be pretty talkative, but only in an engaging conversation that someone else had started. Therefore Haruka knew that he had to specifically ask him what he wanted to know."And did you have fun at school today?" he questioned, knowing how much he had enjoyed going to school so far. He had recently started kindergarten and he had made quite a few friends already, contrary to Haruka himself when he was his age since he had only had Makoto back then - though Makoto was really all he had ever needed. Even if Haruka was pretty sure that he wouldn't enjoy going to school anymore a decade from now, he was glad that he did find it fun right now. After all, having to drop the children off at school every morning was already hard enough as it was, so the fact that they actually wanted to go definitely made it easier than if they hated it."Yeah," Mizuki repeated, and it was all he said before he he took another bite of his snack.Since he had just told him not to speak with his mouth full, Haruka decided to leave it at that for now. He could always inquire further when he wasn't eating, so Haruka directed his questions towards Umiko instead. "And you, did you have fun as well?""Yes!" Umiko exclaimed excitedly, and unlike with Mizuki, Haruka didn't have to ask her in order for her to elaborate on what she had done that day that had made it so enjoyable. In that sense Umiko was similar to Makoto, in how cheerful and enthusiastic she was, although she wasn't shy like Makoto had been at her age and was a lot more bold and daring. She always had fun at school because she loved gathering knowledge and making friends, and school happened to be the perfect place to do both of those things. Because of that he wouldn't be surprised if she would still like going to school in the years yet to come.Haruka listened attentively to their daughter blabbering on and on about what she had learned that day and what she had done with her friends, adding commentary here and there in between sips of tea and small bites of a chocolate-chip cookie. Through conversation he was also able to decipher the enigma that was Mizuki's eventful day at kindergarten whenever he added his two cents and shared his own experiences. In return Umiko asked Haruka about his day at work and because the finances and administration of the swim club were hardly interesting to little kids, he just told them that he'd had lunch with their father and had purposely finished early so he could swim some laps in the pool once he was done."I want to have lunch with you and Papa too," Mizuki pouted, making it obvious that he disliked the fact that he couldn't be there with them and Umiko immediately expressed her agreement.It was adorable that they wanted to have lunch with Makoto and him and he honestly would have liked them to be there too, but on weekdays that just wasn't possible since they had to go to school while Makoto and he were at the swim club. Because of that, Haruka decided to turn the impossible into something a little more positive. "But you already have breakfast and dinner with us every single day, and we do have lunch together on the weekends. Isn't it more fun to have lunch with your friends too for a change?""Yeah," Umiko concurred and she nodded in understanding, seeing that there was a point of truth in her dad's words because she did like having lunch with her friends too."But it's still unfair," Mizuki insisted and he crossed his arms, completely sure that he was right about that."Unfair? Unfair that Papa and I get to have lunch together but you don't?" Haruka questioned and Mizuki nodded in confirmation. Admittedly, in a way he was right; it was a little unfair, but if he told him that then he'd never hear the end of it and he knew that it wasn't something that he could actually change. So instead he just had to give different arguments to convince their son otherwise. "But you get to have lunch with your friends, and I get to have lunch with my friend," he reasoned, hoping that Mizuki would find that an acceptable answer and that it would suffice as the end of this discussion.Fortunately, Umiko cut in with a different subject that her dad's words had brought her on, diverting the attention away from the topic of lunch. "Papa has always been your best friend, right Daddy?" she asked, already knowing the answer yet loving to hear her parents affirm it and she grinned brightly."Always," Haruka muttered and warmth and affection spontaneously overflowed in his heart at the mere thought of it. They had been joined at the hip from the first moment they met, even though that was so long ago that he couldn't remember a time Makoto hadn't been by his side and even now, decades later, they remained inseparable and Haruka knew they would be together forevermore. Because Makoto was the love of his life, his other half with whom he had spent every day and had vowed to continue to spend the rest of his life with.Lost in daydreams of his husband and their eternal love, Haruka hadn't even noticed that their children were still talking. But they didn't seem to be bothered by it and just continued the conversation with each other; it wasn't a rare occurrence that their dad's thoughts drifted off for a little while so it wasn't very remarkable to them. Although it may have seemed a little odd, Haruka didn't mind dissociating from reality for a second because it was nice to stand still and really feel how happy he was, like joy and love liquified and coursed through his veins, filling him with too much bliss to contain. It was good to take a moment to properly take everything in and he truly appreciated all that he had; the things that Makoto and he had fought so hard for and were now reaping the fruits of. And every day was truly a gift that was meant to be cherished and enjoyed to its fullest.Suddenly he was overcome with a need to see Makoto and to hold him tight for the adoration he felt was too strong to go unexpressed, but alas Makoto was still at work. It wouldn't be too long until he got home though, so he would just have to bottle up those feelings until then and let them run wild later. For now, he could show their kids his affection and he made sure to do that like he did every day."Dad? Daddy?"The sound of Umiko's voice pulled him out of his reverie and he blinked a few times before he met her large brown eyes. "Sorry, what?""We want to go see Papa and swim too," she announced decisively and her brother nodded in agreement, showing that that was what they had been discussing while his mind was on cloud nine.This statement surprised Haruka a little, considering they had been so excited about getting to paint before yet it appeared that the revelation of what his early afternoon had been like gave them a change of heart. He would never be one to turn down an opportunity to see his husband and swim on top of that so if the kids really wanted to go to the club then that was completely fine with him. But he supposed that it couldn't hurt to remind them of their previous plans since it seemed like the idea of a trip to go see their father at work was one that entered their mind suddenly and made them suggest it on a whim."That's fine, but I thought that you wanted to paint?""Oh yeah!" Umiko recalled, the tone of her light voice clearly showing that she had forgotten about that in her enthusiasm."So, which is it?" Haruka questioned, wanting to let Umiko and Mizuki decide since he didn't mind either way. "Painting or going to Papa and swimming?"Mizuki simply peered up at his sister like he was waiting for her answer and would go along with that, but Umiko appeared to be seriously torn up. Her adorable face was twisted into a frown and she hummed softly as she deeply pondered about the options, finding it hard to make a choice when they were both so appealing. Since it was obvious that she found it very hard to make up her mind, Haruka made the decision for her."I think Papa will be home in about an hour, so what about this," he started, and both Umiko and Mizuki stared at him attentively, waiting for his proposal, "We'll paint today and tomorrow we go swimming together with Papa. If it's as warm tomorrow as it is today then we can go to the beach, and otherwise we'll just go to the pool. Is that alright?""Yeah!" the kids gushed in unison, making Haruka smile at their enthusiasm. He knew just how much they loved going to the beach and because they lived close to the coast they went whenever the opportunity presented itself, which was quite often around the summer times. It was still spring so warm and dry weather wasn't exactly guaranteed, but it was gradually getting warmer outside as the summer approached and if the forecasts were right, then they should be able to go to the beach tomorrow for the ocean would be warm enough to swim in.Although Makoto was still afraid of the ocean and would most likely be forever, that didn't stop them from going often because Makoto wanted them to go; he didn't want to take away something his husband and their children loved just because he feared it himself - they had never told Umiko and Mizuki about their father's fear because he didn't want them to become afraid of it too just because he was, and therefore they were waiting to tell them until they were a little older.Truth of the matter was that Makoto enjoyed going too, he loved watching their kids play and his husband swim and swimming together with them. As long as Umiko and Mizuki were supervised and accompanied when they went into the water and didn't go too deep then everything was alright for him. Arm floaties used to be one of the requirements as well, but since Umiko was old enough now and could swim pretty well, only Mizuki had to wear them, much to his chagrin. Telling him that it was necessary for his safety didn't alleviate his dismay, but once he was in the water and playing with his family, he forgot all about the uncomfortable arm-traps and he was just having fun. The promise that he wouldn't have to wear them anymore once he was able to swim properly made him even more eager to learn how to swim as well, so a lot of time would be dedicated to teaching him how to swim this summer.The children weren't the only ones who were getting a little excited, but Haruka told himself to postpone his enthusiasm about swimming until tomorrow; today they were going to paint together and that was a lot of fun too. "Well, go finish your drink and cookies so we can get started," he teased and Umiko and Mizuki didn't need to be told twice.Once all of their cups were empty and the plate was cleared, Haruka took the kids upstairs so he could change them into some old pyjamas that he didn't mind Umiko and Mizuki getting dirty. Even though they always made sure that the paint they bought for the children was non-toxic and - according to the label - would wash out of clothing if stained or spilled, it was better to be safe than sorry and he didn't want to risk ruining their good clothes. For good measure, he put on some old clothes of his own as well.When they were all dressed, he took the children to the bathroom so he could tie Umiko's hair into a ponytail and clip back Mizuki's bangs so their hair would stay out of their faces and wouldn't bother them while they were painting. Although it usually wouldn't be necessary for Mizuki, he had been complaining that his bangs were too long and was constantly adjusting them. Haruka really needed to cut them soon, but for now hair clips would do so Mizuki wouldn't have to keep pushing them back and wouldn't accidentally smear paint into them in the process.While he was brushing Umiko's long black hair, she kept unconsciously bouncing up and down on her legs out of jitteriness, which didn't exactly make it easy for him to make a ponytail because the locks kept being pulled out of his hands."Sweetheart, can you stand still for one second? Otherwise I can't tie your hair," Haruka requested because he knew it wasn't going to work otherwise. Although he had never really been one to use pet names with anyone, that gradually changed when they first adopted Umiko; the pet names just rolled off Makoto's tongue when he was cuddling with her or playing with her or begging her to please stop crying and go back to sleep, and that proved itself to be quite infectious because soon the pet names were leaving his lips without his awareness as well. He hadn't done anything to stop it though, because he supposed it was just another token of affection towards the children and he wanted to do everything he could to let them know how much they were loved. Since then, calling Umiko and eventually Mizuki by the occasional pet name just became a habit."Oh, sorry," Umiko mumbled and she stopped moving, allowing Haruka to make a neat, tight ponytail. Then he turned her around so he could clip her fringe to the side as well."Daddy, hurry up!" Mizuki complained for the minute that had passed had taken far too long for his liking, already growing bored and impatient."Calm down, I only have two hands," Haruka replied, not fazed at all by the little boy's attempt at rushing him, "We have all the time in the world so there's no need to hurry.""I know…" Mizuki sighed with a pout and although he understood, he was still rather displeased by what he interpreted as his dad taking his sweet time for something that could have been done much faster. Rather than trying to explain the situation to Mizuki, Haruka decided to just focus on Umiko's hair so they could get started soon and wouldn't have to dwindle on useless discussions like these.When all of Umiko's stray hairs were pinned aside, he walked into Makoto's and his bedroom and the children followed him like he was luring them along with enchanting pipe music. He opened the door of one of the closets and got up on his toes, rummaging through the contents of the highest shelf before he pulled out an old sheet. "Here," he said as he handed it to Umiko, "If you two go lay this out in the yard then I'll go grab everything else.""Okay!" Umiko easily replied with newfound excitement, quickly leaving the room to fulfill the task her dad had given her and Mizuki immediately left after his older sister.With a sigh of fondness Haruka watched them go before he went up to the attic to grab some stuff. A little while back when he was at the art store to get some new watercolours for himself, he had seen these miniature easels that were meant to go on tabletops. He had figured that the kids might like them and therefore he had bought four, one for each of the kids and the other two for Makoto and himself so they could play along - although Makoto's artistic skills hadn't improved much from when he was a child himself, he did always play along when they were doing something crafty even if his abilities when it came to art obviously couldn't match up to Haruka's. He saw it as an opportunity to teach Umiko and Mizuki that it didn't matter if you were good at something or not as long as you enjoyed it.The easels hadn't been for a special occasion or anything, it had been a little gift just because and like he had expected, the children were really happy with it. Admittedly, Makoto and he spoiled them a little - a lot - but he honestly liked spoiling them and didn't see the harm in it; they could afford it and as long as Umiko and Mizuki didn't become haughty or ungrateful, there was nothing wrong with spoiling them a little and they were still kind and humble and appreciated everything they got. In the end, that was all that mattered.With three of the four easels tucked under his arm and some small canvases in his other hand, Haruka went downstairs so he could set everything up. At last he had gathered all the paints, brushes and other miscellaneous painting necessities and they could finally start, much to Umiko and Mizuki's joy and relief. He had set them up in a half circle, with Umiko beside him and Mizuki across from him and all the supplies in between them so they could all easily reach everything. He had already put dollops of all the colours of paint onto a paper plate from a stack that he had found somewhere in the back of the pantry so the kids didn't have to struggle with the tubes and could access everything without having to ask him for help - of course, if they needed more paint then he'd happily oblige and get them some more, but it was less complicated this way. Next to that he had laid out numerous brushes in varying sizes to satisfy all their painting needs and a cup of water and some paper towels so they could rinse out the bristles. The perfect recipe for a fun afternoon of painting together, Haruka thought."Daddy, what are you going to paint?" Umiko asked, peering up at him with her large, shining eyes in an attempt to gather inspiration from him."I don't know yet," he answered truthfully after a moment of pondering. "And you?""It's a secret!" she exclaimed with a grin and she turned one side of the easel closer to herself so Haruka wouldn't be able to see what she made. In actuality, he could still look onto her canvas if he really wanted to but he decided to humour her and not mention it. He did keep his gaze averted from it like she had requested though, because he respected their children's boundaries, regardless of how insignificant the situation at hand may have been. He also didn't mention the fact that not a single stroke had been applied to her canvas yet."And you?" Haruka then asked while suppressing an amused smile, turning to Mizuki who was already holding a brush with the bristles covered in black paint, "Is yours a secret too?"Mizuki thought for a second before he nodded. "Yep," he said and he got started, pushing the tip of his brush down on his canvas and applying rough strokes onto it."Alright," Haruka replied with a shrug, knowing that they would eventually let him see it anyway because they always showed Makoto and him everything they made, whether it was a drawing or a sandcastle or anything in between. Until that time, he would respect their privacy and focus on his own painting.But as he was staring at his blank canvas he unfortunately concluded that his mind was equally blank, really not knowing what he could paint. He looked back at the children - all the while making sure that he didn't catch a glimpse of their works in progress - and saw that Umiko had also eagerly begun to paint with an excited twinkle in her deep brown eyes, contrary to Mizuki who seemed to be in utmost concentration, his small mouth pressed into a firm line as he assaulted the canvas with his brush in a way that would most certainly destroy the bristles sooner or later. Because he knew that he wasn't intentionally rough but simply lacked the motoric capabilities to handle to brush with more finesse, Haruka decided to not stop him or correct him, letting him paint to his heart's content. Brushes were replaceable and as long as Mizuki enjoyed himself then it didn't matter if the bristles died in action; it was a very low price to pay for their son's happiness and Haruka would gladly spend every penny on him - and on Umiko too, of course, but since she had mastered a painting technique that was much gentler he was pretty sure she wouldn't unconsciously destroy anything.As he was watching over them, the need to capture their adorable faces onto his canvas welled up inside of him and since his models were sitting right in front of him, he would have acted on that feeling if it weren't for the art supplies he currently had. With nothing more than various shades of paint that were clearly designed to be used by children and paintbrushes to match, he wasn't confident that he could make a painting that would do them justice; he couldn't sketch them first because he had no pencils and this wasn't exactly the type of paint that he was used to either, so he couldn't guarantee that it would turn out the way he envisioned. He didn't want to risk ruining their cute faces so painting them would have to wait a little longer.For the same reasons he couldn't paint his husband either, who was usually his favourite subject to draw - even if Makoto wasn't here for reference, after more than thirty-five years of studying his features and about thirty years of relaying his image on paper, he didn't need the reference because he could draw him with his eyes closed and in his sleep.There was nothing he could do right now besides looking for something else he could paint. In a sudden wave of nostalgia, he was reminded of something else that he loved - granted, not as much as he loved his husband and their children, but still - that he didn't need any references for. With that in mind, he grabbed another paper plate from the stack he had found and begun to mix some paints in an attempt to get the exact shade he was looking for. When he was satisfied with it, he smeared off the excess paint at the edge of the plate before he turned back to his canvas and started.From then on, it was silent for a while. It didn't surprise Haruka at all, because even though Umiko and Mizuki could get quite loud and jittery when they were excited, that didn't mean that they couldn't be quiet and sit still at other times. He definitely didn't mind it when they were a little noisy and active, but he had to admit that he rather liked moments like these when everything was calm and serene yet they were still happy and entertained. These moments wouldn't last forever though, so he had to savour every second while he could.Like he had already expected, it didn't take much longer until the silence was disrupted by Umiko's light voice, speaking in that honeysweet tone that she always used when she wanted to ask something that warranted Makoto's and his approval but wasn't sure if they would go along with it - a tone she had learned from none other than her father. "Daddy?"Curious as to what her question would be, Haruka decided to play along for now and not show that he already knew her intention. "What?""Can we get a dog?""A dog?" Haruka asked in bewilderment, not knowing where that suddenly came from when they hadn't seen or talked about anything related to dogs all day - then again, the mind of a six-year-old worked in mysterious ways. Before he could question it any further, Mizuki chimed in."Yes, a dog! I want a pom… pom…""A pomeranian?" Haruka helped, seeing his struggle to find the right word and filling it in for him."Yeah, that one!""No," Umiko objected, "I want a golden retriever!""A golden retriever?" he wondered, being a little perplexed since he didn't know why she was so specific about it. He knew that Mizuki had a special fascination and adoration for pomeranians so him mentioning them wasn't very surprising, but Umiko had never shown any particular interest in golden retrievers before; she loved all dogs so he had figured that it didn't matter to her what kind of dog they would hypothetically get as long as they got one. The fact that she was so steadfast about it now had to mean that she had put more thought into it than he initially expected. Perhaps her proposal was not as sudden as it had seemed. When he was about to ask her why she was adamant about her choice of dog, he was reminded of something that happened in the past and he could hardly suppress a snort, therefore he couldn't not make a remark about it. "But we already have a golden retriever.""Huh?""What do you mean?" Umiko asked in confusion and Mizuki wore a matching frown at their dad's statement because they clearly didn't have a dog, much less a golden retriever.The looks on both of their faces rendered Haruka unable to stop himself from chuckling. In a silly conversation back in high school about what breed they would be if they were dogs, Makoto had been compared to a golden retriever and Haruka still hadn't forgotten about that because admittedly, he did see the resemblance. Since explaining this would only distract from the discussion at hand, Haruka decided it was better to let that anecdote be saved until later, perhaps as a bedtime story tonight. So instead he just mumbled, "Never mind."In spite of the fact that he still didn't understand what his dad had said before, Mizuki saw this as an opportunity to steer the conversation back to where he wanted it to go. "If we already have a golden retriever then we can get a pom… pomer…""Pomeranian," Haruka supplied again, knowing that he still had trouble recalling and pronouncing some words, especially if they had that many syllables."Yeah, so are we getting one?" Mizuki gasped excitedly, interpreting his dad's assistance as agreement and he leaned up on his knees, his sea-green eyes widened in hope."That's not what I-"Before Haruka could finish his sentence, Umiko interrupted him, "No! We don't even have a golden retriever so we can get that one!"At this point the children were full on arguing about what kind of dog they were going to get - without providing any arguments as to why the dog of their choice was the best for their family - and Haruka knew he had to put a halt to this before it escalated."Hey," he called, a little louder than he usually would have so that they could hear him over the sound of their own bickering. Usually this would be something that he would have to discuss with Makoto first, but in this case he knew for sure that Makoto would agree with him and he thought it was better to stop Umiko and Mizuki's dream from developing further rather than giving them false hope. "We can't get a dog.""Aww," Umiko sighed in defeat, a sad pout forming on her lips."Why not?" Mizuki questioned and suddenly his sister and he were on the same page again in their shared melancholy about their dad's disapproval."Dogs aren't toys," Haruka tried to explain gently, part of him feeling bad that he had to disappoint them when he wanted to give them the world but the rational side of him knew that their current lifestyle didn't have place for a dog, "They're living creatures that need time and attention and care-""We will take good care of it!" Umiko quickly assured and Mizuki vigorously nodded in agreement. "We'll love it and walk it and play with it and-""I know you would," Haruka interrupted, shaking his head dismissively, "But dogs are still a big responsibility. Who is going to take care of it when you are at school and Papa and I are at work? We can't get a dog and then expect Grandma and Grandpa to look after it all day, but we can't leave a dog alone in the house all day either. That would be sad for the dog, wouldn't it?""Yeah," Umiko agreed and although she still seemed disappointed, Haruka was glad that she understood that it simply wouldn't be possible."But can't the dog just sleep when we're not here?" Mizuki bargained, desperately looking for a solution because he just wanted to have a dog and he didn't quite understand the issue as much as his older sister did."You can't expect a dog to sleep all day and then sleep at night as well," Haruka opposed, thinking that a comparison might help him understand, "Would you like to sleep the entire night and then have to sleep during the morning and afternoon too?""No…" Mizuki admitted, averting his gaze because he knew his dad was right. He wouldn't want to be alone all day either, let alone having to sleep when the rest of his family was gone, but that didn't take away from the fact that he wanted a dog really, really badly. Although he knew that it was a wasted effort, he couldn't give up without trying one last time. "But… I could take it to school with me," he mumbled dejectedly despite knowing that Haruka wouldn't approve of that either way."You can't take a dog to school with you," was the already expected answer. "You can't learn or play when you have to look after a dog the entire time and your teachers would never allow you to bring it, and neither would Papa and I.""Well… you could take it to work with you," he reasoned for there was no boss to tell Haruka that he couldn't bring the dog since Makoto and he owned the swim club. Unfortunately, this suggestion also wasn't plausible either because a swim club had no place for a dog."Mizuki…" Haruka sighed at their son's insistence. If Mizuki truly wanted something then he wouldn't easily give in, and although Haruka knew that, the time for him to accept the rejection had come because it was useless to argue about this back and forth when the answer would ultimately stay the same. "I'm sorry, sweetheart, but we can't get a dog. We just can't."The finality of that answer paired with the fact that he wasn't able to come up with any more solutions to the issue made Mizuki come to terms with the fact that there was really nothing more he could say or do. He stopped objecting, but it wasn't without a big huff of disappointment leaving his mouth before he puffed up his cheeks in discontentment. He resumed painting in silence, though there was an obvious lack of enthusiasm in his movements now.And even Umiko, who had long since given up on pushing her dad into agreeing to get a dog and had continued to paint much sooner, had lost her usual cheerfulness when she had been so excited before.Seeing the disheartened looks on their faces made Haruka feel a little guilty, but he knew that he couldn't give in to them on this. Perhaps it was good that they didn't get their way this time, because they would have to learn how to deal with disappointments that would surely come in the future.Still, that didn't mean that it didn't make him feel bad, because he completely understood how they felt; back when they were young, Makoto and he had found a stray cat and had decided that they wanted to keep it. They went to ask Makoto's parents if he could keep it, but unfortunately that wasn't possible since his mother was allergic. So they had gone to his parents instead, but he wasn't allowed to keep it either. The memory of the dejection he had felt when his parents refused was very vivid and he had been so upset back then because his parents hadn't even given a reason as to why they couldn't keep it. Although he had hidden his dismay quite well, Makoto had seen right through his demeanour and tried to console him a little even though he was just as upset himself. They had vowed to each other that one day when they were old enough, they would get a cat together.About thirty years had passed since that promise, eighteen of which they had lived together, yet that day still hadn't arrived - although he frequently fed the stray cats around his house and Makoto and he often played with them back when they were in high school, that didn't exactly count as truly owning a cat. It wasn't so much that they had forgotten about it or had changed their minds, but more so that it never seemed like the right time to get a cat. Whenever it was brought up in conversation, they agreed that it would be better to wait a little longer until things settled down a bit because they were currently too busy; college was way too time-consuming and stressful, once Haruka's Olympic career truly kicked off they were away from home too often, after he retired they were occupied with taking over the swim club and planning their wedding, and once they were married they were diving headfirst into the complicated adoption process that brought along more stress and nerves and once they were finally blessed with Umiko and Mizuki, they had more than enough on their plate with just raising them.But now, the children were a little older and didn't need the same kind of constant attention and care that they needed back when they were still babies. Everything had settled down into a comfortable and pleasant daily life without them being obligated to do anything, but with a wanting to do many things that brought them joy. Perhaps it was time for that day to come."We can't get a dog," Haruka repeated, breaking the somewhat tense silence that hung in the air around them and Umiko and Mizuki both looked up upon hearing their dad's voice. "But, maybe we can get a cat.""A cat?" Umiko gasped, the excited glint returning to her eyes and Haruka nodded in confirmation."Why can we get a cat and not a dog?" Mizuki questioned in confusion and he furrowed his eyebrows."Because dogs and cats are not the same animals," Haruka stated because that seemed pretty obvious to him, but then again, Mizuki probably didn't see any difference other than their appearance so he explained, "Unlike dogs, cats don't really mind being alone that much and they sleep more than dogs. Cats don't have to be taken out for walks either so we don't have to worry about that when we're gone during the day, but since we are here in the late afternoon and evening, they're not alone for too long and can still get the attention and care they need.""Oh… okay," Mizuki said and he nodded in understanding. It luckily hadn't taken much to convince him this time despite him usually being quite stubborn, but Haruka reasoned that that was because even if it wasn't a dog, getting a different pet was better than having no pet at all. "I want a white one!""No," Umiko objected once more, "I want an orange one!"And another discussion ensued. It was almost funny how this always seemed to happen at one point or another, but the factor that Haruka found to be the most amusing was the fact that instead of arguing about breeds like they had earlier, they were now solely worried about what colour their potential future cat's fur would be. He figured that they simply didn't know any specific cat breeds, but he honestly couldn't blame them because he didn't know any either when he was their age."Hey," he called once more because he didn't want them to get into a fight over this, "I said 'maybe'. I have to discuss this with Papa first.""But Papa loves cats so I'm sure he will say 'yes'."Well, she wasn't wrong. He only had to pronounce the word 'cat' and Makoto was already looking on the website of Iwatobi's shelter to see if they had any cats up for adoption. Still, he couldn't just promise them a cat without getting Makoto's permission, and although the chances of Makoto disapproving were miniscule, that was just not the way they managed things in their home; they would always discuss everything with each other before making a decision, no matter how insignificant or obvious the decision at hand may be."What are we going to name it?""Tora!" Mizuki chimed in excitedly, and despite it being a common name for cats, Haruka didn't entirely understand where the suggestion came from since it didn't exactly match the image of the white cat he wanted. Then again, he probably didn't even think of that; he just yelled out the name and colour he liked best without considering whether or not they were fitting for one another - though arguably, whether something was fitting or not was an entirely made-up concept that most four-year-olds didn't find any value in to begin with."Wait," Haruka interrupted, shaking his head dismissively, "We're not naming anything until we have Papa's agreement. I'll talk with him as soon as I can, so for now we can stop talking about this and talk about something else instead. Alright?""Alright," they said in unison, but the expressions of joy that lingered on their faces told him that their minds were already entirely set on that they would get a cat and that even if they didn't mention it anymore, their thoughts were still filled with cats.Since they agreed and continued to paint in silence, Haruka decided not to say anything more on the matter either. He was pretty sure that their family would be expanded with a feline friend in the near future because Makoto was surely on board, but he didn't want their kids to think that he made all the decisions on his own - which he didn't because Makoto and he'd had this conversation many times before, but they didn't know that because they hadn't been there and had never been told about it either. So for now, it was just better if they postponed this talk until after he spoke with him about it.With newfound enthusiasm Umiko and Mizuki painted and Haruka continued where he had left off as well. But based off their jittery movements, their focus had long since drifted from their paintings to kittens, resulting in their strokes becoming a lot less refined and coordinated. It was all fine though, as long as they were content."Daddy?" Umiko sang again, disrupting the tranquility that had settled once she and her brother had been satiated with the likelihood of getting a cat, and although her voice was still light and high-pitched, it wasn't in the same tone that she had spoken with earlier."Yes?""Can I see your painting?""Sure," Haruka replied and he lowered his brush so she could see the entirety of his canvas. It wasn't finished yet, but unlike those of the children, his painting was no secret and after years of being watched as he worked, he was more than used to curious eyes roaming over every line of the unfinished whole.Umiko scooted over to his side and a beaming smile lit up her face when she saw what he had been drawing. "Iwatobi-chan!" she exclaimed, catching the attention of her little brother who looked up when he heard that familiar name despite not having shown any particular interest in his dad's painting before, too absorbed in his own ministrations."Can I see too?""Of course," Haruka muttered, and when his gaze drifted from his canvas to their son's face he saw that Mizuki had been absorbed in his work quite literally: a smudge of green paint stained his cheek and he seemingly wasn't even aware that it was there. Wondering how it got there, Haruka's eyes naturally went to his hands and he had a hard time suppressing a grin at the paint coating his little fingers.Although he didn't quite know how he managed to get it all over himself, he honestly wasn't surprised since he had already anticipated that this would happen at one point or another, so in hindsight he was very glad that he had put him in some old pyjamas; if his face was already smudged then it was only a matter of time until his clothing followed."How did you get paint all over your face?" he asked in amusement when Mizuki was sat next to him as he rubbed his thumb over the spot on his chubby cheek. The paint had dried up almost entirely already, and Haruka didn't know if it was because the paint simply dried quickly or if he'd had smeared it on his face much sooner than he noticed it."Paint?" Mizuki questioned in confusion, his sea-green eyes looking downward until he realised that he couldn't directly see his own face. This silly action made it even hard for Haruka to keep himself from smiling at their adorable son. Since the first plan didn't work, Mizuki opted for plan B and looked at his hands instead, seeing that the fingers on his right hand were covered in the shade he had just been painting with. "I don't know."Although Haruka was quite certain that he had unconsciously scratched his face earlier, he didn't exactly know how the paint got onto his fingertips in the first place considering he had been painting with a brush the entire time. But that in itself shouldn't be much of a surprise either, because regardless of what Mizuki did he always ended up making a mess of himself, whether he was eating ice cream or brushing his teeth or anything in between, really. Even if that was a little inconvenient sometimes, he couldn't deny that it was very endearing. "We'll wash it off later, alright?""Okay," Mizuki responded with a shrug, not caring whatsoever either way. It wasn't like he could blame him since he couldn't see it himself anyway, so it was useless to be bothered by it."Who is that?" Umiko asked, steering the attention back to Haruka's painting and she pointed at the figure on the right side of the canvas."That's Samezuka-chan," Haruka said and he realised that Umiko and Mizuki had probably never seen her before. "Remember that we told you about the school that Papa and I used to have joined practices at? This is their mascot.""Oh, I see.""Iwatobi-chan is cuter," Mizuki thought and Haruka chuckled at that remark since he honestly couldn't argue it. Just like him, Umiko and Mizuki loved mascot characters so it was nice to finally have people who also thought they were cute because no one else ever agreed with him on that - well, except Nagisa, but his tastes were honestly all over the place. "And what is this?" he asked, tapping on the wet surface of the left side of the canvas that Haruka had been working on and getting blue paint on his index finger in the process."She's also a mascot," Haruka supplied with a snort, not finding it surprising that he couldn't make out what she was since he had just started working on her, "Her name is Shimashima-chan and she was modeled after the islands Mizushima, Ooshima and Sukishima.""How do you know her, Daddy?" Umiko wondered, interest clear on her face. "I've never seen her before.""Back when we were in high school, our swim club held a training camp, right?" Haruka reminded because he knew they had told them about this before, but he didn't know if they had forgotten about that already and therefore how much he needed to tell them right now. When they both nodded in return, he continued, "It was my seventeenth birthday and it was the last day we were at the islands for training. There was this event featuring Shimashima-chan and I really wanted to go to it, but for some reason Papa and the others were acting very strange and they kept finding excuses to stop me from going to see her and kept me inside the cabin. Since the event was over before they let me go, I at least wanted to go buy her strap but Papa objected and was saying all kinds of weird things that didn't really make any sense."His story was interrupted by Umiko, whose eyebrows were furrowed in disbelief. "Why didn't Papa just let you go if you wanted to get it?"It wasn't like he didn't understand her confusion since he knew that that didn't sound like Makoto at all, so he just answered her question while simultaneously resuming his anecdote. "Because Papa and the others were preparing a surprise for me on the beach right in front of the cabins, and if I went outside then I would see it and that would spoil the surprise.""A surprise?" she asked in a mix of excitement and curiosity, "What kind of surprise?""A giant birthday cake made from sand," he recalled with a smile, "Instead of candles, this cake was so big that it had fireworks instead.""Wow!" Mizuki said, his large eyes lighting up at the mental image of that."It was really pretty," Haruka affirmed, the sight of that cake permanently etched into his memory, "I think we might have some pictures of it too so I can show it to you sometime.""Yes!""But you didn't get to see her then," Umiko commented and Haruka understood what she meant with it, because how could he know what she looked like if he didn't get the chance to see her or buy her strap."Well, even though I really liked and appreciated the surprise that Papa and the others made for me, Papa still felt bad that they had kept me away from her. When we got home that night, he was sleeping over at my house and right before we went to bed, he gave me a gift. It was Shimashima-chan's strap that I had wanted to get and because he knew that, he had gone out to the souvenir shop right before we left and bought it for me, mostly for my birthday but also because he wanted to apologise for keeping me from meeting her.""Aww, that's so sweet of Papa," she sighed, a dreamy smile appearing on her lips and Haruka mirrored her smile before he nodded in agreement. "Do you still have the strap?""Of course I do," Haruka said like it was obvious, because he kept everything Makoto gave him, no matter how small or insignificant it may be; he treasured even the tiniest of things because they were gifts given to him by someone who was so special that everything he touched automatically became special as well. The mere thought of throwing out or losing something that Makoto had given him was enough to make his stomach churn. Therefore he knew exactly where everything was, putting it in places where he could easily find them so he could keep them safe and cherish them forever. "I'll show it to you later too, alright?""Alright!" she echoed excitedly, her grin widening in anticipation."Your painting is very pretty," Mizuki suddenly remarked, drawing the attention back to the image at hand rather than the story behind it."Thank you," Haruka replied with an unwavering smile, "Can I see your painting too?""Yeah." Mizuki crawled back to his easel and tried his best to turn it around so his dad and sister could see his picture. The canvas was filled with a whole array of different things without a clear theme, suggesting that Mizuki just put down whatever it was that was on his mind that second: from a stick figure with pitchfork-hands and spikes for hair in the middle to stars and hearts surrounding it to a smiling sun in the corner, Mizuki had painted it all. It was very colourful to say the least."Yours is really pretty too," Haruka complimented and those simple words were enough to make a satisfied grin settle on Mizuki's face, which in its turn made Haruka's smile soften as well.Not wanting to be left out, Umiko immediately went back to her own easel and shifted it towards her dad. "And mine?""Yours is very pretty as well," he assured, finding it adorable that she wanted to get praised too and of course he would always give her the approval and attention that she was seeking. In terms of the painting itself, the one Umiko made had more of a clear subject that Mizuki's had; contrary to her brother, she had upgraded from stick figures to figures who had bodies and clothes - although the hands of her characters still resembled gardening equipment, though he supposed hers looked more like rakes - and she had painted four of them on a patch of grass next to a yellow blob of what he assumed to be a dog, which indicated that the four figures were her and their family. So much for that 'spontaneous' idea of wanting to get a golden retriever."Thanks!" she beamed and a joyous smile stretched her lips as well. But as her brown eyes went from her own canvas to Haruka's canvas and back, the smile soon fell from her face and made place for a sad frown. "Why can't my drawing be as good as yours?" she questioned, sounding almost desperate.Rather than biding her false words of comfort and assurance that hers was just as good as his, Haruka thought it was better to just be honest with her because she could clearly see the difference between the two paintings and wouldn't buy those white lies anyway. "Because I have thirty years more of experience than you," he stated kindly, still wanting to sound reassuring and encouraging because he didn't want her to feel insecure or inferior, "You can't expect to be super good at something at first because you aren't born with those skills. You have to practice a lot and then you can improve; and I have had much more time to practice in my life than you have had so far.""So if I practice a lot then I'll get just as good as you?" Umiko asked with a tiny flame of hope rekindling in her shining eyes.Haruka nodded in return. "Perhaps even better than me, because I think you're already better now than I was at your age." He didn't recall if this was true or not but that honestly didn't matter, because this was the type of white lie that the kids would easily believe."Really?"The undiluted excitement in her voice was too cute, the tone reminding him of how Makoto used to sound when he was her age and that mental comparison made it even more endearing than it already was. But before he could respond to it, Mizuki spoke up."You can't get better than Daddy," he said resolutely, "Because Daddy is the best."It was absolutely adorable that he felt that way, but it was far from the truth. "That's not true, there are people out there who are even better than me, who have even more years of experience and practice or who just have more natural talent than me," Haruka defended because he saw this as a stepping stone to teaching them another one of life's lessons, "There will almost always be someone who's better than you at something, but that's alright. You shouldn't compare yourself to others, because it's not about what others can make, but what you can make yourself. If you think about the drawings you made last year then these ones are better, right?" When Umiko and Mizuki nodded in confirmation, he continued, "That shows that you have improved since then, so if you practice more then you'll get even better. But even if you don't, that's alright, because it's not about how good you are at something, it's about having fun and as long as you have fun it doesn't matter how good you are. And if you're not good at one thing, then you shouldn't feel bad because there will be always something else that you are very good at," he trailed off because he didn't want them to get upset if they ultimately didn't improve as much as they wanted to even though they practiced a lot, "Take Papa for example: he's not that good at arts and crafts, but he's super good at games and he can explain things really well and he's so strong and smart and-"He cut himself off because he realised he was going off-topic; instead of using Makoto as an example, it was more like he was bragging about him to their kids and even though he could go on and on about his husband for hours, there was no reason to do that because they knew like no other how amazing Makoto truly was."He's not good at art, but he does always have a lot of fun when he's drawing with us. And even though he beats us in every game we play, we also have a lot of fun playing with him, right?""Yeah!" Umiko exclaimed and she seemed a lot more elated and enthusiastic than she had before his little speech; although he didn't know what exactly it was that she had found strength in, it didn't matter either as long as she was happy."One day I am going to beat him," Mizuki vowed solemnly, nodding his head in determination.A chuckle escaped Haruka's lips without his intention. "Well, you're going to need to practice a lot then, because Papa is only going to get better and better too.""I will," he declared and Haruka believed that he would try his best, but whether he was going to succeed was a whole different issue because just like with Haruka and Umiko's art skills, Makoto had thirty-two years worth of gaming experience more than Mizuki and he was only getting better with the day.Back when they were kids themselves Haruka was still able to beat Makoto sometimes, but those days had long since passed and from a certain point in time, it became nearly impossible to win from him. Regardless of what game they were playing, whether it be a video game or a board game or even a card game, Makoto completely obliterated everyone time and time again. It used to be a little annoying, but that soon changed when they decided that whenever they played a game with just the two of them, the loser would have to 'reward' the winner. Needless to say, he never minded losing after that because in the end, they both won.And now, when they were playing games with the children, it was only amusing to him how even in four-player games, Umiko and Mizuki always insisted on playing in teams and then immediately called dibs on teaming up with their father so that when Makoto destroyed them, they still felt like they had won, too. They weren't as sore of losers as Ran and Ren had been when they were young, but that didn't mean that they didn't want to win because they were pretty competitive when it came to games, telling Makoto that he shouldn't go easy on them because if they won from him, they wanted to win with everything they had. Makoto always complied with their wishes, for it was blatantly obvious if he lost on purpose anyway.Speak of the devil, it was at that exact moment that he heard the distinct sound of their car coming to a halt in front of their house; the sound that indicated that Makoto had arrived back home - and a little earlier now than Haruka had expected. Although that sound always filled him with joy and relief, there was now another feeling that was put into the mix: mischief."Papa!" the kids cried out in unison, immediately jumping up from where they were seated on the sheet and about to run inside to be the first one to greet their father home, but Haruka stopped them."Wait!" he called, holding his hand up in a gesture for them to not make a beeline for the door and luckily, they both listened and looked at him with large, questioning eyes. His gaze quickly shifted from the stain on Mizuki's face to his tiny hands and then to the paint that was still on the paper plate before he proposed, "Shall we play a trick on Papa?"Those words made clear interest appear on their faces that soon morphed into playful grins. Knowing that they both were on board, Haruka pressed a kiss to the silver band that was wrapped around his finger before he took it off. He always hated to take off his wedding ring because it was a symbol of their everlasting love that he carried with him everywhere he went, but he still took it off pretty often for that exact reason; he would never risk getting it dirty or damaging it in any way, so he would much rather take it off and keep it safe even if that meant missing the familiar pressure around his finger. But whenever he took it off, he always knew exactly where he put it because losing it would be even more of a disaster, for losing it would be like losing a part of himself - despite usually not being materialistic at all, Haruka couldn't help but safekeep everything that was connected to Makoto in one way or another, protecting it like he was protecting their love with his bare hands. When he did take off his ring, he always made sure to kiss it beforehand in a short apology and because kissing his ring felt like he was sending a kiss over to Makoto when they were apart, and he was confident that Makoto felt and received every single kiss too.There wasn't much time left after that, so Haruka quickly explained his plan to Umiko and Mizuki, whose playful grins turned even more mischievous with every word that left their dad's mouth. "I'm home!"Makoto's gentle voice rang out through the house, that was unusually empty. From where he was waiting in the kitchen, Haruka did his best to repress any form of noise at the image that he could see so clearly in his head: Makoto looking around himself in confusion, wondering where the children and he were since they were always at the door the second he came in to welcome him home and tackle him in bear hugs and claims of how much they had missed him during the day. He was probably wondering if they were out, if Haruka had taken the kids out to the park or took them along as he went grocery shopping; these were all speculations from Haruka himself, but he was almost certain that they were the thoughts coursing through his husband's head at that moment and that made it even more difficult to stop himself from laughing. Finding that he had kept him waiting for long enough, Haruka stepped out from where he had been hiding and walked into the living room."Haru! Umiko! Mizuki!"Instead of his handsome face lighting up at the sight of him, Haruka was met with Makoto's backside because he was facing back through the door that led to the hallway, attempting to peer up the steps to see if his family was upstairs. In order to suppress the chuckles that were bubbling up inside of him, Haruka told himself to focus on the joke at hand."Makoto."Surprised to hear that lovely voice, Makoto abruptly turned around and the smile that Haruka had been expecting adorned his features. "Ah, Haru!" he said with obvious joy in his tone and his smile softened when he met his husband's beautiful face. "I'm home."Without replying, Haruka went over to Makoto and came to a halt right in front of him, smiling back at him before he got up on his tippy toes - because Makoto hadn't been tall enough already in high school and just had to grow even bigger, hadn't he? - and cupped his face into his hands before he kissed him tenderly.A startled noise escaped from Makoto's mouth at the feeling of Haruka's hands against his cheeks because they felt different than usual, but he soon forgot that train of thought as Haruka pressed on and he simply melted into the kiss, his mind void of any thoughts besides the love for his husband. Naturally he wrapped his arms around Haruka's waist to support him and hold him against himself as he kissed back, sighing deeply in contentment because he was finally, truly home.After exchanging a few slow and sweet kisses Haruka pulled back but did so with great reluctance. He could honestly do nothing but kiss Makoto for the rest of his life and enjoy every second of it, because he would never get tired of the wonderful sensation of his husband's lips sliding over his so gently to convey their affection for each other. But he knew he couldn't get sidetracked right now because their prank was still full in motion and the kids were waiting for the result in the yard.When they parted ways there was a hazy look in Makoto's gorgeous eyes, like he had literally kissed him senseless and a smirk stretched Haruka's lips at the sight of it."Welcome home," he whispered against Makoto's mouth and then he pulled away entirely and released Makoto's face, innocently holding up the palms of his hands that were covered in blue and green paint before simply stating, "The kids wanted to paint."It was easy to pinpoint the second Makoto realised what was going on; the dreaminess in his gaze dissipated and made place for confusion that soon turned into shock and he lifted his fingers towards his face and ran them over his cheek. When he saw the paint that lingered on his fingertips, everything hit him at once and he sped over to the nearest mirror that hung on the wall. Once he was in front of it, he was greeted with the familiar image of his own face but with a light coat of paint covering his skin in vague handprints."Haru! I already thought I felt something weird!" he whined in protest but as he heard the sound of his husband's beautiful laughter ringing in the background, his astonishment turned into mischief as well and he turned back around to Haruka with a sly grin, which looked nothing but silly when it was surrounded by paint. "Oh, you're going to get it now," he promised in a playful threat and even though it was hard to take him seriously when he looked like this, Haruka didn't wait to find out what Makoto meant with it and ran away from him, back outside where the kids were waiting with Makoto following closely behind him.The high-pitched giggles that sounded out shortly after he left the house told him that Makoto wasn't far behind. Haruka knew that he would catch up to him sooner or later because he was much faster than him and it wasn't like he had any place to run in their backyard - he could simply go around the house and onto the street, but he didn't want to bring the whole neighbourhood into their little joke and besides, he had gone into this knowing that Makoto would catch up to him eventually. Unfortunately for Haruka, that moment came way quicker than he had anticipated as he felt Makoto's arms catching him around his waist and Haruka let himself fall to the ground, deciding to give Makoto a chance to get his revenge a little. But even though they were fooling around, the protectiveness in Makoto never wavered as he felt him cup the side of his head and wound his arm around his torso to shield him from the impact despite it being soft grass that he landed on.Once they were both safely on the ground Haruka turned to lie on his back and Makoto immediately straddled him, pinning one of his wrists down - for good measure, Haruka held down his other wrist as well - before he raised a paintbrush that he had quickly snatched from the sheet while he was chasing him down."Got you," Makoto taunted as he brought it down to Haruka's face and Haruka squeezed his eyes shut as he braced himself for Makoto's attack, not even making an attempt at dodging because Makoto deserved to get at least one strike on him as well and he could barely contain his laughter. Besides, struggling would be useless anyway because if Makoto really wanted to, then he could easily maneuver him with brute strength alone but Haruka knew that he would never do anything that could possibly hurt him.Seconds ticked by but the impact never came. Confused as to why he wasn't doing anything since Makoto was not one to back out of a game, Haruka opened his eyes again. While Makoto had definitely started to bring it down towards him like he was going to stab him with colour, he had halted halfway through when he realised that there was no paint on the bristles and Haruka burst out in laughter when he saw it. In his haste to get to him, Makoto had grabbed the first brush he saw without checking if there was actually any paint on it and the blank stare on his face was priceless. "So much for your revenge," Haruka giggled and upon hearing his voice, Makoto recovered his demeanour and smirked back at him."For this plan, yes," he admitted, "But this is not my only plan; I've got a few more tricks up my sleeve." He discarded the paintbrush next to them and his now free hand took ahold of Haruka's other wrist. But instead of pinning him down again, this time he did his best to move his arms because he wanted to bring Haruka's palms to his own face so his skin would be covered too. Of course, Haruka already knew that that was his plan but this time he wouldn't play along; he had already given Makoto a chance to get him back but he had wasted it himself, so now he was back to resisting.With all his strength Haruka tensed up his muscles to prevent Makoto from maneuvering his hands towards his face, but it was honestly like fighting a losing battle: for Makoto, that was. Because Makoto was not battling against Haruka, but against himself; he wanted to get back at Haruka and strength-wise he could easily win, however, there was the risk that he would hurt him by handling him so roughly and the fact that Haruka was resisting only increased that risk. And that risk was one that he was never willing to take, even if it meant losing their silly little paint fight.Realising this, Makoto gave up and slackened his hold, letting Haruka's wrists fall back onto the ground but he didn't release them just yet. "Well then," he sighed, shaking his head in what was supposed to resemble defeat, "Seems like I have to resort to the old fashioned way." He brought Haruka's hands together over his head and shifted his hold until he was holding down both wrists with one hand - damn Makoto for having such large hands. Then he held up his free hand again and wiggled his fingers in the air. "Ready?"When it dawned upon Haruka what Makoto was planning to do, his eyes widened in horror. "No, Makoto… please don't," he pleaded but it was in vain; it was at that moment that Makoto brought his hand down and started to tickle him, assaulting his most sensitive spots with his sneaky fingers. Although he usually loved the fact that they had been together since the beginning and therefore knew everything about each other, in scenarios like this it proved that their connection could work against him because Makoto knew exactly where to tickle Haruka to reduce him to a tearful, giggling mess. And he was rapidly succeeding in doing just that. "Makoto!" Haruka managed to get out in between his loud laughter, but sadly he couldn't speak beyond just his name, "Makoto!""What? I'm sorry, Haru-chan, I don't understand what you mean," Makoto said innocently, batting his eyelashes like he was trying to comprehend Haruka's laughter, "You're going to have to be clearer than that.""Makoto!"The children, who had watched their parents' scene unfold in amusement, saw this as the cue to step in and get involved as well, no longer content with just standing on the sidelines."I'll save you, Daddy!" Mizuki proclaimed as he ran up to them and jumped on Makoto's back, wrapping his legs around his waist and clinging to him like he was a baby koala.In order to let him play along, Makoto let out a big huff as if the collision of Mizuki's small, light body against his own had actually impacted him in any way and he stopped tickling Haruka, both to make Mizuki feel like he had won and because he had teased his husband enough already. He straightened his back to give Haruka more room to catch his breath, which Haruka dearly appreciated as he heaved deeply with remnants of laughter, wiping away the stray tears that had leaked from his eyes with the back of his wrist.Now that he had gotten his revenge on his husband, Makoto intended to tease their kids a little as well since they had been his accomplices. He was about to grab Mizuki from where he hung off his neck and lay him down on the grass next to Haruka to get a few tickles on him as well, but before he had the chance to do that, Umiko decided to join in since she surely couldn't be the only one left out when the rest of her family was playing together.With a paintbrush in her hand, she walked up to them and stopped right in front of Makoto. "Daddy, you missed a spot," she remarked and she promptly ran the bristles over Makoto's closed mouth, leaving behind a quick, crooked stroke of red."Ah!" Makoto gasped in surprise, his mouth falling open at that unexpected addition of colour. "How unfair is this?" he questioned in feigned disbelief, "The three of you are always conspiring against me." It was obvious that he was pretending to sound offended, but it was hard to buy when Haruka could see that Makoto had to do everything he could to stop his genuine smile from breaking through the demeanour he was putting on. "So unfair, three against one!""All is fair in love and war," Haruka simply reasoned with a shrug, not even bothering to cover up his own smile because there was not a single fiber in his being that wanted to hide just how much joy there was coursing through his veins at that moment - and at any other moment spent with his family, really."Oh, is that so?" Makoto mumbled, nodding his head like he was contemplating that, "So what is this? Love or war?""Love!""War!""Both."At those three different answers being chimed out simultaneously, Makoto really couldn't hold himself back any longer and he chuckled merrily. "It's good to know that you're at least all on the same page about that.""It's a war of love," Haruka explained, trying to recover the façade that their plan had been more thought-out than it actually was, more so for the kids than for his husband because he always saw right through him anyway. Like he had expected, Umiko and Mizuki immediately voiced their agreement, making Makoto chuckle once more. "Don't you see, Papa?" Haruka continued as if all of this was very logical and it was just Makoto who didn't understand what was going on, "The paint symbolises how much we love you."Once again Umiko and Mizuki vigorously nodded to show that that was what they had meant all along, putting on what was a very convincing act in their own eyes, but of course their parents knew better than that and did their best not to snort at their little thespians."Oh, I see," Makoto played along, rubbing his chin to make it look like he was in deep thought, "In that case-" Before he had properly ended his sentence, Makoto swiftly swept Umiko up in his arms and pressed a kiss against her cheek, smearing paint onto her skin in the process. She burst out in a mix of giggles and screeches as she tried to free herself from her father's grasp but unfortunately for her, he wasn't about to let her go so easily, not until she'd had her fair share of paint as well - of course, he made sure that his hold couldn't hurt her, because it wasn't just Haruka who he would never risk hurting, but the children as well.In addition to the mark his lips left on her, he also rubbed his own cheek against hers and only when one of her cheeks was covered in a mix of green and red paint did he let her go and she immediately ran away, not waiting for her father to possibly change his mind. Luckily for her, Makoto had already set his sights on his next victim, and when it got through to Mizuki that that would be him, he released his hold around his neck and was about to run off as well, but unfortunately he was too late."Not so fast!" Makoto objected as he caught their son before he could escape and he proceeded to give him the same treatment his sister had received as well; though Makoto placed the kiss on his nose instead before using his other cheek to get some paint onto him as well, leaving vague blue smudges on his face before he granted him mercy.Like his sister, Mizuki didn't waste a second before he was gone and he went back to the sheet to grab some more paint to get his part of the retribution as well - after all, he was the only one who hadn't actually gotten paint on Makoto's face directly despite being in on the plan, so he had to make that right.But Makoto's interest had already shifted back to Haruka, who was still lying beneath him in the grass. Knowing that he had nowhere to run, Makoto didn't make any haste in blemishing his porcelain skin since he thought he had all the time in the world. The playful smirk returned to his lips as he stared down at his husband, not even caring about how foolish he was looking at that moment because he knew that he could always be himself at home regardless."Then that leaves just you, Haru," Makoto provoked for even if he had already gotten him back when he tickled him, the game had changed the moment Haruka said that the paint symbolises love; after all, he just had to show his husband how much he loved him, right?Haruka wasn't very impressed by Makoto's taunts and snorted in response. "Fine. Come at me, Makoto," he retorted like he was ready to take on that challenge when in reality, he was already more than prepared for whatever it was that came next and would welcome it with open arms.Of course, Makoto didn't need to be told twice and he leaned down once more and began to drop kisses all over Haruka's face. There wasn't much paint left on Makoto's lips because he had smeared the majority off on Umiko and Mizuki, but that didn't stop him from continuing with his mission. The most prominent mark was left on the apple of Haruka's left cheek, and from that point on the kiss marks only got vaguer and vaguer.Because Makoto was so focused on showering every free patch of Haruka's skin in kisses, he didn't notice that Umiko and Mizuki had returned for a rematch; Umiko wielding two brushes with yellow and purple paint - because she loved colourful things and those colours were still missing on her father's face - and Mizuki with only his fingers covered in more green paint since he couldn't care less about the whole image and only wanted to get some hits in as quickly as possible. They ambushed him at once and Umiko ran the bristles over Makoto's nose and once more over his cheek while Mizuki jumped on his back again, not caring where he landed and leaving smudges of green on his father's neck and throat.When Makoto felt the cool paint on his skin - and the child on his back - once more, he focused his concentration back on the kids and sat up straight. "Oh, so you two still haven't had enough ye-"Before he could finish his sentence, he was interrupted by a loud gasp leaving Umiko's mouth and her brown eyes widening in horror. "Mizuki!" she shrieked, immediately gathering all attention from both her parents and the boy in question, "You got paint on Papa's shirt!"That accusation made Mizuki frown and he let go of Makoto so he was standing on his own two feet again. "What? Where?" he questioned since he was still facing the back of Makoto's shirt that was seemingly spotless."Here, look!" Umiko beckoned him with a wave of her hand and when her brother was beside her, she pointed at Makoto's shoulder where there was indeed a vague blotch of green on the light blue fabric of his work shirt. "You ruined it!"Since the smear of paint hadn't been there before and he was the only one who currently had green paint on his hands, plus the fact that it was undeniably there because of how carelessly he had climbed on his father's back, Mizuki knew for sure that it had been his doing. He had ruined his father's shirt and that thought made tears well up in his sea-green eyes. "I didn't mean to!" he quickly exclaimed, not wanting his parents to think he did it on purpose and scold him because of it, "It was an accident!"The second Makoto and Haruka saw that his eyes were glazed over with tears that would soon be shed, every ounce of their playfulness immediately dissipated and turned into worry. Makoto leaned up from where he was still straddling his husband and collected their son in his arms, not caring about the paint that lingered on both of their faces because he prioritised comforting Mizuki and he held him against his chest. "It's okay, darling, it's alright," he assured as Mizuki began to cry and he stroked his fingers through his brown locks, "Shh, it's okay.""I-I'm sorry," Mizuki bawled and he tangled his fingers into Makoto's shirt, too upset to realise that he was only getting more paint on it in the process but because he was already so distraught, Haruka didn't remind him of that and just wanted to do everything he could to make him stop crying.So Haruka pushed himself out from underneath Makoto and sat up on his knees, reaching out to caress Mizuki's back in support. "It's okay. We know it was an accident.""Yeah," Makoto concurred, loosening his hold so he could pull him back a little and wipe the colourful tears from his cheeks, "It's just a shirt, it doesn't matter.""B-But Daddy s-said…" he stuttered as he hid his face in Makoto's chest again, unable to finish his sentence because he was sobbing too hard so Haruka filled it in for him."I said that we didn't want to get paint on our clothes and that's why we're wearing old pyjamas," Haruka explained to Makoto, who nodded in understanding yet never stopped rocking their son gently to calm him down a little."It's okay, Mizuki," he murmured softly before pressing a kiss to his forehead, "It's just a shirt, we can wash it so there's no need to be so upset about it. And if it doesn't come out, then that's alright, we can always get a new shirt. It was just an accident and there's nothing we can do about it now, so please don't feel bad."Fortunately, those words seemed to soothe him a little, relieved to know that neither of his parents were mad at him and his hiccups gradually passed. Haruka was glad about that, because no matter what the reason behind the tears was, seeing their children cry always broke his heart and he knew that it broke Makoto's too.When he had calmed down a little he let go of Makoto's shirt and removed his head from where it had been buried in his father's body. Makoto offered him a gentle smile before he raised his hand to brush the remaining tears away. "We were having a lot of fun, right?" he said and Mizuki nodded in agreement before sniffing deeply."Yeah," he answered and a small grin appeared on his face as he thought back at their little war. He had seemingly already forgotten all about the reason he had been crying in the first place."So why don't we go have more fun?" Makoto proposed, his smile softening and he tilted his head in that adorable habit he had never grown out of, addressing both Mizuki and Umiko, "It's much more fun to smile, so let's smile a lot today, alright?""Alright!" they echoed in unison before large smiles stretched and adorned their faces as well, and the sight of seeing his three rays of sunshine so happy automatically made Haruka smile too, contentment settling into his previously troubled heart."So let's forget about this," Makoto muttered as he pulled off his shirt - most likely because he didn't want Mizuki to notice that he had only stained it further when he was crying - baring his toned torso. Haruka was almost grateful that Mizuki had gotten paint onto the shirt, because he would always shamelessly indulge himself in ogling his husband's wonderful body. Makoto crumpled up the shirt and threw it aside before he resumed speaking, "And let's go have some fun. Is there anything you want to do?"The children pondered about that for a second, not immediately giving an answer and as Haruka ran his eyes over Makoto's face and his naked chest and abdomen, he was struck with an idea. "I have an idea," he declared, making three pairs of curious eyes turn their gazes onto him, waiting for him to elaborate, "Since Papa's face is already covered in paint anyway, why don't we use his torso as a canvas too? We have the paint ready and Papa's torso is as large as a canvas anyway, so would you like that?""Yes!" Umiko gushed, enthusiasm lighting up her face at the thought of that."But how will we do that?" Mizuki wondered sincerely because his dad's proposal had piqued his interest, but he didn't know exactly how that would go down."We just paint on him like we would on paper or canvas; you get his front, Umiko gets his back.""What about you, Daddy?" Umiko questioned, because even if it was fair that one of them got their father's back and the other his front, that left no room for Haruka to paint on."I'll take his arms," Haruka simply shrugged, not really caring beyond that as long as the children wouldn't argue about it. But then he realised that he forgot something vital, something he otherwise never forgot and he could practically hit himself for being so dumb because the children were already getting so excited about this; he forgot to ask Makoto's consent. "If Papa wants us to, of course," he quickly added but then again, he should have known from the start how Makoto would respond to this."Of course," Makoto echoed, his smile never leaving his handsome, paint-covered features, "It's been a while since I've been drawn on so that should be fun!"He was right; it had been a long time. In the past, long before they even had Umiko and Mizuki, Haruka frequently used his skin as a canvas, whether it was by making an elaborate painting on his back when he felt like it or simply by doodling little stars on his lower arm when they were on the train together and he was bored.Drawing on his lover's skin just felt really intimate, to use the natural lines and planes of his body to make an artwork that was almost as beautiful as the person it was painted on. Whenever he drew on him in the past, Haruka felt like he had grown a little closer to him even if that seemed impossible since their hearts were already connected at the core and they practically shared a soul. It was just something that was really pleasant to do and he wanted to share that experience with their children. They probably didn't think about it as deeply as he did and just saw it for what it was: them drawing on their father's skin, but nevertheless Haruka felt like it was something special, like they were about to make a memory that would be treasured for years to come. A moment of family bonding that would be cherished forevermore even if they might forget all about it when they grew older because it left an everlasting mark on their relationships as a whole. Something that seemed so mundane yet held deep underlying feelings, at least to Haruka."Wait a minute," he called as he got up and walked inside where he quickly washed his hands to rinse the majority of the paint off his palms before he went to retrieve the camera. After all, it would be a shame for such a wonderful activity to take place without capturing it and eternalising the moment to be reminisced about for years to come.Taking pictures of his family and loved ones was a hobby and habit he had adopted from his mother-in-law. There were photo albums filled with the entire childhoods of Makoto - and therefore, his own too - and Ran and Ren, and it was really nice to have those pictures to look back on, to thumb through them with each other and recall all of the wonderful adventures they had gone on together. Makoto and he had always taken pictures of important events and also on some normal, everyday occasions, but it was around their wedding that Haruka truly started to document their lives. Since then, whenever there was a moment that felt special or significant in one way or another, his hands were already itching to get the camera and snap photos and take videos. And today was no different.When he was back in the yard again, he first took pictures of each of their faces to commemorate the paint war they were having before it got interrupted - for good measure, Makoto took the camera from him to capture his image as well, since he obviously couldn't be left out considering he had also been part of it, proven by his face adorning its fair share of paint-smudges. Because Haruka had been taking pictures since long before they were born, Umiko and Mizuki weren't camera-shy at all and happily posed for more pictures, both by themselves and with their sibling and parents and Haruka and Makoto gladly took turns snapping photos.Once the immediate need to have their picture taken had dwindled, they finally got started on the main event; transforming Makoto into a living canvas. They made room on the sheet, putting the easels aside to be cleared away later and Makoto seated himself on the center of it. Mizuki instantly settled himself in Makoto's lap and Umiko sat down on her knees behind him as they both began to paint on their father's tanned skin.Despite it being pretty warm outside, Makoto shivered at the cold feeling of the paint being spread out over his chest and back. Unaware of this - or perhaps just unbothered by it - the children wasted no second by pondering about what they would draw because they were so excited about getting to paint on their father that they didn't want to wait any longer.The sight of Makoto doing his best to keep his spine straight while Umiko and Mizuki applied stroke after stroke on him, making his skin burst with colour in a matter of minutes, was incredibly endearing to Haruka and the familiar itch returned to his palms. A need to capture his three favourite people in the world having fun together on video so he could relive this moment whenever he pleased welled up inside of him, so he switched modes on the camera and began to record them instead."Hey," he called to get their attention, wanting to let them know he was filming so they could engage with the camera, "What are you doing?"The question was asked not because Haruka didn't know - because he obviously did, considering he had been the one to suggest it in the first place - but to give the video a little more context and to spark a conversation. The children knew this of course, and were more than happy to play along and explain it to the future audience."We're painting on Papa," Umiko provided with a beaming smile before she concentrated on her image again, rinsing out the bristles of her brush before dipping it into the dollop of orange paint."Oh, really?" Haruka wondered with feigned astonishment, "So what are you drawing?""It's a secret!" she claimed just like she had earlier that afternoon. Apparently everything she made was a surprise today. To respect her wish, he made sure to not film onto Makoto's back until she gave explicit permission."Hmm, it feels like a circle," Makoto muttered teasingly, trying to get a reaction out of her and easily succeeding.An offended gasp left Umiko's mouth before she chided, "Papa, don't spoil it!"For the umpteenth time that day, Makoto chuckled heartily and Haruka felt extremely blessed that he got to capture the wonderful sound to be replayed whenever he needed to hear it. "Sorry, I promise I won't do it again.""I'm making a heart," Mizuki interrupted, deciding that his wasn't a secret this time and that he wanted his image to get the attention that it deserved. To comply, Haruka extended his arm so the outline of the heart that Mizuki was drawing on Makoto's chest could be seen more clearly. "Because the paint means love and I love Papa.""Aw," Makoto cooed, voicing Haruka's exact thought as well, "That's so sweet of you; I love you too.""My paint means love too! Even if it's not a heart," Umiko quickly said, not wanting anyone to think that her drawing held less meaning just because it wasn't a heart, "I love Papa, too!""I know that and I love you too," Makoto assured because he didn't want her to feel left out, craning his neck awkwardly in an attempt to look at her while he spoke. Then he faced the camera again, staring straight into his husband's endlessly blue eyes as he murmured, "And of course I love you, too, Haru-chan."That sudden declaration of affection being caught on video still made blood rush to Haruka's cheeks even after all those years of hearing him say it. Now Haruka was kind of grateful for the fact that he had random smudges of red paint on his face to hide behind, and if anyone mentioned something about the blush that dusted his cheeks, then he would just blame the paint. "Drop the '-chan'," Haruka mumbled out of habit, but the words held no bite and only conveyed the same sentiment that Makoto had expressed as well. I love you too.Completely ignoring the tender interaction between his parents since it was honestly nothing out of the ordinary, Mizuki continued to speak his thoughts as if that had never happened in the first place. "It's good that you're not drawing a heart because Papa only has one heart and it's here in his chest," Mizuki reasoned as he tapped with his brush on Makoto's sternum.Rather than getting into a complicated discussion about the human anatomy, Haruka only snorted at his reasoning before he mumbled, "Well, he has a point.""But I can never have enough hearts to contain all the love I feel for you guys," Makoto argued, just in case Umiko had planned to draw a heart later on so she wouldn't feel hindered by her brother's statement."One heart is enough," Mizuki disclosed decisively and dismissively, making both of his parents laugh once more at how steadfast he was about his own beliefs."Whatever you say," Makoto chuckled, his body shaking slightly as he did. The last thing he wanted was to get into a discussion with their four-year-old son about how many hearts one person needed so he figured it was better to just leave it at that."Papa, sit still!" Mizuki scolded with a frown, which only made Makoto laugh again because it was funny how instead of saying it to the kids, he was now on the receiving end of that order."Sorry, sorry, I'll try my best," Makoto promised, though the amused smile still stretched his red lips.Deciding that the time to give that part of their activity a little more context had long since come, Haruka questioned, "So what happened to all of your faces?""We had a paint war," Mizuki clarified, no longer looking into the camera as he spoke because he thought that that was not worth it anymore because it only distracted him from painting.Umiko, on the contrary, hadn't had enough of the camera yet and leaned up to place her head on Makoto's shoulder as she continued where her brother left off, "A war of love. The paint symbolises how much we love each other," she repeated what she had heard her dad say earlier like a big, adorable parrot."Oh? We must love Papa a lot then," Haruka commented as he zoomed in on the colourful mess that Makoto's face currently was."We do!""But we love Daddy a lot too," Makoto supplied, not letting Haruka get away without having displayed his face in this video too. "Look at him, only kiss-marks!"To humour him, Haruka turned the camera around to briefly show his own face before he directed it towards his family again. "This is all Papa's fault," he accused as he pointed the camera to Umiko and Mizuki's faces as well."You started it!" Makoto yelped, doing his best to sound insulted but utterly failing, "Welcoming me home with two handprints on my cheeks. So mean!""Umiko and Mizuki told me to do it," Haruka lied to provoke a reaction out of their children and he was a lot more successful in his game of pretense."That's not true!""You're lying, Daddy!"They simultaneously shot back their defenses, definitely not eager to take the blame for something they didn't do because truthfully, Haruka was the mastermind behind this plan and no one else."I'm just joking," Haruka admitted easily because it would be bad of they got really worked up over something that was intended as a joke. "It was all my idea.""You're not supposed to tell lies, Daddy," Mizuki said disapprovingly and Haruka had to do everything he could to hold in his laughter since it was his turn now to be lectured by their kindergartner."You're right, I'm sorry," he apologised, his voice trembling with amusement but luckily Mizuki found it an acceptable apology and left it at that."Daddy, you should stop filming now," Umiko thought, her words honestly taking Haruka by surprise because it was quite unlike her to propose something like that."Why? Do you not want to be filmed anymore?" he wondered, and if that was the case then he respected her wish and would turn the camera off like she requested."That's not it," she replied, shaking her head to indicate that that was not what she meant, "But if you keep filming then you can't paint on Papa. You have to paint with us."It was endearing that she wanted him to join in too, and he had to admit that he was also looking forward to getting to paint on his husband again for the first time in what felt like forever. He had always really enjoyed doing it, but these past couple of years they had been so busy and occupied that it hadn't even crossed his mind until a little while ago. But now that he was reminded of it, the urge to pick up that old hobby bubbled up inside of him and he decided that he had waited long enough already."That's true, I'll come join you then.""Alright. Bye," Makoto said, closing his eyes and smiling brightly as he waved towards the camera and Umiko and Mizuki naturally mimicked him and waved the future audience goodbye as well.Knowing that was his cue, Haruka pressed the button to stop recording and switched back to picture-mode, snapping a few more shots before he turned it off for then and sat down on the sheet as well. The need to take pictures still hadn't completely left him, but it was satiated for now and he would continue to take more when they were a little further into their drawings. So he put the camera down behind him so he could easily reach it but wasn't close enough to them to accidentally get splattered with paint in a moment of carelessness.Unlike the children, Haruka didn't have an immediate idea of what he was going to draw yet. He started out with stroking Makoto's left arm, caressing his hard muscles as he ran his hand down over his skin, hoping that the shape of his arm would give him some inspiration. After all, he didn't exactly have that much room to work with: his arms were bigger and more defined than most arms, but it definitely wasn't the same as getting to work with his broad shoulders or his wide chest. But he adored every part of Makoto's body and he was determined to make this work, to shower Makoto's arms with all the love they deserved in the form of a drawing to express his feelings with.With that in mind, Haruka grabbed a medium sized brush, dipped it in paint and began to draw on his shoulder.Although Umiko was very secretive about her own paintings, she couldn't help the curiosity she always had to know anything and everything, so soon she was peering onto her father's arm, but she wasn't quite able to make out the pattern her dad was drawing. "What are you drawing?" she wondered, furrowing her eyebrows as she tried to see the complete image but failing to do so."Scales," Haruka simply replied, never ceasing to stroke his brush down Makoto's arm in the half-circle pattern."Scales?" Makoto echoed in confusion before he whined, "You're not turning my arm into a mackerel, are you?""No, don't worry," Haruka assured and a teasing remark entered his mind at his husband's complaint: a joke about mackerel being fitting for him because he was just as delicious as a mackerel was. He decided to keep this joke to himself though, because it was a little too inappropriate to make in front of the children. The last thing he wanted was them to bombard him with questions about what he meant with that, because they were quite a bit too young to hear and even think about stuff like that. Nevertheless, a small smirk appeared on Haruka's face at the thought of Makoto's possible reaction to him making a joke like that in front of Umiko and Mizuki."Scales?" Mizuki repeated, "Are you making a reptile? A dinosaur?""Good suggestions, but no," Haruka denied, thinking that it was his turn to leave his family in the dark for once, "You'll see what it is eventually.""Can we still look, though?" Umiko asked because she had been taught the same respect of boundaries that her parents had as well."Yeah, looking is fine, but I'm not going to tell you what it is.""Okay," their daughter mumbled and as Haruka resumed with the same pattern down Makoto's arm, her deep brown eyes never left his hand, determined to find out what exactly it was that her dad was making."You can't finish your drawing if you only keep looking at mine," Haruka commented, not averting his gaze from his husband's arm because he didn't need to to know that she was staring at him since he could practically feel her eyes burning a hole through his fingers.Feeling caught, Umiko quickly faced away from him and leaned forward to get some more paint onto her brush, acting as if she hadn't been staring and she wasn't the one he had addressed with those words. Seeing this made Haruka chuckle a little and he did his best to repress it as much as he could. She was just too cute.Silence settled between the four of them as Haruka, Umiko and Mizuki were concentrated on their respective images while Makoto was content with just sitting there and providing enjoyment for his family. But it was never quiet in their home for long, and soon Umiko's honeysweet voice sounded out again."Papa," she called, this time using her pleading tone on him and Haruka could pretty much guess what she was about to say. But in case he was wrong, he didn't speak up and chose to wait it out instead, letting her bring up whatever it was that she wanted to talk about."Yes?""Daddy says that we're getting a cat."Of course he was right. What else could it have been? Although that was not what he had said at all, he was more than relieved that she didn't bring up the subject of dogs again so she didn't put them all through an awkward conversation as to why a dog wasn't a plausible pet for their family to get again.Makoto's response, however, was something he hadn't predicated yet knowing Makoto, he should actually have been expecting it.He turned to him with his gorgeous eyes widened in surprise. "We're getting a cat?" he asked with a beaming, hopeful smile. Instead of the thirty-six-year-old man he was, at that moment Makoto looked like his six-year-old self to Haruka and it was both incredibly endearing and quite amusing. Like Makoto forgot for a second that he was a fully-grown adult who got to decide everything himself. So Haruka thought it was good to remind him of this fact."No, that's not what I said; I said maybe," he emphasised, not only for the children this time but also for Makoto, "I was going to talk with you about it first so we could decide together.""Oh," Makoto muttered, suddenly reminded that he was a parent in this scenario and not a child, "Well, I want a cat. You know I've always wanted a cat. And you always have too.""If you both always wanted a cat then why don't we have one already?" Umiko questioned in confusion since things just didn't add up to her, because she hadn't been given all the information required to paint the full picture."Because it just never seemed like the right time to get one," Makoto explained with a melancholic smile, "We were always busy, either with school or work and Daddy's swimming career. And after that we had you two and we decided that it was better to wait a little longer so we could focus all of our attention on taking care of you.""Oh," Umiko mumbled, nodding her head as she was trying to comprehend that and she soon found a conclusion, "So now is the right time! We are big enough now and we will also take care of it!""Yeah!" Mizuki agreed, not really having much else to say besides that but wanting to express his support nonetheless."I do think you are big enough now," Makoto concurred, but Haruka doubted whether he really thought that or if he simply said it because he also dearly wanted a cat. Probably a mix of both. "I am for getting a cat," Makoto declared as he raised his right hand, "and you, Daddy?"Three pairs of awaiting eyes turned his way and Haruka sighed in defeat. How could he ever resist those adorable faces? "I suppose we're getting a cat then.""Yay!" they all cheered at Haruka's approval and Haruka knew that even if he hadn't wanted to get a cat himself, he wouldn't have standed a chance against his husband and their children because they had him completely wrapped around their fingers.They all resumed painting even though the conversation was far from over, but Haruka guessed it was because the most thrilling part had already been addressed. Before they could continue to chat about cats though, something else caught Haruka's eye; Mizuki's enthusiasm had made him fall back into his old habit of rough strokes and although it didn't matter if he destroyed the brushes or even the other canvas, Haruka didn't want him to destroy his father because even if Makoto's rock-hard abs could handle some roughness, it just had to hurt and could possibly even damage his smooth skin."Mizuki, don't put so much pressure on your brush; you'll hurt Papa with those rough strokes," Haruka lectured and the sound of his voice made Mizuki look up at him with big, questioning eyes, proving once more that he simply wasn't aware of his own actions."Oh, sorry," he mumbled as he pat Makoto's abdomen in apology, not realising that he had just painted all over it and now had a fresh coat of yellow paint on his hand. He stared at his palm as if the paint had physically manifested there and was almost offended that it had the audacity to stain his hand.Makoto only giggled in response at their son's antics. "It's alright," he said to that apology, the fondness at that reaction making every bit of pain that had possibly lingered on his skin from the rough bristles disappear immediately.This time around it was Umiko completely ignoring an interaction because she wasn't done yet with talking about cats. "Can we go get a cat tomorrow?""Tomorrow?" Haruka inquired in confusion. Umiko's memory wasn't as optimal today as it usually was since she kept forgetting things in her excitement. "We can try, but I thought you wanted to go to the beach tomorrow.""Oh yeah!""We're going to the beach tomorrow?" Makoto asked in the same intonation he had earlier and it reminded Haruka of the fact that he hadn't told him about that yet."If you want to and if the weather is nice," he stated because even if it wasn't as significant of a decision as getting a cat was, he wanted Makoto to be on board too."Of course," he affirmed with a gentle smile, and Haruka knew that hidden behind it was his fear of the ocean but that he didn't want to let that shine through, so Haruka obviously didn't mention anything about it either. "We can go to the beach tomorrow and in the meantime I'll try to look for a cat that is suited for us to adopt. Is that alright?""Yes.""Daddy, if we go to the beach tomorrow, will you make me a mermaid again?" Mizuki asked with a glint of excitement in his eyes."Oh, me too!" Umiko added, her face lighting up at the mention of that."Sure," Haruka responded, knowing just how much they liked it when he did that and the children cheered again. One time they had seen old pictures of when he made Makoto into a merman out of sand back when they were younger, and since then they wanted to be transformed into merpeople as well. He'd cover their lower bodies in sand and shape it in the form of a tail so that they resembled merpeople and even if it was hard to see it for themselves when they were lying down on the beach, they still loved the idea of it and often didn't even want to get up because that broke the illusion. They always made sure to take pictures of it so that they could properly see themselves as merpeople afterwards, but no matter how many pictures were taken, during the next trip to the beach they wanted to experience it all over again. It didn't matter how often he had already done it before, because as long as it made them happy, Haruka would gladly oblige every single time.He made a mental note to clear off the camera that night so that they could take it with them to the beach the following day."And me?" Makoto inquired with amusement lacing his beautiful voice, and Haruka had to stop himself from saying his initial response to that. It wasn't so much that it was an inappropriate remark, but it would spoil something that he didn't want to reveal yet.Ultimately, the remark wasn't even needed because just this conversation as a whole was enough for Umiko to put the pieces of the puzzle together. She gasped, "That's what you're making: a mermaid tail!""That's right," Haruka confirmed, chuckling lightly because she had guessed it sooner than he had expected. Then again, it did kind of resemble a mermaid tail - for as much as it was possible to make an arm look like one with cheap paint - so it shouldn't have been that surprising that talking about mermaids enabled her to connect all the dots and see the full picture."What is this on his fingers?""That's the end of the tail," he explained as he gently held Makoto's hand up in his to show Mizuki what he had made."That's not what mermaid tails look like!" Mizuki objected since it looked nothing like the tails of mermaids that he had seen before."Not traditionally no, but mermaid tails can look different ways. They can look like anything you want, really," Haruka reasoned because he didn't see why he should let his creativity be restricted by what others generally thought a mythological creature looked like. It was his creative liberty as an artist to reimagine that what so many others had created in the past and make it his own. Besides that, he had to keep the natural shapes of Makoto's limb in mind when drawing it and it would never look like a traditional tail anyway since that shape was a little contrasting with the form of his hand. But using those reasonings as ways to describe his creative choices might be a little too complicated for Mizuki to comprehend, so instead he just said, "It'll look more like a mermaid tail when I'm done. And even if it doesn't, that's fine because we're just having fun, right?""Yeah.""I think it's really pretty, Daddy," Umiko commented as she leaned in to study every line of the unfinished whole closely."Thank you.""I didn't say it wasn't pretty!" Mizuki denied, not wanting to have given off the impression that he disliked it when that most certainly wasn't the case. "I think it's pretty too!""I know," Haruka chuckled because he hadn't taken his observation the wrong way. He had long since passed the point in his life in which he took offense to critique, mostly thanks to Ran and Ren who used to share their thoughts without second thought or hesitation. "Thank you."All of those compliments made Makoto curious as well and he craned his neck so he could see his arm without moving it. "Ah, it is very pretty. It's really starting to look like a mermaid tail," Makoto gushed in awe. Although he had been the witness of pretty much every artwork Haruka had made in his lifetime, it never ceased to amaze him how skilled his husband was and it completely blew his mind time and time again. "I can't wait to see what it looks like when it's finished.""Papa, you should see mine too!" Umiko suddenly said, apparently discarding the idea that it should stay a secret until she was finished because she wanted to get praised by her father too."I would love to, dear, but I can't directly see my own back," Makoto muttered regretfully, an apologetic look appearing on his face."That's a problem we can easily solve," Haruka stated as he reached behind him to grab the camera once more, "May I?" he asked Umiko just to be sure he had her permission and when she nodded, he scooted over to her so he could take a proper picture of Makoto's back and the painting that was being made on it.When he saw what it was that she had been working on, a deep sigh left his lips. Of course. Haruka should have known from the beginning that she would use her painting to reinforce her wish and attempt to get her family on her side.With the image displayed on the little screen, Haruka held the camera up in front of Makoto's face, who smiled when he saw it. "A cat!""Yeah!" Umiko agreed, "I really want an orange cat.""No!" Mizuki protested once more, "I want a white cat!"Before they had the chance to get into a discussion about it, Makoto cut in with, "I want a black cat," he declared with a cheeky smirk, "One with large blue eyes and really soft fur. And it would love to bathe but it would also loves being dried off and-""Oh, shut up," Haruka interrupted with a scowl, knowing that Makoto was teasing him. Back in high school he once dreamt that he was a cat and that Makoto had found him in the bathtub and proceeded to dry him off before taking him to school with him. When he told Makoto about it some time later, he had giggled and cooed at him that the dream hadn't been a far-fetched one because he was quite similar to cats. This was only strengthened when the dog-breed conversation was held some time later and Nagisa had proclaimed that he was a cat. It wasn't so much that he disliked being compared to a cat, but when Makoto teased him about it like that then he couldn't help but get defensive about it. He was about to say that he wanted to have a cat with messy brown fur and droopy green eyes, but he decided not to be childish for once; he had already teased Makoto without his awareness earlier when he had called him a golden retriever, so he thought it was better to just leave it at this."In all seriousness," Makoto continued even though the joke had gone completely over Umiko and Mizuki's heads, "I'll go see what kind of cats the shelter has and see if there's one suited for us to adopt. If that's the case then we'll just adopt that one, but if there aren't any then I'll look if there is anyone in the neighbourhood who has a kitty litter, alright? And then we can always see what colours they have and which one we want.""Alright," Umiko said, proving that she was always the easier of the two to please.Fortunately Mizuki didn't seem to have any objections for once either because his father's explanation made sense; and besides, when push came to shove then he always had the opportunity to state his preference again. So for now he was appeased about that, but that didn't end his list of kitty-criteria. "Are we getting a boy or a girl?"That was something that Makoto and Haruka hadn't actually discussed before, because it honestly didn't matter that much to them since cats deserved love regardless of their sex and they were more than willing to offer it to either of the two. But just because they hadn't thought about it yet didn't mean that no one had made a decision."I want a girl!" Umiko exclaimed eagerly, "Because then we can have kittens!"The protests that had begun to form on Mizuki's lips vanished when he heard that conclusion. A female cat meant that they could get even more cats. He had originally wanted to get a male cat, but male cats couldn't make kittens and female cats could so his preference completely changed when he comprehended that and he nodded in agreement. "Yes, a girl!""We'll see about that…" Makoto chuckled awkwardly in an attempt to hide that the prospect of having a litter of kittens themselves made him incredibly exhilarated. The mental image of having so many tiny kittens to take care of and cuddle with melted Makoto's cat-loving heart, but rationally speaking he knew that raising kittens until they were old enough for adoption took a lot of time and effort, and he wasn't exactly sure if they could manage that. And then he didn't even mention the factor of how heartbreaking it must be to have to give the kittens they raised with so much love and care away to strangers. "If there's an older cat up for adoption then it doesn't matter what sex it is, and if we're getting a kitten then we can always see which one we want, just like with the fur, alright?""Alright," they said again, simultaneously now because they did see what their father meant."And…" Makoto continued in that voice that always indicated that he was about to tell them something thrilling, "If Daddy agrees and if we're getting a kitten… then maybe we can get two kittens."The large pairs of eyes that were staring up at him widened at that. "Really?!""Hmm," he hummed in confirmation before he turned his head so he could look at his husband, "But only if Daddy wants to as well.""Daddy?" Immediately the gazes were directed at him and Umiko and Mizuki looked at him while trying to put on their best sad, pleading puppy eyes and Haruka only sighed again."Okay," he said, making it seem like they convinced him rather than that he actually loved to have two as well. "But just so they have a friend and won't feel lonely.""Yay!""Then we can get a boy and a girl!" Mizuki cheered, but Makoto promptly shook his head in response."No, if we're getting two cats then we're either getting two boys or two girls.""What? Why?" Mizuki whined with a pout because he thought that had been a good solution; then they could get kittens and he still had a male cat too.Makoto didn't reply immediately, thinking of the best way to explain this to their four-year-old son and from the corner of his eye he sent Haruka a look that was asking for his assistance."Otherwise they'll fight," Haruka simply surmised, not really eager to get into the whole issue of mating and heat cycles, so he just fabricated a white lie that would scare them off the idea of wanting to get a male and a female cat. "We don't want the cats to fight, we want them to be friends.""But I thought anyone could be your friend regardless of if they're a boy or a girl," Umiko said, a confused frown settling on her face because her parents had taught her this themselves yet her dad was now claiming the opposite to be true."For humans it doesn't matter, but for cats it does," Haruka pointed out, hoping that she would accept that and wouldn't inquire any further because his lies didn't exactly have much basis.He was fortunate that he wasn't alone in this, because before the children had the chance to respond, his husband cut in to help him out. "But enough about cats for now," Makoto diverted with an innocent smile, "How was school today?"Luckily the children fell for it and began to jabber about their days. Because he had already heard these anecdotes earlier today, Haruka tuned them out for a moment and mixed some paint so he could get a lighter shade of green to fill in the scales on Makoto's arm, wanting to give them a shimmering, contrasting look. He wasn't sure if he would succeed because he didn't trust this type of paint to give the desired result, but it was worth a shot at the very least.The afternoon progressed like this, with Haruka working on Makoto's mermaid-tail-arm and putting his paintbrush down every once in a while to take some pictures while Umiko and Mizuki excitedly told their father about everything that they had done that day that was remarkable enough for them to recall. Since the children were pretty divided between painting and talking, not quite having figured out the art of multi-tasking yet, Haruka was able to finish the transformation of Makoto's arm before Umiko and Mizuki deemed themselves done with painting on Makoto's torso."I'm done," he called to get their attention and immediately three sets of curious eyes turned his way. He had only done the upside of his arm, since going around and doing his entire arm would have been much too time consuming."Wow!" Umiko gushed as she ran her gaze over her father's arm."It looks amazing, Haru," Makoto murmured as he stretched out his arm and fingers, shifting it so he could properly see it himself. "How did you even do this?"Knowing that it was just a rhetorical question, Haruka didn't answer it and just mumbled, "Thanks.""You should paint on Papa's legs so he really is a mermaid!" Mizuki suggested with an excited grin.The thought of that made Haruka chuckle awkwardly, "I'm not sure if that's a good idea, but painting on Papa is pretty fun so it would be nice to do that more often. If Papa allows us to, at least.""Of course," Makoto said with his angelic smile, and it shouldn't have been surprising that he agreed because Makoto used to model for him a lot in the past, so having to sit still for extensive periods of time was something he had gradually gotten used to. Next to that, Makoto loved to make his husband and their children happy so this was a small sacrifice for him if it meant that they were entertained for the afternoon."Daddy, you should paint Papa's other arm now!" Umiko proposed in a need to see even more of his talent brought to life through another drawing."Yeah!""Alright, what do you want me to make?" Haruka asked, not necessarily having an idea himself and wanting to let their kids get a request in. Maybe they had some good ideas, children had a very vivid imagination after all.It was quiet for a while as the children were thinking and in the meantime Haruka got up and walked around them before sitting down on Makoto's right side. He caressed Makoto's arm again, not so much to come up with an idea this time but just because he wanted to. After all those years, Makoto's arms were still so beautiful and they hadn't lost their shape whatsoever, and neither had the rest of his body courtesy of his job as a swim teacher and the generally healthy diet that was forced upon him by his husband's cooking - although forced was not exactly the correct word considering that he found every meal Haruka made for him absolutely delicious, like he was served little pieces of heaven. To appease his - and the children's - sweet tooth Haruka also made cakes and cookies every so often, but that in and of itself wasn't that bad because he made sure to balance it out enough. Besides, Haruka couldn't not do that even if he wanted to because he loved to spoil his three rays of sunshine, and seeing their beaming smiles when he served them some delicious homemade sweets always brightened up his day in every sense of the word."I know!" Mizuki suddenly exclaimed, halting the train of thought that had quickly left its track and calling Haruka to attention again. "A robot arm!""Yeah, that's cool!" Umiko chimed in, her eyes gleaming with exhilaration."A robot arm, huh?" Haruka mumbled under his breath, already trying to form a mental image in his head of what that would look like. He shot Makoto a questioning look and Makoto chuckled in response, not needing any words to know what his husband was asking him."Fine with me," he giggled, "I guess this is my chance to finally be a cool parent.""But you are cool, Papa!" their daughter insisted and her little brother wholeheartedly agreed."Yeah! The coolest!"Those declarations only made Makoto laugh harder. "Daddy, did you record that? I need to let them listen to that ten years from now to show them that they once thought I was cool."The confused reactions from Umiko and Mizuki made Haruka laugh as well. "You're going to change your minds about that one day," he told them, but their children didn't believe that at all which only added to their amusement."Are you implying that I'm not actually cool?" Makoto asked with feigned offense, but he was giggling too much to successfully execute this act.Biting his lip to repress his smile, Haruka raised his hand and placed it over his chest in an attempt to look as sincere as he could and he said, "You'll always be cool to me." Before he had properly finished his sentence, Haruka snorted because even though he did think Makoto was cool, he also thought he was a huge dork. And he loved that huge dork so much, it was almost ridiculous. He supposed that made him a dork as well, but he didn't mind it at all. They could be massive dorks together for every single day, for their entire lives."That doesn't sound very convincing, but I'll take what I can get," Makoto muttered and Haruka knew for sure that he had just read his mind because he could see the same sentiment reflected in the forest of deep green, could see the hints of a smile tugging at the corners of that lovely mouth that, in spite of being covered in paint, looked no less inviting than it usually did. The mere thought of it made his own lips tingle in a way that could only be resolved with a firm yet passionate kiss."Anyway," Haruka uttered, shaking his head to rid it of the stupid, love-struck thoughts. It was strange how the love and desire he felt for his husband had never dwindled, on the contrary, it seemed to have grown only stronger day by day. Then again, it wasn't that odd, because his husband was Makoto, the man who he had loved since they were merely kids themselves and who he would continue to adore until his very last breath left him - and probably long after that as well. When he realised that the smitten thoughts were still coursing through his head, he cleared his throat before he mumbled, "Robot arm."He grabbed a smaller brush this time and dipped it into some black paint as he began to lay out the basic form of Makoto's robot arm, following the natural shape of his biceps and triceps for a realistic effect. When he got the basic outline done, he slowly started to fill it in with some grey. He noticed that this robot arm would probably require much more time and concentration than the mermaid tail had because he had more experience drawing merpeople than robots. But he supposed it was a nice exercise and the children really wanted to see it, so he was determined to make this work.With that in mind, Haruka focused all of his attention on his husband's arm and continued to paint. The afternoon slowly passed but it seemed like the time had gone by much faster than it actually had and before Haruka knew it, the sun was starting to set. The children had finished their own images some time ago and were now content with just watching Haruka work, letting out little gasps of awe and making little suggestions of what they would like to see; per Mizuki's request, he drew bolts on the joints of his shoulder and elbow and Umiko thought it was too boring if it was only in various shades of grey so he added some dark reds on certain parts for her. In the meanwhile, Umiko wanted to take some pictures of her dad's work progressing as well so Makoto quickly explained which button she needed to press to snap photos.In the end, Makoto's robot arm didn't look realistic at all in Haruka's opinion, because rather than looking like a cyborg, he frankly just looked like someone painted onto his arm. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't necessarily great either but considering it was only his first time doing anything like this, Haruka told himself to be satisfied with it; he was sure he could do an even better job if he had better materials and references and maybe a little more practice. But no one shared his opinion of it not looking good though as Umiko, Mizuki and Makoto flooded him with compliments of how amazing and beautiful it was until he was practically drowning in them. From a more trained and experienced artistic point-of-view, Haruka knew that it wasn't that good, but if they loved it then everything was alright because that was all that really mattered.At last he put the brush down and took the camera from Umiko so he could take some final pictures of all of their drawings: the mermaid tail and robot arms that Haruka had drawn, the heart on Makoto's chest and flowers and butterflies on his abdomen that Mizuki had made, and the big orange cat surrounded by little kittens and framed by curly and colourful lines that Umiko had painted on Makoto's back. It was a shame that unlike with canvases and papers, these drawings couldn't be preserved, let alone be stuck on the fridge, but fortunately they still had the pictures and memories they could safekeep and cherish.Once he had taken numerous photos just to be sure, Haruka stretched out his back and Makoto directly followed his lead."Well then," Haruka muttered, "If the three of you go take a bath, then I'll clean up this mess and get started on dinner.""But if Papa takes a bath then the paint will go away!" Umiko protested, a somber pout forming on her lips at the thought of all of their hard work going down the shower drain."That's kind of the point," he replied, understanding that it made her sad but knowing that that was really necessary, "You can't expect Papa to walk around with paint on his body.""Still, it's a waste…" Mizuki thought as a sorrowful expression appeared on his face as well."I'm sorry," Makoto apologised sincerely, for even if he knew that he had to wash it off, having to disappoint their children still stung him regardless. The gears in his head were turning as he tried to come up with something that would cheer them up a little. "Even if I don't bathe, the paint is going to wear off sooner or later anyway, and then it will look really deformed. So it's better if I wash it off entirely now so your drawings will stay pretty until the end. And besides, we always have the pictures to look back on.""Think of Papa as a whiteboard," Haruka added, also wanting to lift up Umiko and Mizuki's spirits while simultaneously wanting to make sure that his husband could bathe like he definitely should, "If the whiteboard is full, then it's pretty but you can't draw or write on it anymore. But if you clean it off, then you can draw on it again and again.""So we can draw on Papa again?" Mizuki questioned, interest lighting up in his sea-green eyes at that prospect."Yes, of course," Makoto affirmed with his ever-gentle smile. "I'm not sure how easily this paint will come off, though, so we might want to look into some actual body paint for that next time.""Okay," Umiko replied, a tiny smile blossoming on her lips as she thought of all the things she could draw on her father in the future. She was going to practice a lot on paper so that the next time her father was her canvas, she had improved a little and could maybe draw something similar to her dad's paintings."And if it makes you feel a little better, then I can give you two a bath first so you can look at your drawings a little longer. Is that alright?" he proposed, the kind expression on his face never wavering, his eyes holding the softness and fondness that they always had when he was looking at their children."Yeah!"Those chiming answers made Makoto tilt his head sideways in that adorable habit before he said, "Why don't you go on upstairs then and I'll be there in a second.""Alright!" they reiterated before they bolted off and disappeared inside, leaving their parents behind in the backyard."Are you sure you can manage cleaning all of this up?" Makoto asked just to make sure, "I'll help you.""It's fine," Haruka muttered, rejecting his husband's offer to help but appreciating it nonetheless, "You really need to go take a bath.""I do," Makoto chuckled in confirmation, "I don't know how I currently look, but I'm assuming I look terrible.""You could never look terrible," Haruka murmured sincerely as he averted his eyes, "Not even with a whole bucket's worth of paint on your face." Because Makoto was so unbelievably gorgeous, both inside and out, there was nothing that could ever take away his immense beauty.The somewhat shy words that left Haruka's lips only made Makoto's smile soften in affection; the smile that had always been his. Makoto reached out and placed his hand over Haruka's own, intertwining their fingers before he lifted them to his face and pressed a loving kiss against the back of Haruka's hand. "Thank you, Haru-chan.""I told you to stop with the '-chan'," Haruka mumbled under his breath and Makoto only chuckled again, softly as to not disrupt the tranquility that always seemed to settle between the two of them. Instead of muttering a remorseless apology like he would have in any other situation, Makoto only squeezed his hand lightly and naturally Haruka squeezed back to return the silent gesture of adoration. It was quiet for only a second before Haruka broke it again. "Makoto?""Hm?" Makoto hummed, his eyebrows raising in a questioning look that encouraged him to speak his mind."Sorry about the paint and… welcome home."Instead of responding verbally, Makoto raised his free hand and cupped Haruka's cheek before he kissed him chastely, making sure to keep his mouth closed so Haruka wouldn't have to taste the paint that stained his lips. It was only a short peck, but it conveyed everything Makoto needed him to know; that he didn't need to be sorry for the paint-surprise because he had really enjoyed himself and, "I'm home."It was a small whisper against Haruka's lips, so quiet that it was almost inaudible but Haruka had heard him clearly, had felt it in every fiber of his being and he briefly rested his forehead against Makoto's as his eyes fluttered open and his cheek was caressed by a large hand. The touches lingered for a moment before they pulled away, knowing that they could only last this briefly because they still had stuff to do. But Haruka promised himself that he would let out all his cravings for his husband's affections later that day, when it was just the two of them for at least a couple of hours.As if that thought had been read, Makoto stood up and offered out his hand to help Haruka get up as well. Even if he didn't really need it, Haruka would never reject that hand and allowed his husband to effortlessly pull him up like he had done for so many years already and would continue to do in the future.Once they were both upright, Haruka gave his hand one final squeeze before he let go. "Come on, you really need to go take a bath.""Yeah," Makoto agreed with a longing smile before he realised something, "But how will I get the paint off my back?"That question gave Haruka the mental image of Makoto in the shower in a flailing mess of limbs as he tried to scrub his own back and he snorted lightly. "I'll help you. I'll clean this up first and then I'll come upstairs to help you out.""Thanks, Haru," Makoto beamed, grabbing his discarded shirt off the ground to be thrown with the rest of the laundry before he chuckled as well, "Then you can go wash your own face as well.""Oh yeah," Haruka sighed, since he had already forgotten that he had paint on his face as well. He really hoped it'd come off, because having to walk around with these kiss-marks on his face was pretty embarrassing."I really hope the paint comes off too because I think I look a little more embarrassing than you do," Makoto remarked, proving that he still hadn't lost his ability to read his mind and Haruka laughed lightly."Yeah, yeah, just go upstairs," he said in what was supposed to be a scolding manner but came out more amused than anything else, "The children are waiting on you."Makoto only stuck out his tongue in a childish response before he went inside and disappeared from sight as well.Shaking his head in a mixture of endearment and happiness, Haruka sighed again as he began to clear off the mess that they had made in the backyard.They were a handful, really, but they were all Haruka could ever ask for and more. Even if cleaning up their mess was quite troublesome sometimes, he always did it gladly because he loved them immensely and it was a small price to pay for their happiness. And as long as they were happy, then so was he.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
"Here, Haru."His husband's warm voice called Haruka to attention, looking up from his laptop to meet Makoto's smile as he offered him his steaming mug of tea. "Thanks," Haruka replied as he accepted the drink, "There are some leftover cookies in the microwave if you want.""Oh, thanks!" Makoto beamed as he put his own mug down onto his coaster - that had been a Father's Day present from Umiko last year - before he went back to the kitchen to retrieve them.The way Makoto's face lit up in almost childlike excitement at the mention of the cookies made Haruka feel fuzzy inside, glad that he had made the choice to keep some behind for him. He smiled a little to himself as he took a small sip of his beverage, immediately regretting it as the liquid burned his lips. After all the years he'd been on this planet, he still didn't understand how some people could drink piping hot tea without it scorching their tongue and esophagus; as a child he had thought it was something that all adults could do, like the inside of their mouth built some type of heat-resistant shield over time. But as he had grown older without developing it, he had come to the unfortunate conclusion that his mouth would never get used to the heat. So he settled for blowing on the surface to cool it down before he would make a second attempt.The smile that was on Makoto's face when he sat down on the chair beside him, foil-wrapped treats in hand, soothed the pain in Haruka's lips almost instantly. His sunny smile had healing properties, or so it had proven time and time again.Makoto muttered a quick expression of gratitude as he opened the foil and he didn't waste a second before sinking his teeth in one of the cookies. The moan of delight that sounded out made all the effort that went into his homemade chocolate-chip cookies more than worthwhile; Haruka enjoyed baking, but he couldn't deny that the majority of that enjoyment stemmed from the adorable and grateful faces of his family when they tasted their favourite snacks and pastries."Ah, your cookies are definitely the best," Makoto sighed, and though Haruka knew his standards weren't exactly high when it came to anything involving chocolate, he appreciated the compliment nonetheless. "Here, you should have some too.""It's alright, I already had one this afternoon," Haruka dismissed, "Besides, I held them back for you.""But I don't mind sharing with you," Makoto said, as if that was something that hadn't become obvious already after all those years of split popsicles and shared drinks."I know, but it's fine. You like them more than I do anyway.""Oh come on," Makoto sang as he playfully nudged his husband's mouth with the cookie, "How can you resist something so delicious?"With a huff of fondness and a slight roll of his eyes, Haruka complied and took a small bite.A content grin settled on Makoto's face. "See? Irresistible, aren't they?"The only things that were irresistible in this room were those compelling, gorgeous eyes of his, that honeysweet voice that could talk its way through anything, and those lips that could make anyone hang on to every last word that left them. Those lips that just had to be kissed whenever the opportunity presented itself.Before Haruka had the chance to reply, Makoto continued, "They're just so good, but they can't compete with your brownies."Oh, there it was. Haruka could already predict the request that would fall from his lips next, dyed in that same tone that Umiko had used earlier that day when she asked him if they could get a dog. She had learned it from the master, after all."Haru?" When Haruka looked up at him in acknowledgement, he murmured softly, "Can you make brownies next time?"Haruka sighed. They both knew that Makoto was asking a question he already knew the answer to. "No.""Please?" Makoto leaned closer to him, giving him his best puppy-eyed pout in an attempt to sway him.Another sigh escaped his lips. He hated when Makoto did this, because Makoto knew just how sensitive Haruka was to his pleas. Still, Haruka knew he had to stand his ground, otherwise he'd be making brownies every other day if it were up to his husband. "No," he repeated sternly, "next time is Umiko's pick. You already had brownies last time.""She'll probably pick lemon muffins again," Makoto stated with disappointment as he put his cheek down on his arms, that were folded on the table, yet he didn't avert his forest green eyes. "Don't get me wrong, those are delicious too, but like I said, nothing can beat your brow-""If you're going to try to persuade someone," Haruka cut off his manipulative flattery, "then try Umiko. Maybe you can get her to pick brownies instead.""That's never going to work," Makoto mumbled dejectedly, "If it was Mizuki's turn then maybe I'd have a chance, but there's no way Umiko is going to give up her muffins for brownies."It wasn't like Haruka didn't know that, because he knew better than anyone else how much Umiko loved his lemon muffins; she would always hang around the kitchen while he was making them, her excitement building up as the sweet scent wafted from the oven. But when he was in a pinch like he was now, with Makoto purposely playing into his weakness for that sad look on his stupidly handsome face, Haruka had to try every trick in the book to shift Makoto's arrows away from him. It wasn't like he was throwing their daughter under the bus though, because Umiko wasn't afraid to tell him 'no' and she was more than capable of rejecting her father's deals if he proposed something that she didn't want to go along with. She was steadfast, unlike Haruka.Trying his best to come off as nonchalant in order to brush off the subject, he said, "Well, that's too bad then.""Oh, it's alright," Makoto responded with alarming positivity, pulling himself from the table to rest his jaw on his knuckles instead, sly smirk forming on his lovely features. "I'm much better at persuading you anyway."The cunning look in Makoto's eyes was the start of Haruka's demise. He breathed in deeply before he took a large gulp of his tea, that was still slightly too hot for his liking, but he had to do something to brace himself for his inevitable downfall; Makoto truly had him wrapped around his finger and if he set his mind to something, then he wouldn't back down until he had achieved his goal."You know, Haru…" Makoto whispered, his voice dropping an octave to become even more sultry and seductive than usual. "If you spoil me, I'll spoil you." To top it off, he quirked his eyebrow suggestively in a way that said more than spoken words ever could.Haruka bit his bottom lip to keep himself from being bribed by his husband's downright indecent yet incredibly appealing offer. "What about the kids?" he questioned. After all, it was unfair if Makoto got something extra and they didn't, and they would surely complain about it. He wouldn't hear the end of it until he caved in and made them something too."They don't need to know," Makoto thought, leaning closer and never breaking their eye-contact. "Some things should stay between us, as parents. I could finish an entire batch before they're even awake.""That's mean," Haruka snorted, unable to keep himself from smiling at his desperate attempts. He knew Makoto was just teasing though, because even though he loved brownies enough to trade himself in exchange, he would never do something like that behind the backs of their sweethearts."The end justifies the means," Makoto simply reasoned with a shrug, but then he went back to his previous tactic. "Come on, Haru-chan," he resumed, drawing out every word and slowly stroking his fingertips over Haruka's bare arm, "I'll do anything you want."Interest piqued even more, Haruka pursed his lips to seem like he was contemplating it. "Anything?""Anything," Makoto vowed, and after over thirty years of being together, Makoto had yet to break a promise he made to him."Alright," Haruka gave in, "If you fulfill your part of the deal first, then I'll see what I can do."Within a second Makoto's mask of allure and flirtatiousness crumbled to be replaced by a wide and excited grin. "Yes, thank you!" he cheered and he pressed a light kiss against Haruka's lips in gratitude.Having known that it would always eventually end up like this, Haruka couldn't help but shake his head, trying to repress a tiny smile at his husband's reaction but failing to do so. "I guess we'll have a feast this weekend then," he said, because if he made something for Makoto outside of his turn, then he automatically had to make something for Umiko and Mizuki too. Umiko's turn would just be shifted through to the next time."Wait, that's not fair!" Makoto objected, a frown of feigned offense twisting his eyebrows, "They get their treats for free while I have to work for it."That made Haruka snort again. "Work? Don't act like this isn't a win-win for you either way. As if you aren't going to enjoy every minute of this so-called 'work'." If there was anyone who was the loser in this scenario, it was Haruka himself: he now had to bake to get the sex he always got anyway, because there wasn't a time when Makoto didn't spoil him during their love-making. Truthfully, he didn't mind it though, because he'd do pretty much anything to make his family happy."That's true," Makoto admitted, hiding his playful grin in his mug as he took a sip, "I'll gladly work every day, especially now that I know I can get brownies with it too."There was no going back now; Haruka had created a monster. "If you keep talking like this then that will be the last time I'm ever making you anything," he warned, but they both knew that it was an empty threat."No, it won't," Makoto replied a bit too confidently for Haruka's liking, "You love me too much to stop making me stuff."Haruka despised that he couldn't even argue that, because it was nothing but the truth. "Oh, just shut up and eat your cookies," he grumbled as he nudged Makoto with his elbow, though there could never be any real annoyance at his husband, not even when the answer he got was bellowing laughter. He really did love him too much.Makoto was going to pay for this, Haruka promised himself. He was going to tease him until he teared up and couldn't do anything but beg, and he would regret having proposed this in the first place. He would have to earn those brownies.But those plans would have to wait until later. He wanted to drink his tea and talk a little while he finished up his work before they retreated to their bedroom."You're really spoiling the children too today," Haruka remarked, the corners of his mouth curling up ever so slightly, "First letting them use you as a canvas, then promising them a cat, and now they're going to get pastries thanks to you too.""Oh, speaking of which!" Makoto blurted as he suddenly got up, "I was looking on the website of our local shelter earlier, and I saw two cats that caught my attention."The quick change in the atmosphere that surrounded them would have been a surprise to anyone, but not to Haruka. They had always possessed the ability to fleet from one topic to the next so naturally, because they understood each other better than anyone else. Therefore, the meaning of their conversations, verbal or silent, never got lost regardless of the circumstances."When did you have time to do that?" Haruka questioned sceptically when Makoto returned to his side with his glasses in hand. After they had all bathed and had eaten dinner, they played together for a little while before they went to put Umiko and Mizuki to bed. There wasn't exactly a time gap in-between that allowed Makoto to leisurely scroll through a website, no less a page that was filled with the cutest of cats."I always have time for cats," Makoto simply replied, an answer that was so typically him. He slipped his glasses onto his nose and Haruka still wasn't used to how stunning he looked with the black rims framing his green irises, just like the masterpiece he was. "May I?" he asked as he gestured to the open and forgotten laptop."Yeah, of course."When Makoto slid his finger over the touchpad, the dark screen lit up again to reveal a picture that was taken just this afternoon, of Umiko, Mizuki and himself displaying the biggest smiles on their paint-coated faces. "What were you doing?" he questioned as he minimised the window and opened the web browser."Clearing off the SD card," Haruka said, "We took a lot of pictures today and I wanted to make sure we'd have enough memory for tomorrow." It was going to be the first beach day of the year and the children had grown so much since the last time they went, so he knew he had to take lots of pictures."Ah, I see. They would be really disappointed if you made them into mermaids again like last year and couldn't take pictures of it," Makoto muttered, thinking back to how often Umiko and Mizuki had wanted to see the pictures of them with their tails made from sand. "It's cute though. Maybe that's something that we can do every year, to see how much they grow and change over the years.""Yeah, I'd like that," Haruka agreed, for even though they had more than enough regular pictures of them and would definitely take even more in the future, it would be nice to have a series of photos with the same pose and setting. "I'm sure they won't mind either.""On the contrary," Makoto chuckled, already envisioning their radiating smiles and elation when they would hear about it. "It'll be a good addition to the albums.""About that. I was going to sort out the pictures we made earlier to select which ones to print for this album. Want to help?" Haruka proposed, because looking through those pictures would be twice the fun if done together with his husband. Although photo albums were a bit outdated and old fashioned, Haruka liked having physical books to thumb through while reminiscing about their most treasured memories. But because they had enough pictures to fill up almost every single photo album in the nation, only the best images were granted a spot on the pages."Sure! But first, I have to show you these cats," Makoto insisted as he looked back at the screen, typed the link into the search bar and began to scroll through the website. "Their names are Princess and Duchess and they're looking for an owner who will treat them like royalty," he quoted, laughing lightly as he scrolled through the thumbnails to search for their article.In that case, Haruka already knew that Makoto was the perfect candidate; where Makoto had Haruka wrapped around his finger, every feline had Makoto wrapped around its paw. But admittedly, if they had a cat then Haruka himself would coddle it too, though perhaps a bit more subtly."Ah, here they are," Makoto gushed as he clicked on their picture. Two cats appeared on the screen, a white one and an orange tabby one, both incredibly adorable. It was fitting, considering Umiko had wanted an orange cat while Mizuki was adamant about having a white one, and if these cats were to become theirs, then they'd both get their way. "The white one is Princess and she's seven years old," Makoto read out loud, excitement shining through in his voice, "And the orange cat, Duchess, is five. They were brought to the shelter because their previous owner, an elderly lady, passed away and none of her family members or acquaintances could take them in."Haruka smiled melancholically as he looked at the pictures. It was always sad when pets outlived their owner, because that meant that their entire world was gone in an instant. Although he felt bad for every animal that was forced to live in a shelter, because they all deserved a loving home, the thought of Princess and Duchess being torn apart from their owner and familiar environment made his heart ache. It did make him want to adopt them - frankly, hearing every pet's sad backstory made him want to adopt it, but he couldn't let that show because, between his husband and their kids, Haruka had to be the responsible one when it came to pets or else their house would become a zoo if it were up to them."They are looking for a loving owner who will treat them like royalty," Makoto continued reading, "Duchess is very playful, while Princess prefers to laze around and eat treats all day. They're very friendly, sweet and are not hostile towards strangers. They both love being pet and enjoy cuddling too. Cannot be separated. Suitable for families with small children and other pets. And, they are both neutered," he added with a chuckle, "so Umiko and Mizuki's wish to have kittens would go unfulfilled. What do you think?"His gorgeous eyes held an enthusiastic gleam that told Haruka that even though he wanted his input and approval, he was already imagining Princess and Duchess leisurely strolling around their house and cuddling with them on the couch. He was lucky that Haruka had already taken a liking to them as well. "They sound perfect.""I thought so too!" Makoto beamed, as if that wasn't obvious enough yet.His excitement was cute though; he hadn't changed at all since he was just a kid himself. It made Haruka think about all those times they were almost late because Makoto got distracted by a cat on his way to his house. He never seemed to be able to resist those pleading eyes and soft paws, making him forget all about his surroundings and his plans for the day, mind engulfed by smooth fur and a cute nose. It had given Haruka a lot of pruney fingers over the years, but the dishevelled look on his red face when he apologised and explained why he was so late made up for it by a landslide. It was endearing, and Haruka couldn't wait to see him play with some cats again. It never failed to made him question which was cuter: the cat or his husband."Shall I send them an email to let them know we're interested?" he suggested, wide grin splitting his face in half.Definitely the latter."Sure," Haruka said, a smaller yet nonetheless joyous smile forming on his lips like it always inevitably would when he was around Makoto. "But let's not tell Umiko and Mizuki yet, at least until they reply. Just so it can be a surprise, but also so that they won't be disappointed if something comes up and we can't adopt them after all.""Yeah," Makoto concurred, "The shelter requires visitations before they allow anyone to adopt one of their pets, just so they can see if the pet matches the people. If they think we'd be suited to adopt them, they'll schedule an appointment with us so we can meet them. Until then, we'll keep it a secret from Umiko and Mizuki. It would be bad if they fell in love with them but the shelter didn't think we were a good match.""Hm," Haruka hummed. Though there was still the chance of them not being a match after they met, at that point the risk of that happening was significantly smaller and unavoidable. Besides, the thought of Umiko and Mizuki sitting in the back of the car while heading to a surprise destination, curious and eagerly throwing around guesses of where they thought they were going, only to end up at the shelter to meet their potential pets, was incredibly cute and he wouldn't want to pass up on seeing that.Makoto typed out a quick email to the address mentioned on the website, describing them and the children and explaining that they were looking to expand their family with a feline friend, and when they stumbled upon Princess and Duchess, they instantly caught their attention because they seemed perfect to be the new members of their household. He wrote that they would like to meet them and, to save a bit of back and forth, he let them know which days and at what times they were available.Before he sent it, he let Haruka check it over and changed some things upon Haruka's suggestion. "Ah, I can't wait!" Makoto sighed, and Haruka thought it was safe to say that he was utterly ecstatic, "I hope they reply soon.""Me too," he said as he took ahold of Makoto's hand, rubbing his cheek along the back of it before he placed a kiss against his knuckles. After over eighteen years of talking about it, the time to fulfill their thirty-year-old promise had certainly come and he couldn't wait until their family was finally completed with a feline friend or two. "You better tone down your excitement though, otherwise the children will immediately know something is up," he teased, though he couldn't deny his words held a hint of truth."Yeah, sorry," Makoto muttered sheepishly, grinning at his own childlike joy, "I just really am excited.""So am I," Haruka assured and he pressed another kiss against his skin, hiding his own smile behind their linked fingers."There's nothing we can do now but wait until they get back to us," Makoto stated as he rubbed his thumb over Haruka's hand, "So in the meanwhile, how about we sort out those pictures, hm?""Sounds good." After all, that was what he had originally planned to do this evening, before Makoto disrupted it with talk about brownies and cats. Their deal could wait a little longer."How many pictures did you want to print?" Makoto asked as he clicked away the internet tabs and reopened the minimised image window, making the picture of their children and him pop up again."I didn't have a specific number in mind," Haruka said, warmth emerging in his stomach upon seeing that adorable photo once more; he was so glad that he had decided to go get the camera because he really wouldn't have wanted to miss out on having these photos. "I just figured we'd go through all of them and then select the nicest ones that aren't too similar to one another.""Sounds good," Makoto echoed with his sunny smile, drinking the last sip of his beverage and he got up, "But first, I'm going to make some more tea. Want another cup too?""Wait a second," Haruka mumbled, downing the tea that he still had left - that had fortunately cooled down considerably - in one swift gulp before he handed Makoto his empty mug, "Thanks.""No problem!"Once they both had a refill of their drinks - that were now scalding again, Haruka cautiously reminded himself - and Makoto was seated back at the table, they began to look through the pictures. Makoto flicked the arrow key with his finger as he munched on another cookie. They added their coos and commentary with every picture that begged for it, and Haruka made a mental note of all the numbers belonging to the pictures that stood out to him so he could bring them up for discussion later. It wouldn't surprise him if they liked all the same pictures though.After a dozen or two, they arrived at the video that Haruka had shot and although it wasn't a contender since he obviously couldn't put a video in a photo album, the still image of it was so sweet that Haruka's heart ached to watch it. Apparently it wasn't alone, because Makoto's fingers shifted to the touch pad, bringing the image to life with a single click."Hey," Haruka heard himself say, voice slightly contorted, at least to his own ears, "What are you doing?""We're painting on Papa," video-Umiko beamed with a smile, and although he had seen it all before just a few hours earlier, Haruka couldn't help but smile too in fondness."Oh, really? So what are you painting?""It's a secret!""How cute," Makoto sighed, reminding Haruka that while he had seen it all already, Makoto had experienced this scene from a different angle and the faces of their children hadn't been within his sight. "We really picked the cutest kids, didn't we?""We sure did," Haruka breathed in amusement. As if they could have known that the babies they had been waiting on would turn out to be this cute, though they had already been the cutest back then. It was fitting, considering their father was nothing short of absolutely adorable himself."The cutest kids for the cutest Daddy," Makoto commented, and even if it had sounded like he was just messing with his husband, Haruka knew him well enough to know he had genuinely meant it."Oh, shut up," Haruka groaned, acting like he hadn't been thinking the exact same thing. But Makoto didn't need to know that.The cheeky smile and playful glint in his beautiful eyes told Haruka that it was more than clear that they had shared the same thought about their beloved. Curse Makoto's ability to read his mind.Thankfully, video-Mizuki chimed in before Haruka had the chance to feel embarrassed. "I'm making a heart. Because the paint means love and I love Papa.""I love you too," Makoto replied, and although he had timed it to seem like he was responding to their son, the way he peered at him from the corner of his eyes told Haruka that it was meant for him too.Haruka rolled his eyes, yet he couldn't resist giving Makoto's hand a light squeeze to return the sentiment. After all those years of being in a relationship with Makoto, Haruka had learned there were countless of ways to say those three meaningful words, and he was determined to show Makoto whenever he could, especially during times when he couldn't get the words past his lips for whatever reason.Thankfully, Makoto understood every single way without it having to be explained. A gentle smile tugged at his mouth as he continued to watch the video in silence. No words were spoken, but nothing was being left unsaid.When the clip finished, they resumed looking through the pictures and Makoto marvelled at the artworks adorning his skin. He hadn't been able to see the finished result of what his family drew on him properly, and he was in awe by it all; most praises went out to his husband's work because he was so impressed by it, but Haruka could tell that his compliments about their children's drawings were genuine too. As for things involving chocolate, Makoto's standards for art weren't exactly high either considering his own artistic ability had peaked when he was around six himself.It didn't take much longer until they reached the last picture on the camera roll, but when it came to choosing pictures, they ran into more discussion points than Haruka had initially expected."Come on, Haru," Makoto whined as he drew circles with the cursor around a close-up of Haruka, where the kiss-marks on his face were visible and distinct, "This one's so cute!""No, it's not," Haruka argued, face heating up in a cocktail of being flustered and abashed with a smidge of feeling flattered, "It's not necessary to have a shot of me alone because it's not about me anyway, but about the kids.""Oh?" Makoto questioned, eyes widening in bewilderment. "If it's about the kids then why have you already selected more than four pictures of me alone?"Feeling caught, Haruka quickly muttered, "It's about the kids and you.""It's about us, as a family," Makoto persisted, "A family that you are a part of too."While Makoto certainly had a point, Haruka just didn't want embarrassing pictures of him to take up the space in the album that could much better be used for pictures of his husband and their children. He didn't have a smile as adorable as theirs anyway - though he was sure he would be met with fierce denial if he voiced that thought."If there are no pictures of you then it's like you weren't even there," Makoto pressed on, and though Haruka understood him to some extent, the stubborn side of him didn't want to give in this easily."There aren't no pictures of me; we picked that one picture of Mizuki and me," Haruka disputed, "Besides, someone had to take the pictures so I was obviously there."Makoto let out a big sigh as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'm not going to bicker about this with you, Haru," he said with a shake of his head, knowing that Haruka was purposely being obstinate, "This picture is going in the album even if I have to print it and put it in myself."Contrary to Haruka's, Makoto's words definitely weren't an empty threat and Haruka knew he would actually do it. The only thing he was risking here was Makoto potentially getting the hang of it and filling up their family albums with even more pictures of him alone. It was better to give in now than to have to do damage control afterwards."Fine," he huffed exaggeratedly, making sure that Makoto knew just how displeased he was about this as he copied the picture and pasted it into the separate folder designated to be printed.This time Makoto decided not to flaunt his victory - because in the end, he would always win anyway - and simply continued on with the next picture.After that, they were pretty unanimous on most photos. Not wanting to get into another discussion about it, Haruka allowed Makoto to select some more pictures featuring him. It was a little unfair if Haruka plastered Makoto's image all over the pages of their photo albums but Makoto wasn't allowed to do the same thing in return; Haruka did it because he simply loved to see his husband's beautiful face - whether it was covered in paint or not - and he figured Makoto probably felt the same way about him. So he was a bit more compliant than he was at first, proving once more that Makoto really did have him wrapped around his finger.When they got to the pictures where Umiko, Mizuki and Haruka were painting Makoto's skin, a sweet smile stretched Haruka's lips. "We should do this more often," he mumbled, "They had a lot of fun." And honestly, he had too. Seeing their children draw on his husband was very cute, but he couldn't deny the desire that welled up inside of him to have the canvas of Makoto's body to himself sometime, just like he used to."Yeah," Makoto responded, mirroring his smile, "But we should really get some actual body paint then; my skin is still raw and sore from all the scrubbing.""I know," Haruka snorted, realising that he had been lucky; in comparison to the coats of paint that decorated his family's faces - and in Makoto's case, his body too - his share of colour was scarce and rather easily removed. Umiko and Mizuki had come off fairly unscathed too because the paint stained their skins far more superficially. It was Makoto who was the real victim in this case; it had taken the two of them scrubbing his skin together to rid it of all the paint, and it was now up to the washing machine to get all the paint out of those numerous washcloths.Now he felt a bit guilty that Makoto was aching because of his jokes and suggestions. While he couldn't have known that the paint would be such a drag to clean off and Makoto had given them permission to draw on his body, he couldn't help but feel a little bad about it since it had all been his idea.Perhaps he really did deserve those brownies after all.But Haruka didn't feel bad for long; one flash of that toothpaste commercial-worthy smile and every splinter of guilt melted like snow at the touch of a warm, encompassing hand of support."Well, at least it's all gone now," Makoto soothed with that velvety voice, making Haruka's heart overflow with affection."Actually, I think you still have something on your face," Haruka remarked, trying his best to keep himself from grinning."Huh? Where?" Makoto stumbled in surprise, frantically feeling around his skin."Here, let me help you," Haruka offered with the slightest hint of a chuckle, grabbing Makoto's chin with his fingers and tilting his head downwards so he could plant his lips upon his in the firm kiss he had been craving all evening.Makoto's chest deflated as he snorted, relieved that there wasn't actually any lingering blotches of paint on his skin and pleasantly surprised by what he found on his face instead. He smiled into the kiss, gladly returning the gesture because after all those years, he still hadn't grown tired of kissing his husband's enticing lips and he was sure he never would either."There," Haruka whispered against his mouth when he ended the kiss, eyes fluttering open to wander through the forest of Makoto's irises, "it's gone now."There was no way Makoto could hide the smile that was fighting its way onto his handsome features at Haruka's teasingly loving action. "Wait," he murmured as he leaned his forehead against Haruka's, "I think it might have rubbed off on you. Let me get that for you."A giggle of pure happiness erupted all the way from Haruka's stomach at Makoto's clever rebuttal, like a volcano of love that spewed around adoration to seep into every last part of his body. So when he felt Makoto's hand cupping his cheek, he didn't hesitate for even a millisecond before he closed the distance between them again.Makoto took control over the kiss seamlessly, pouring a lot more passion and fervor into it than Haruka had previously done. But he wasn't complaining, because the tenderness in their shared kisses never got lost; it was always soft and sensual, just how they both liked. Briefly Makoto deepened the kiss and despite Haruka not having expected it, he wasn't displeased by it at all. They honestly didn't kiss like this often enough, at least not as often as Haruka would have liked. Therefore, he had to savour this intimacy when he could, and perhaps that meant that he should initiate it more frequently in the future. He was sure Makoto would have no objections to the prospect of that.When Makoto's lips parted from his, Haruka was left feeling hungry for more. The familiar heat was starting to build up in his lower belly, so instead of feeding his hunger with another delightful kiss, Haruka decided to push it away for now. He would have plenty of time to devour his husband and satiate every craving later.Instead of playing into his husband's budding desire, Makoto took another course of action and gently nuzzled his nose with his own. Instantly, the heat morphed into fondness, overwhelming adoration that warmed him from the inside out in a completely different manner, and Haruka knew it was Makoto's way of appeasing him for now. But he certainly didn't miss the promise for more if he were patient."There, now it's really gone," Makoto stated with a breath of laughter, "so we can continue to sort out the pictures without any more hindrances.""Thank God," Haruka said sarcastically, because he had minded these so-called hindrances so much, it was unbelievable.Makoto only laughed some more, pressing one more short but sweet kiss against his husband's lips for good measure.It didn't take much longer for them to finish sorting out the pictures. Haruka was more than satisfied with their selection - besides the few hiccups of images that Makoto was resolute about because he apparently 'looked so cute in them that it would be a waste not to put them in' - and he knew that today would be an amazing addition to their gallery of wonderful days. It was a shame they were done though; he could reminisce about their countless of memories, old or fresh, for hours and he would enjoy every second of it.Apparently, he wasn't alone in this. Makoto went back to the overview of all their folders and images, wondering, "Do you want to look through some more pictures?" The smile he wore made it evident that he had enjoyed himself too and would love to walk further down memory lane. When Haruka nodded, small smile painted on his lovely features, Makoto continued, "Which ones should we start at?" hovering the cursor over some of the folders, labeled with events and their corresponding dates."Wait." Haruka got up from his chair and padded off without another word."Haru?"Ignoring Makoto's questioning call of his name, Haruka left the room and climbed the staircase, disappearing from sight. Makoto would see what he was doing soon enough, so he didn't bother explaining it. When he walked down the steps again, his arms were filled with books. "I made all of these photo albums for a reason."An amused puff escaped Makoto's lips when it got through to him what Haruka was doing. "You should have told me and I would have helped carry them. They must be heavy.""It's fine," Haruka dismissed, setting down the pile on the table with a loud thud that betrayed the weight of it. He might not have been a strong as his husband, but that didn't mean that he couldn't do anything by himself.As if those words were written on his face, Makoto chuckled, "I know you're more than capable, Haru-chan, but that doesn't mean I can't help you out." After all, he would always be there to shoulder his burdens and would gladly do so for the rest of their lives, or so he had vowed. He didn't say this out loud, but Haruka could hear it all the same."I told you to stop with the '-chan' already," Haruka grumbled, but even after three decades of being called that unsolicited nickname, there was still no real bite in his words. If he was speaking to Makoto, there was affection laced through his tone regardless of what they were talking about."Sorry, sorry," Makoto apologised, and it remained to be the only insincere apology that would ever leave his lips. He lifted the laptop and put it further back onto the table, clearing the space that an open photo album would require.These weren't even all the photo albums they had, because it would take days to go through all of those, so Haruka had just grabbed a few that stood together on one of the shelves in the office. The others were packed away in the attic; they still wanted to clean up the attic sometime and build a bookcase so they could keep all the albums organised neatly from old to new, but they hadn't gotten to it yet. It would be a good task to take care of during the summer, when they had some time off work and could clean up the entire place at once. Until then, these albums would have to stay safe and sound on the shelves along with other books.Haruka sat down again, scooting a bit closer to Makoto as he grabbed the album at the top of the stack. Opening it revealed that it was the most recent album, the one that wasn't full yet and that the pictures of today would go in. It didn't surprise Haruka since he remembered adding to it just recently, but he was still pleasantly surprised to see the pictures of last December.They had taken a trip to Hokkaido to spend Christmas and New Years with his parents. Due to the distance, they didn't get to see each other as often as they would have liked, so when his mother called them to invite their family over for the occasion, they didn't need to think twice. The kids were very excited about it; contrary to Grandma and Grandpa Tachibana who they saw at least a few days per week, they only got to see Grandma and Grandpa Nanase in person a couple of times per year at best and they had been looking forward to it ever since they heard about their plans.Haruka would be lying if he said that he hadn't been looking forward to it too. He was so glad and grateful that Makoto's family lived so close by, they were truly his family and he loved them with all his heart, but he did miss his own parents and wished that they could be here in Iwatobi with them. Umiko and Mizuki were their only grandchildren and Haruka wanted his parents to be able to watch them grow up just like Grandma and Grandpa Tachibana could. Although being doting grandparents didn't come as naturally to them as it did to Makoto's parents, he knew they were trying because they loved the kids immensely, and being around them more frequently would help them grow into the roles that they wanted to be but didn't quite know how to yet.There had been talk about his parents possibly moving back to Iwatobi once they both retired and Haruka dearly hoped they would. Not only because he wanted them to be more involved in Umiko and Mizuki's childhood, but also just in Makoto's and his life. Haruka could say that this was probably the happiest he had ever been in his entire life and he wanted to share that with his parents. Their little family would soon be completed with the additions of a feline friend or two, and he wanted their 'big' family to be complete as well and his parents were a part of that. And even if they wouldn't say it with that many words, Haruka knew they wanted to be around more too. So while nothing was set in stone yet, he was pretty certain that as soon as their last day at work ended, they'd pack up everything they owned into some boxes and suitcases and settle down here in Iwatobi to spend their quiet old days in this small port town that echoed with children's laughter.But until then, they would have to make do with phone calls and video chatting plus the occasional trips to and from Hokkaido. Though his parents visited them more often so they wouldn't have to go through the trouble of travelling and planes as much with their young children, when they did go to Grandma and Grandpa's house up north, they enjoyed their time there immensely and these pictures were here to show it.Adorning the first page of the album were pictures taken at the airport when his mom and dad came to pick them up, along with a scribble of the date in the upper right corner. Following those were pictures of Umiko and Mizuki playing at an indoor playground their grandparents had taken them to, and seeing their beaming faces warmed Haruka's heart just how it had done back then - he made a mental note to take them there again the next time they went to Hokkaido, since they had enjoyed themselves so much that they still mentioned it sometimes. Baking cookies with Grandma and him, decorating the tree that Grandpa and Papa had set up, unwrapping presents, Umiko and Mizuki were depicted doing it all and Haruka hadn't even noticed the smile that was gradually stretching his cheeks further and further as he flipped through the pages.He was able to tear his eyes away from the photos for a moment, curious to see his husband's reaction and it wasn't a shocker at all that a matching smile was gracing Makoto's angelic features. Not being able to resist the temptation, Haruka reached underneath the table to grab ahold of his hand. Surprised by this action, Makoto looked up to meet Haruka's gaze and his eyes softened as he leaned in to press a light kiss against his temple, resting the side of his head against his afterwards.It had snowed heavily that Christmas Day, and these images were proof of it; they showed red noses poking out between tight bundles of scarves and hats, contrasting fiercely with the landscape of white that surrounded them.After breakfast, they had all gone out to play in the snow and it had made for some great memories. The snowball fight might have ended in tears when Grandpa had accidentally thrown one square in Umiko's face, but those tears had soon dried when Haruka asked her if she could help him build a snow sculpture. Though it was hardly a competition, the snowman that Makoto and Mizuki built paled in comparison to the Iwatobi-chan sculpture that Umiko had made - admittedly, with a tiny bit of help of her Dad.But it was the igloo that Makoto and he had created that excited them the most, and Umiko and Mizuki were just as disappointed to hear that they couldn't actually stay in it as Makoto and he had been back in the day - fortunately, the colds they had caught afterwards when they first built an igloo together were evaded this time around. The promise of hot chocolate and a warm bath made up for a lot though."Ah," Makoto sighed in reminiscence, "Seeing igloos always brings back a lot of memories, doesn't it?""Yeah," Haruka mumbled, mindlessly running his fingertips over the picture, "I wonder how many we've built in total.""Hmm," Makoto hummed as he contemplated that, counting on his fingers, "There's this one, the first one we built when we were kids, the one we made for Ran and Ren back when we were in high school, the one we built during our first winter in Tokyo… I'd say over half a dozen."That sounded about right, and Haruka was sure that as long as it would continue to snow during the winter, many more were to come."Oh, and that cake you and your mom made was so good," Makoto claimed, mouth watering as he turned the page to reveal pictures of the Christmas dinner, with the signature Nanase Christmas cake being the delightful cherry on top of all of the amazing food. "I know it's supposed to be a Christmas cake, but-""You're really trying your luck tonight, aren't you?" Haruka interrupted, knowing exactly where this would go. "First brownies, now cake… if I were you I'd wait until you fulfilled your payment for the brownies before suggesting it again because you really don't know what you're bargaining for.""Okay, okay, I get it," Makoto brushed off with a kiss pressed to Haruka's cheek, "I'll try again later."Haruka snorted. "We'll see about that." He still hadn't abandoned his plan, on the contrary, Makoto's perseverance only added fuel to the fire that had awakened inside of him. And when he was done with him, it was up to Makoto to decide whether or not the cake would be worth another round of agonisingly sweet torture.Deciding not to argue it in order not to further encourage his husband and the devious tactics he would surely use to unravel him completely, Makoto simply turned the page without another word.In order to bridge the gap between Christmas and New Year's, his parents had looked up some Christmas crafts to entertain the children with. Neither of them were very skilled at it, but they had tried their best and Haruka was really grateful for that; he knew they wanted to be the grandparents to Umiko and Mizuki that Haruka's grandmother had been to him during his childhood, and their effort was greatly appreciated. In hindsight, they probably regretted their specific choice of crafts though; while they had all enjoyed themselves a lot, Haruka had warned them about the permanence of glitter and the precautions that were necessary before using it, but they hadn't been too concerned about it. The clean-up had been a big mess and he wouldn't be surprised if they still found stray glitter around their house even now, five months later.The New Year's pictures were up next. Although it had been embarrassing when he found out about it, Haruka was now kind of glad that his father had sneakily snapped a photo of the New Year's kiss Makoto and he had shared when they thought no one was looking. He hadn't seen it until he had cleared off the SD card back at home, and though they weren't really the type to take pictures of themselves while they were kissing, he couldn't deny that it was nice picture, dripping with affection for one another.Their trip to Hokkaido was concluded in this album with some more pictures of the whole family right after their first shrine visit of the new year, and then came the pictures of Mizuki's fourth birthday, just one week later. Though Mizuki was very excited about his birthday and loved getting presents and treats, he wasn't very fond of parties. So rather than holding a big party and inviting all of their close friends and family, they had gone to an amusement park and allowed Umiko and Mizuki to each bring along a friend for the occasion. While Makoto's parents and some of their friends still dropped by on his birthday, Mizuki didn't mind it as long as he wasn't the center of attention and he didn't have to sit around and wait awkwardly while everyone sang for him. And as long as he got gifts, of course.The last dozen of pages were filled with pictures of Mizuki's first day at kindergarten and Umiko's first day at primary school, and the picnic they held with their friends afterwards during the flower-viewing party earlier that season. The cherry trees were in full bloom, giving every photo a beautiful and atmospheric background. It was a really nice addition to the blinding smiles they wore in every frame, and Haruka couldn't believe how fast their little sweethearts were growing up."Time really does fly by, huh?" Makoto muttered as he gently closed the album, stroking his fingers over the cover. "I can still remember our first day at primary school and now Umiko's already in first grade.""Yeah," Haruka said, thinking back on how nervous Makoto had been, hiding behind his back and clinging to his hand as they walked into their classroom for the first time. Fortunately, Umiko hadn't been as frightened and intimidated to go to school as her father had been."Back then, who would have thought that three decades later we'd be sitting here together, looking at pictures of our own children going to school?" Makoto questioned rhetorically with a slight chuckle, but it only made Haruka frown."Me," he replied in bewilderment, "Maybe not that we'd have children, but I always knew we would stay together." After all, he had already known back then that Makoto was the only one for him and that that would never change, and though he hadn't realised exactly what that entailed when he was younger, he couldn't envision a future without Makoto by his side. And even in moments of doubt, when he was scared of losing Makoto, in his heart he knew that they were simply meant to be together. What Makoto and he had was special, and that was clearly visible even back when they were merely children themselves.Makoto snorted in combination of amusement and endearment. "You're right, silly me," he admitted, putting his hand on Haruka's thigh and rubbing softly, "And I'm very grateful for that, because there's no one I would have rather shared this with than with you, Haru."Although he obviously knew that, otherwise Makoto wouldn't have stuck with him all these years, hearing those genuine words still made Haruka's heart flutter. In lack of an adequate response, he covered Makoto's hand with his own before he stole a kiss from his lips that said everything he needed Makoto to know. I love you so, so much.After their little sentimental moment, Makoto pushed the album further back onto the table so Haruka could put the next album on the stack in its place. They continued to look through the pictures in an amicable silence that was occasionally disrupted by a comment or a remark about a photo or a memory in particular.Birthdays, holidays and vacations, anniversaries, days at the beach or at the playground, the most important days and the most mundane days of the past few years flew by before their eyes, all special in their very own way.They didn't know how long they had been sitting there for, remnants of tea cold and forgotten in their mugs, before they stumbled upon Umiko and Mizuki's baby books. Neatly kept within the first pages of the books were the children's respective birth cards. Haruka had designed them himself because he wanted them to be personal, so he had drawn the images on the front of it.For Umiko's card he went for something more traditional and drew a family of teddy bears, a big one that represented Makoto and a slightly smaller one that was supposed to be him, holding their little baby bear in their paws. But for Mizuki's card, he went for something that was more unique, more them; the card was ocean-themed and depicted an orca and a dolphin in the form of a heart, snouts and tails touching, and in the space between their bodies swam a baby orca and a baby dolphin. Though perhaps not all of their extended family understood the symbolism behind it, their closest friends and family did and of course the two of them understood it too, which was all that really mattered in the end.Every word inside either card was handwritten by Makoto, so that the entire cards were collaborations between loving parents to celebrate the birth and adoption of their adorable children.Seeing all their baby pictures flash by took Haruka on a rollercoaster of emotion: from happiness to melancholy with an ever-present feeling of nostalgia. It was truly amazing how they had grown from such small babies, helpless and at the world's mercy, to fully-fledged people with their own thoughts and opinions and personality. It was honestly more than he ever could have dreamed of and each day following their adoption was filled with unending love for them. And he knew for a fact he wasn't alone in that.Makoto cooed and voiced all the thoughts that went through his head too as they recalled the very first milestones of their little miracles; the first time Makoto and he got to hold them, their first bottles, their first baths, the first time they met the most important people in their lives, all of it and more.His heart was heavy when they closed Umiko's album, the first one that held pictures of their children in a series that was probably never-ending. From that point on, there were only pictures of Makoto and him, with the occasional appearance of dear friends and family members. It was probably for the better, because he wasn't sure he could handle any more adorableness right now - though arguably, his husband was just as cute as their children and his beautiful image plastered all over the pages would tug at his heartstrings all the same.Haruka's eyes wandered to the album that had been at the bottom of the stack, the only one they hadn't gone through yet and he instantly recognised the cover: it was their wedding album.As if he hadn't been emotional enough already."The best day of our lives," Makoto murmured, smiling gently as he grabbed the album, because he knew that cover anywhere too."Yeah," Haruka replied, because at the time, it certainly had been.Honestly, there had been many days in the past that Haruka had deemed to be the best: the day they first kissed and voiced their feelings for each other out loud without holding back, the day they first made love, the day he won his first Olympic gold medal and jumped into Makoto's arms out of joy in front of the eyes of the world, the day they moved back to Iwatobi to settle down after he retired from swimming professionally, the day Makoto proposed to him right before he had the chance to propose to him instead, and eventually, their wedding day.It had been such a beautiful day, dedicated to nothing but their undying love for each other and Haruka had been so incredibly happy that he knew for sure that nothing could ever beat it. But then, three years later, a day arrived that rivalled it; the day they first got to hold their baby girl, the day they adopted their first child. The child they thought they'd never be lucky enough to have. And a couple years after that, they adopted Mizuki, the little boy who completed their family and Haruka was happier than he ever could have imagined.He had been blessed with so many amazing and meaningful days that it was impossible to pick a favourite, and yet, there was the feeling inside of him that perhaps today was the best day of his life. Sitting here together with his husband while their children were sleeping upstairs, who were exhausted from playing around all day, going through pictures of the wonderful times they spent with their family, Haruka felt so immensely happy that he simply couldn't describe it. And he was sure that as long as he had Makoto, Umiko and Mizuki, every day from here on out would be the best day of his life.But, as far as beautiful days go, their wedding day was most definitely up there."I can't believe it's been almost nine years since then," Makoto commented as he opened the album, "Feels like it was just yesterday when we proposed to each other.""Yeah," Haruka muttered with a soft smile, then he joked, "Time really does fly by, huh?" making Makoto laugh once more.Kept within the front of the album was, just like with the children's baby books, the wedding invitation that Haruka had once more designed himself, but with a bit of help of his fiancé and his soon to be official mother-in-law this time. It was a picture collage, made up of all kinds of pictures taken throughout every phase of their lives; from them as toddlers playing with each other, to them in high school, and even one of them standing side-by-side on the world stage. It truly showed that they had been by each other's side since the start, taking every step of the road together even when their routes diverged. It was the perfect way to invite their loved ones to such an important day. The day their lives officially unified as they walked down the same path together: down the aisle.On the first page was a picture of the outside of the venue: an old French château that they held the whole day from start to finish at. When they were planning their wedding, Makoto had suggested a beach wedding, but Haruka had instantly declined that offer. He could be with the water any other day of his life, but not his wedding day; his wedding day was reserved for his love for Makoto and Makoto alone.Besides that, Haruka didn't want to hold their wedding outside anyway; their wedding was on June 15th, and the last thing he wanted was for their perfect day to be washed away with the rain.Fortunately, not a single cloud had been in the sky that day, the sun shining brightly like the heavens were lighting up to give them their blessing. Because of that, they got to take some pictures in the château's gorgeous garden, that was like a forest of the most beautiful flowers, perfect for taking wedding photos.But those pictures weren't up until later, first were some shots of the inside of the venue. It had been renovated for the purpose of holding weddings; there was a chapel to hold the ceremonies in, a large dining room with a big table and throne-like chairs, a massive ballroom for the party with big doors which led to a balcony that could be utilised if the weather allowed it, and countless of breathtaking locations to take pictures at.The rooms on the upper floors of the building had been made into bed and bathrooms; they had wanted to stay at the venue the night before the wedding so they wouldn't have to rush in the morning to get there in time and could really take things easy while preparing, and the night afterwards so they wouldn't have to worry about going to a secondary location after such a long and emotional day. Since there was so much room and they had already rented the château anyway, they wanted to save their loved ones the trouble of commuting too during varying levels of intoxication, so their closest friends and family were invited to stay in the guest rooms.While the sleeping arrangements had been well thought-out and appeared to be foolproof, things still didn't go exactly as planned. Makoto and he were entirely to blame for that, though.The idea had been that they would spend their wedding night in the bridal suite, but the night before the wedding, they would sleep in separate rooms at opposite ends of the castle - Makoto in the west wing, Haruka in the east - so they wouldn't see each other until the ceremony.It had seemed like a great idea at the time to each get ready at opposite wings so they wouldn't accidentally catch a glimpse of each other before the big moment, because they both wanted to be completely surprised at the other's appearance. However, when Haruka was lying in that huge, unfamiliar bed that night, he couldn't fall asleep for some reason. He figured that the nerves and excitement for the day ahead were probably the culprit, but he couldn't deny that he also really missed his attractive space heater beside him. Over time, he had gotten so used to sleeping next to Makoto and feeling his warmth, whether they were cuddling or not, that it was like his body forgot the concept of sleep without him.After tossing and turning for God only knows how long, Haruka decided to wash their plan down the drain. He didn't want to be exhausted on the best day of his life, so he figured the only solution to his problem was sneaking over to Makoto's room and crawling in bed with him - that was exactly the hole in their foolproof plan; they knew which room the other resided in.But he was not the only one who couldn't seem to nod off; when he opened the door of his room, he was startled to see Makoto standing in front of it, hand raised in the motion of a knock. The sheepish smile was wiped from his face almost instantly when Haruka yanked him inside and drew him into his arms. They should have known from the start that they would never be able to sleep alone knowing that the other was so near.As soon as they were snuggled up in bed together they dozed off, but fortunately the light pouring in from a gap between the curtains was enough to wake Makoto up. The tender kiss they shared before Makoto retreated to his own room was extra special and savoured more than most others, because it was the last kiss they would share before they officially became husbands."Oh, Haru," Makoto sighed, instantly pulling him out of his reminiscence. He hadn't noticed he was lost in thought and that Makoto had already gotten to the first pictures of the ceremony. "You were so beautiful," he said, voice trembling like the picture sent him back through time, like he was seeing his fiancé for the first time as he walked down the aisle towards him.Shopping for his tuxedo had been hard, because he usually did everything together with Makoto, especially things as important as this, but now he had to settle for an entourage of soon to become in-laws and some idiotic friends. In order to keep things a secret but to ensure they wouldn't look too similar or contrasting, that specific group of people went along with both of them to give their opinions and advice.Picking a suit was even harder, because he had worn many in his life and he really wanted his wedding suit to be extraordinary. He wanted to knock his fiancé's socks off after all. In the end, he had chosen a dark blue three-piece suit that, according to his entourage, complimented his features and fit his personality and aesthetic. Rather than a tie, he had opted for a matching blue cravat and the outfit was completed with neat black shoes. On the day of, his fringe was swept aside so it wouldn't cover his eyes. "So he can actually look you in the eyes when he says 'I do'," Rin had reasoned, which Rei had only agreed with. In hindsight, their friends had been way too involved in their wedding."Were?" Haruka questioned sceptically, attempting to sound offended."Are," Makoto corrected, laughing lightly, "It's just that… here you… you know what I mean!"Haruka chuckled at his stuttering response, because he did know what he had meant, he just wanted to tease his husband a little. "Not as beautiful as you," he murmured earnestly, drowning in the picture of Makoto, teary-eyed as he was waiting for him at the end of the aisle.His brown locks had been pulled back to unveil his forehead - he had apparently gotten the same comment that Haruka had -, making his emerald eyes so vibrant and captivating, and he had worn a gorgeous off-white suit that was perfect for his complexion. He hadn't gone for a standard tie either, but he had chosen a black bow tie instead. The black shoes were the common ground in their outfits, but that wasn't the only thing that connected their appearances; they had both worn a boutonnière of their favourite flowers, blue hydrangeas and pink camellias.Though neither of them had a bouquet, that didn't mean there was a lack of flowers at their wedding. On the contrary, there had been an abundance of fresh flowers decorating every room, from tiny bouquets on the side of the seats on the inside of the aisle, to centerpieces on the tables, to beautiful arrangements filling up the vases all around the venue, and even the cake had a garland of sugar hydrangeas. It hadn't been cheap - and neither was the wedding in general - but as he was looking back on these pictures, how they really wrapped up all the loose ends and gave the wedding an atmospheric look, Haruka thought they were worth every penny. They were the finishing touch to their fairytale wedding - which was fitting, considering Haruka was marrying Prince Charming."Agree to disagree."Because Haruka's train of thought had long since left the station already, he had to ponder for a second before he understood what Makoto had meant with that. When he remembered what they had been talking about, he said, "Okay," knowing that it would be an endless discussion otherwise. Haruka knew Makoto looked so absolutely gorgeous that he was the center of attention throughout the entire day, but Makoto would surely beg to differ if he said that.In fact, Makoto was so breathtakingly beautiful that it had made Haruka's jaw drop as tears welled up in his eyes. Instantly, he forgot everything around him, because he only had eyes for his fiancé. He hadn't been that nervous, because he knew it was going to be an amazing day dedicated to celebrating their eternal love for each other, and that could never be anything but perfect so he didn't see why he should be worried or concerned about it. But once he was walking down that aisle, with his stunning husband-to-be standing at his destination, all of the overwhelming emotions hit him at once. After years of dreaming about it, of longing for that very moment, the time had finally come and Makoto and he would formally be unified. They'd officially become the husbands they had always been at heart.He remembered how it had taken every bit of willpower inside of him to resist kissing Makoto once he stood next to him. Instead, he had lifted his hand to wipe the waterfalls that were gliding down Makoto's cheeks away. Makoto chuckled softly before he reached up to do the same, and Haruka hadn't even realised that he was crying until Makoto did that. Though he didn't know it for sure since he hadn't been able to see anyone else in the room, he was convinced that this intimate moment before the ceremony had even really started was enough to jerk some tears from the more sensitive guests. What a bunch of sentimental saps they were.The ceremony itself had been short but sweet. There was no need to put on a huge show, because there was not a single person in the room who had even a shred of doubt about how much they loved each other. Still, it was supposed to be a very romantic and personal day, so of course self-written vows played a big role in that.Haruka had loved the idea of it, because he didn't just want to say what everyone else said when, in his humble opinion, their relationship was so much more special and profound than all others, their connection deeper than anyone else could even comprehend. But when it came to actually writing his vows, he had a lot more struggles than he would have liked. He had never been very articulate to begin with - the only one who never failed to understand him thoroughly was Makoto - and it was nearly impossible to put the immense flood of feelings that had been increasing and intensifying over the course of his whole life up until then into one cohesive little story.So after a few unsuccessful attempts, he decided to go with his back-up plan: he wouldn't rehearse anything and when the moment came, he would speak from the heart. That was more like him anyway.Rin had dubbed him 'an enormous moron' and Rei almost fainted when he heard it, but Haruka believed in himself. Makoto would read his vows first so he would just respond to that, and even in the scenario that he was completely at loss for words, Makoto would understand him anyway, and that was all that really mattered; his vows were his promise to Makoto, not an act he'd put on to entertain their guests and he felt very strongly about that.As always, Makoto had been the responsible one who had actually written down his vows, but reading them didn't go exactly as planned either. He had been crying so hard that his glasses fogged up and his eyes glazed over with tears, dripping onto his paper and making the ink runny and almost unreadable. So he had put his paper back into his pocket, removed his glasses and he took a deep breath to collect himself before he grabbed both of Haruka's hands, resorting to the same plan as his husband-to-be; he began to speak from the heart.Although almost nine years had passed since then, Haruka could hear Makoto's earnest and heartfelt vows resonating through his head like he was reading them to him just now. Every last word that had left his mouth had been so meaningful and it made Haruka's chest swell with overflowing affection just thinking about it. Those words would be branded onto his very soul for every lovely day that was yet to come.A caring finger catching the droplet that had left his eyes without his awareness or permission called Haruka back to attention. He looked up to meet Makoto's gaze and he saw that infinitely loving smile softening his handsome features, eyes gleaming with the onset of tears. Haruka couldn't do anything but smile back at his beautiful, beautiful husband."It's really crazy to think that nine years have already passed since then," Makoto muttered to himself, running the fingers of his free hand over the photo of the most anticipated moment of the day; their first kiss as Mr. and Mr. Tachibana. "Hey, Haru?""What?""After all those years… would you still say 'yes' if I asked you now?"The seriousness in Makoto's tone as he unexpectedly asked for that reassurement left Haruka dumbfounded. As if that was even a question. "Idiot…" Haruka mumbled, sniffling deeply as he tried to collect himself, "I'll always say 'yes' to you."A watery grin that revealed his pearly teeth appeared on Makoto's face, showing his genuine happiness at that answer. "Me too," he murmured sincerely, "To you, I'll always say 'I do'."Unable to keep his urges at bay any longer, Haruka wrapped his arms around Makoto's neck and pulled him in for a sloppy yet incredibly tender kiss. With their eyes closed, it was like they were back in that chapel again, chests heavy with emotion as they completely lost themselves in their love for the other. The searing kiss had sealed their oath to love each other wholeheartedly and unconditionally no matter what challenges were ahead, and this kiss only reaffirmed that unbreakable promise.When their lips ultimately parted, Haruka rested his forehead against Makoto's, hands coming up to cup his cheeks as he opened his eyes. The tears had spilled from Makoto's eyes during their passionate kiss, streaming over his skin in thin tracks. Using his thumbs to wipe them away, Haruka nuzzled Makoto's nose as a bubble of happiness left him in the form of a small giggle. Makoto smiled in response, stealing a chaste peck from his lips just because he could."Better dry your tears now," Haruka said as if he hadn't been crying just as much, "otherwise these pictures might end up like your written vows."Makoto could only laugh at his husband's teasing before shutting him up with another kiss.Once all the waterworks had been stopped and the desire for kisses had dwindled, they continued to go through the photos.After the ceremony came the picture moment, or rather the picture hours. Although Haruka had never been particularly fond of being in the limelight, much less getting his picture taken, he had made an exception for their wedding day. They had hired a professional photographer and were at this beautiful château with so many striking locations that it would be a waste not to take a bazillion pictures.The majority of the guests had only been included for one bout of pictures before they went back inside for the reception, their entourage was a part of a few more, but after that it was just Makoto and him. It had been very time-consuming, moving to different locations in and around the castle, but fortunately Makoto hadn't minded at all and even suggested more places that would make for a great backdrop. In the end, it had been more than worth it; the photos in this album were only a scrap of the hundreds of wedding photos they had, and they were all so gorgeous that Haruka wouldn't have wanted to miss out on any of them.When they were finally done and joined their guests at the reception, they did a swift round of accepting the congratulations and blessings of their guests - and their gifts of course - before it was already time to cut the cake. The three-tier cake was as delicious as it was dazzling, and the first bites of the chocolate layer that they fed each other were little pieces of heaven. Though the kiss they shared afterwards was just as sweet, if not even sweeter.Hearing a light intake of breath from beside him, Haruka quickly warned, "Don't you dare to say anything about the cake."Makoto gasped in offense, "I wasn't going to say anything!""Yes, you were," Haruka argued, because he knew his husband through and through. He wasn't sure if either of them were up for the tasks that another deal would bring along with it, so it was better to shut it down before Makoto brought it up."Well, it was amazing…""So was the mackerel," he claimed, shaking his head in fondness at his husband's sweet tooth and figuring that it wouldn't be bad to give him a taste of his own medicine, "Are you going to make me that, then?""Eh? Haru, you know I can't make mackerel like that," Makoto protested, for even if his cooking skills had improved over the years through a lot of practice and effort, his dishes were nowhere near the level of a professional, so there was no way he could make mackerel the same way the chefs of the catering company had."That's not my problem," Haruka shrugged, pretending to come off as nonchalant. "I'll make you chocolate cake like the layer of our wedding cake if you make me mackerel like the one I had during dinner."Although Makoto understood his husband better than anyone else too and therefore knew he was just joking, he couldn't help but whine, "That's not fair…""All is fair in love and war."That statement demolished Makoto's façade, making him giggle in that joyous way that made Haruka's stomach tingle with adoration time and time again.It wasn't like Makoto had exaggerated, because dinner had been absolutely magnificent, and not just the mackerel. From what they tasted themselves and heard from their guests, all three options for every course of their à la carte menu were astonishing.But it hadn't just been the food that had made dinner so wonderful: the speeches that some of their loved ones held were all heartwarming and meaningful, yet the speech that stood out above all others was the one that Makoto's mother read. From start to finish, every word that left her mouth was filled to the brim with so much love and support, describing how she had known from the very beginning that this day would inevitably arrive and that she felt so blessed that she got to be a part of their fairytale; that she was so proud to be their mom. Neither of the grooms had been able to stop the tears from flowing, and judging by the mixed noises of sniffles and applause, many guests hadn't been able to either.The slideshow that started after her speech was completely unexpected though: it was a well-kept secret and surprise put together by both of their mothers. It showed photos of them when they were little, switching between baby pictures of either of them up until they met, and from then on out every picture was one of them together. Occasionally, the photos were interrupted by a short Tachibana home-video, coaxing chuckles of amusement and sighs of endearment from the audience.It was a timeline of their lives up until their big day, growing up and older with every image that passed by. The last picture was the collage that was on the invites. It concluded the first half of their lives, and any photo that was taken today and any day following was part of a whole new chapter. The chapter of them as a married couple; the start of the rest of their lives.But there hadn't been any major changes after their wedding, other than Haruka's last name and the matching bands around their fingers. 'Husband' definitely had a nice ring to it though.Once the slideshow was over, they thanked their mothers with big hugs, who only laughed and patted their backs in response. Alas, there wasn't much more time to appreciate their amazing gift before the party was scheduled to start, and therefore, the part of the day that they had thought they would dread the most had come: the opening dance.Because neither Haruka nor Makoto had been good at dancing, their plan had been to just dance a simple waltz for half a minute before inviting the crowd to join in. Their friends had something else in mind though; if it had been up to Rei, they would have danced an elaborate and intricate choreography that would leave every single guest breathless, but that idea was very unrealistic and frankly, very unlike them. But because their friends insisted that they had to bring something better to the table, they had settled for a compromise; a choreography that was easy to remember, a bit less spectacular but a lot more natural, an achievable middle-ground between two opposite ends of the spectrum.While Rei took it upon himself to put together the dance routine, using videos on the internet for reference and inspiration and being frequently reminded to keep things simple, Rin had assigned himself the job of helping them pick out the song they would dance to. He fabricated a whole list of foreign hits that were supposedly super romantic and translated the lyrics that they couldn't fully understand. At first, Haruka had been a little sceptical; none of those songs were completely applicable to them, since their story had gone much differently than the ones mentioned in the lyrics. But when he voiced that thought, Rin got pissed and said that there wasn't a single song out there that specifically described their particular and unique situation and bond, and that they should be happy he was helping them out in the first place. As if they had even asked him to.In the end, they settled for a song that was very popular at the time, that had a great rhythm to slow dance to and had a nice meaning as well. Rei thought it was a great choice and declared he could definitely make it work, which had sounded pretty questionable at the time but they decided to have faith in him. And he certainly proved it; he had really outdone himself with the choreography and they had been immensely grateful for all of his effort. But Rei had to give credit where credit was due, and admittedly, Nagisa had been a big help and he couldn't have done it without him.But then the toughest part came; teaching the choreography to Makoto and him. Because Nagisa and Rei both weren't good at explaining things, with Rei overcomplicating it with theories and instructions like 'take a thirty centimeter step forward with your right foot' and Nagisa oversimplifying it with 'tips' like telling them to close their eyes and just feel the music, they had to resort to help from a more unexpected source: Kisumi and Asahi.Apparently, Kisumi had some kind of gift that allowed him to memorise entire routines after only having seen it a handful of times, and he explained things in a way that was clearer and easier to understand, at least for Makoto. And getting Makoto to understand it was the most important part of it: according to both Kisumi and Nagisa, Makoto had to be the one to lead because he was the taller one and it would look and feel better that way. Haruka didn't mind it though, not at all; he would gladly follow Makoto to the end of the universe if needed.It had taken a few tries until Makoto finally got the hang of the routine. He kept messing up, ruled by fear of stepping on Haruka's toes and it was like his hips locked up whenever he attempted to dance. Fortunately, Kisumi was patient and broke down the routine in moderately sized chunks, teaching them one step at a time and using Asahi to show them if they didn't get it. Poor Asahi was just there as a tool used to demonstrate things with, but he said that he was fine with it and truthfully, his and Kisumi's assistance did help them out a lot. So perhaps their friends' involvement in their wedding hadn't been all that bad after all.Out of nowhere, after a couple of practice sessions, Makoto had an epiphany. Within an instance everything made sense to him, like his eyes were opened and his hips were unlocked and the heavens were showering him rhythm and dancing skills. This was a huge help for Haruka too, because even with Kisumi's detailed and step-by-step explanation, he didn't quite get the gist of it, but Makoto could always manage to get things through to him. He had said that it was just like swimming: a good form was necessary to gain speed and reduce water-resistance while swimming, and a good form was just as crucial while dancing so they could stay in sync with each other. Listening to the beats of the music and matching the steps to the rhythm was like listening for the signal to dive in: timing was key.Suddenly, Haruka understood it too.Once their minds were both ready for it, the real work could start. And it was during this time that they discovered how much fun it actually was to dance together.Twirling around the room together, heartbeats matching up to the pace of the music and gazes linking them down to their core, making everything else around them disappear, was oddly liberating; it was almost like swimming on land. Being inside Makoto's arms gave him the same sense of security and comfort that the water's grasp did, and though this wasn't a new feeling at all since he always felt like that with Makoto, he had never thought about how it would feel to add music and a choreography to it. And boy, did it feel wonderful; it was yet another way to connect with Makoto and Haruka knew he could never have enough.Once they had learned the routine from front to back, they continued to practice dancing anyway. There would probably be multiple times during the evening beside their opening when they would dance together, so it wouldn't harm to shave up their waltzing skills in general - it might have just been an excuse to dance even more, an excuse to linger inside the other's warm embrace and forget everything for a moment.Finally, Haruka understood what Nagisa had meant with his 'close your eyes and feel the music' tips; if he closed his eyes and focused solely on the feeling of Makoto's arms around him, gently swaying back and forth, then it was like they were the only two people in the world. They were inside their own bubble, like two bodies in perfect harmony, responding to the other's movements so naturally that not a single thought was wasted on it because the script was ingrained in their every fiber. However, this tip was only applicable after learning all the steps, so it still hadn't been really helpful, Nagisa. Nevertheless, the thought was still appreciated.Though he had grown to like dancing, Haruka couldn't deny that the majority of the enjoyment he got out of it was because he was dancing with Makoto. He was sure he would enjoy pretty much anything as long as Makoto was with him and they were doing it together.When their wedding day came at last, Haruka found that contrary to what he was expecting, he wasn't dreading their opening dance at all. In fact, he might have even been a little excited for it, though he would never admit that out loud.The dance they practiced so hard for had been intimate and mesmerising and it was over before Haruka knew it; it was like the floor disappeared beneath their feet and they were dancing on clouds, slowly rising up to the heavens together. The pictures were here to prove it happened, though, and they showed that their feet had stayed firmly on the ground for the most part. But, they also depicted just how lost in his love for his husband he had been: the stupid smile that was on his face in every picture, eyes full of love as he looked up at Makoto, was almost sickeningly sappy.And yet he was certain that if he were to look up at Makoto right now, he would have that same dumb look on his face because he was just as in love with him as he had been back then, if not even more. When it came to Makoto, he had always been a goner and he would be forevermore.Luckily, every feeling his heart produced at his husband's existence was entirely mutual, for Makoto wore a matching, adoring smile on his handsome face. The love-struck look in his eyes wasn't stupid or misplaced on him though, but rather it was familiar and so endearing. This was probably because Haruka was used to that sweet expression, that emitted love and affection without even intending to. He had been on the receiving end of that look for over thirty years, after all."Remember how hard Rei cried during our opening dance?" Makoto asked, chuckling lightly."Yeah," Haruka snorted. Even though he hadn't noticed it while they were dancing because he had been completely captivated by Makoto, he did remember the red rims around Rei's eyes - that weren't his glasses - and the stream of comments of how beautiful it had been that fell from his lips afterwards. And he definitely hadn't been the only one who had to sniffle and wipe away some tears, though some of their guests fiercely denied crying even once during the entire day - all lies. Rei's tears were justified though; he was finally seeing the fruit of all his hard work. "It makes sense though, he did put a lot of effort into the choreography.""He really did," Makoto affirmed, appreciative smile tugging at his lips.Their friends, Rei included, had gone above and beyond to contribute to making their wedding a dream come true and they were both still very grateful for that. Their wedding had really been perfect in every aspect and they were so lucky to have such amazing friends and family supporting them. If Haruka had to do it all over again, then he wouldn't change a thing."Do you still remember the steps?"That inquiry caught Haruka off-guard. It had been nine years since they were taught it so it wouldn't be odd if he had forgotten, but even though he didn't know it for sure, there was something inside of him that told him he could never forget that special dance. "I think I do."The smile that was stretching Makoto's cheeks widened at that, and he removed his glasses and got up from his chair. The question of what he was doing was burning on Haruka's lips, but he decided to wait and see for himself rather than ask.Makoto gently took his left hand in his and raised it to his mouth, pressing a light kiss against the back of it. Joy was twinkling in his vibrant eyes as he solemnly asked, "May I have this dance?"That was another unexpected inquiry, but what surprised Haruka the most was how much he actually liked the idea of that: dancing their first dance again. It had been a while since they danced together, and reminiscing about the time when they danced multiple times a week in rehearsal for the big day definitely rekindled the flame inside him. He wanted to dance with Makoto, but he wouldn't show him just how eager the mere thought of it made him. "What, without music?""If we put on music then the kids might wake up, but dancing without music isn't really fun either, huh…" Makoto contemplated out loud, before he proposed, "How about I just sing for us? Softly so it won't disturb the kids."The mental image of their chests pushed together, hands grasped firmly and arms around each other while Makoto whispered those romantic lyrics to him made a shiver run down Haruka's spine. It might have just been him, but he swore the temperature around them suddenly rose two degrees, because his cheeks were blazing."Well, what do you say?" Makoto wondered, because Haruka hadn't let go of his hand yet but he hadn't responded either."Okay," Haruka agreed like he already intended to from the start, and he allowed Makoto to pull him up from where he was seated to lead him to the empty space in the room.Once they got into position, he asked, "Are you ready?"The genuine enthusiasm that was beaming off Makoto's face was honestly adorable, and Haruka hated to admit that the same thrill of excitement was buzzing inside of him. "Look at us," he mumbled, breath heavy with suppressed laughter, "Two middle-aged men dancing in their pyjamas in the middle of the living room at ten o'clock in the evening. And without proper music, at that." They were downright ridiculous."We're not middle-aged!" Makoto protested, and it amused Haruka how that seemed to offend him so, "We're still young!""Young?" Haruka questioned in feigned bewilderment, "Then how do you explain these wrinkles?" He lifted his hand and stroked his fingertips over the faint lines around Makoto's eyes that were slowly starting to embed themselves in his skin after years of smiling so brightly. They were hardly wrinkles, practically invisible to anyone besides Haruka, who just so happened to know every nook and cranny of his husband's body like the back of his hand. It wasn't even as if Haruka disliked the prospect of Makoto's skin wrinkling up more as the years passed; it was unavoidable and he loved the idea of being there to see each new line form and deepen as time went on. Besides, he could never dislike anything about Makoto, especially not if it was something that was brought along by him smiling too much. He couldn't help but want to tease him a little, though."Hey!" Makoto yelped as he swatted Haruka's hand away from his face, trying to look upset but his demeanour crumbled just how it always inevitably would, and he giggled lightly. "So, are you going to dance with this old man or what?"Haruka snorted once more and then he pressed a quick kiss against his cheek in apology. "Take it away."For a moment Makoto closed his eyes as he wrapped his arm around Haruka's waist again, taking a deep breath to collect himself before he began to sing, simultaneously taking the first step forward.And just like that, Haruka's feet began to move on their own. No amount of passing years could erase the muscle memory that had been trained into his legs upon hearing that familiar song.Although Makoto's English had improved quite a bit since their school days thanks to their previous careers sending them overseas every so often, he was still far from fluent in the language and he would probably never be either. However, he was very good at remembering song lyrics and not just their bodies were functioning on muscle memory; Makoto's vocal cords vibrated without any conscious effort, because Haruka could read in his eyes that he was drowning in memories. There was no way he could ever forget the lyrics to a song as special as this one though, somehow pronouncing all the words flawlessly while he would never be able to without stringing them together in a melody.Still, even if his mind wasn't fully with the lyrics he was singing, the love and emotion that the song's meaning held definitely weren't lost. Makoto was pouring every droplet of affection for his husband in his touch, in his footwork as they glided around the room together, in the way he spun Haruka around and pulled his back against his chest, using the small musical interlude to press a kiss against his cheek, just like he had done back then, before he continued to sing.When it came to the feelings these steps evoked inside Haruka, then the past nine years might as well not have even happened, because they were just as intense as they had been on the big day itself; that first June 15th that made any June 15th that followed so incredibly significant and treasured.Somehow, it was like this dance was even more meaningful now than it had been back then. They were in the comfort of their home, dancing not to entertain guests or because it was tradition, but because they simply desired to. Rather than being dictated by recorded music, it was Makoto's gentle and loving voice guiding their movements across the floor and through the air, loud enough to be heard but soft enough to be kept within their cosy little bubble. Even without fully applicable lyrics, the feelings that were conveyed were all Makoto's own as he serenaded him, adoration laced through every syllable.The tingles in Haruka's stomach right then rivalled the ones that had lit his skin on fire during their very first kiss, and he was amazed by the fact that Makoto could still make him feel this way so far down the road. He shouldn't have been, though, because he was certain that by the time he was on his deathbed, he would be just as smitten with his beautiful husband as he had been each day leading up to it.Just like he had done the last time they danced to this song, Haruka leaned up to steal a kiss from Makoto's lips. He hadn't been able to resist it then, and he still couldn't now, so it had unofficially become a part of the choreography. Though the little kiss hadn't been an issue the first time around, this time it was, because he cut off the lyrics falling from Makoto's mouth, and his lips trembled as he chuckled into the kiss. When Haruka pulled away, Makoto resumed singing as if the tune hadn't stopped playing in his head, so their dance wouldn't be delayed by the missed part.Haruka ran his hands up Makoto's arms and wrapped his own around Makoto's neck to hold on tight as Makoto lifted him off the floor. His grip around his hips was firm but delicate and Haruka felt safe and secure in his embrace as Makoto spun them around, never tearing his eyes away from Haruka's oceanic irises. It was very hard to withstand the unintentional invitation of Makoto's enticing lips moving to form the words of the song in such an alluring way, but Haruka held himself back so there wouldn't be more gaps in the music. There would be more than enough time for kisses later, so he wouldn't rudely interrupt Makoto's performance again.At the end of the lift, Makoto slowly put Haruka back on the floor and their dance seamlessly went on. Dread started to fill Haruka's stomach when he realised they were rapidly approaching the end of the song, and he didn't want it to be over yet. Silly as it might have been, Haruka was genuinely enjoying himself so much and he wished this moment could last forever. They didn't dance together often, and on the rare occasion that they did, he wanted to dance to his heart's content and he hadn't nearly had enough.But all good things had to come to an end eventually, and though it disappointed him, he knew there was nothing he could do to prevent it. The only thought that soothed him was that he knew their love for each other was unending and they would stay by each other's side for as long as they could, and that meant that there were countless of moments like these waiting for them in the future. And perhaps, ten years down the line, they would dance their first dance once more for their twentieth anniversary. The possibility of that made him smile.As the last notes of the song rang through their quiet house, they shared another delightful kiss to wrap up their dance just like they had back then, but without the mixed sounds of applause, cheers and sniffles.The tender look inside Makoto's eyes when their lips parted made Haruka feel so warm and full of love that he didn't quite know what to do with himself. So he followed his urges and wound his arms around his husband's back as he buried his face into his chest, squeezing tightly. He felt Makoto laugh more than he heard it, and of course he hugged Haruka back like he always would without question before he pressed a light kiss against Haruka's hair, nuzzling the soft black locks. Then his lips migrated to Haruka's forehead, and Haruka tilted his head to grant Makoto easier access and once he did that, Makoto blessed him with another chaste kiss on his mouth.Those loving gestures made Haruka smile more, and a matching smile radiated off of Makoto's face before he began to hum a tune. Haruka instantly recognised it as another song that had been on Rin's list and though it hadn't been picked to accompany their opening dance, they had still danced to it during their wedding.It wasn't like they had only danced with each other; Haruka clearly remembered dancing with both his mother and his mother-in-law, and at one point he had even danced with a slightly too intoxicated Nagisa, if that could have even been called 'dancing' - he had told Makoto that having an open bar at their wedding was a bad idea, and Nagisa had been the living proof of that. But he couldn't deny that during the entire evening, he had been drawn to his husband and he didn't want to be away from him for more than a few minutes at a time, so they had stuck together for the majority of the night, dancing to every romantic song that came on. They were there to toast on and celebrate their love, so it would be odd to spend the majority of the time apart from each other anyway.The humming easily blended over into singing and before Haruka realised it, they were dancing again; his body moved before his mind had the chance to comprehend it. The glint in Makoto's evergreen eyes showed that his yearning for more wasn't just written all over his face, but reciprocated as well.Although he had been caught off-guard, both by the fact that Makoto could read him so well and the actual dancing and singing, Haruka easily fell into Makoto's rhythm. Despite neither of them having much experience beyond the practice sessions a decade ago, they knew each other so well that they were always able to feel and predict what the other's next move was going to be and could respond to it accordingly. Though they probably didn't look the part at all, dancing with Makoto felt so natural that they might as well have been world champions. Because Makoto's eternal love and unconditional support always made Haruka feel like a champion.If there was something he actually was a world champion in, then it was loving his significant other. And he was sure that his passion and dedication would remain unchallenged until the end of time, because there was no one who could ever be more deserving of love than his Makoto.Time ceased to exist as they moved around the room together, and just like that night, it was only Makoto and him in their own world. There were so many things that were different now, without guests dancing around them and the absence of well-tailored suits, but they were still the same at heart, and therefore, their dancing was practically the same as well. It didn't matter if there was a complete choreography and a loud beat or just two bodies and one voice, because the essence of it would never change; they would forever be Makoto and Haruka, two halves of one whole, and that shone through in everything they did together. Within his husband's arms Haruka found peace, and they would always welcome him home with the invitation of a loving embrace, and of course they would hold him ever so gently while dancing too.A wave of tranquility washed over them and Haruka leaned his head against Makoto's chest, shifting his weight so Makoto was supporting him. As Makoto's arms tightened around his body, Haruka let his eyes fell shut and he softly began to hum along to the song. He could hear Makoto's voice echoing beneath his ear and he couldn't suppress the desire to sing with him, but alas he didn't know the lyrics and his voice wasn't as pretty as his husband's angelic one anyway, so he settled for a good alternative.During a musical interlude, Makoto quit humming for a second in favour of pressing another kiss to Haruka's locks, turning his head to rest his cheek on top of his hair. The gesture of affection that was most likely not even intentional made Haruka melt into his arms, and he was certain that the butterflies in his stomach were here to stay.Slowly stepping back and forth, completely lost in their own world, they sang and hummed until this song had reached its end as well, and then Haruka fell quiet as he waited for Makoto to start another one, for the tight hold that they still locked each other in clearly indicated that this would not be the end of this moment.After a second of silence Makoto's beautiful voice rang out once more, and the song he had chosen startled Haruka; just like the previous song, they had danced to this one during their wedding party as well but contrary to that one, this song wasn't a reject of Rin's massive romantic foreign hits list. Though the performing artists were from overseas just like those of the other ones, the song was in Japanese, because of which Haruka didn't just know what the words meant, but he understood them as Makoto sang to him.It had been released during their first winter in Tokyo, and he remembered listening to it often when they were apart for school or work and he was longing for Makoto's presence. Fortunately, Makoto was always just a phone call away, but the distance was still rough. When he felt particularly somber, he tried to fill the loneliness in his heart with the lyrics, curled up in bed with his headphones on and wrapped in a big sweater that he had stolen from Makoto's closet before he left, the familiar scent of home clinging to the fibers. It had been a mere bandaid on a large gaping wound, but it helped nonetheless, because he knew that no matter how far apart they were, their hearts would always be together because they were each other's one and only.But along with times when they had to say goodbye, came times when they were reunited, and this song also reminded him of the feelings he'd get when he was finally inside Makoto's arms again, where he belonged. And finally, there had come a time they had to leave each other for the last time and from that reunion on, they had gone to sleep together and woken up together every single day. No more tears at their separation, no more sad days of consuming loneliness, no more yearning for each other because there was no longer any need to.Makoto's version of the song sounded very different from the original, dyed with his smooth timbre, slow and subdued. It was almost like he was singing a lullaby for the remnants of loneliness that lingered inside Haruka's heart, lulling them to sleep for now and forever. There was no use for them anymore, because Haruka hadn't felt lonely in years and he knew that as long as the love of his life was by his side, he would never feel lonely again.And it was at this moment that Haruka realised that every wish he had ever made had come true.Without his awareness, the tears began to spill, but for a contrasting reason than any of the previous times he had cried to this song. Overwhelming amounts of joy and gratitude washed over him with the realisation of how far he had come since then. All of the fears and worries he had when he was younger seemed so far away, so trivial now that he knew that what the future held was this. He was so immensely happy.He didn't know what would happen from here on out, because life was unpredictable even when things seemed as clear as water, but Haruka wasn't scared of that uncertainty. He was more than ready to face anything that was in store for him, because he knew he always had his husband to fall back on. Makoto was more than he ever could have wished for and he knew he would always be grateful for that; there were times when he was younger when he had taken Makoto for granted, and though Makoto had never blamed him for it, Haruka had vowed that that would never happen again. He would appreciate and cherish him infinitely because that was what he deserved, because he drowned Haruka in all of his love and caring every waking moment - and even when he was asleep.There was nothing Haruka could do but cry because he was so incredibly lucky and blessed. Though he had already known that, it suddenly hit him so hard because hearing Makoto sing this song for him and dancing to it together really put things into perspective. Even though the road leading up to this hadn't been without trial and there were times in which he felt so miserable and alone, it had been more than worth it because it had brought him here. If he had to do everything over again, then he would live his life the exact same way because all the tears of sadness he shed in the past were nothing in comparison to the wide smile he wore on the daily, painted on his face just by being alive beside his amazing husband and their wonderful children.A soft snort of fondness distorted Makoto's voice as he gently caressed Haruka's back with his large, warm hand, pulling him from his reverie. Embarrassment flooded his senses when he noticed the droplets rolling over his cheeks and he turned his head to hide his face into Makoto's chest, only staining his shirt with his tears in the process. Who would have guessed that shielded behind that stoic demeanour was such a softie?This action only made Makoto chuckle, proving that he knew better than anyone else how sensitive Haruka truly was. But there was no need to even be embarrassed in the first place, because when Haruka dared to sneak a glance at his husband's face, he saw his gorgeous eyes glistening in the light, revealing that he was on the verge of tears too.One time when they were sharing earbuds on the train, this song came on and Makoto had laughed while he told him that he used listened to it when they were apart and he felt sad. As always, their hearts were connected in the purest of ways, so Haruka knew that the exact same thoughts had been going through Makoto's head just now to make the tears well up. They were both enormous softies, or so it seemed.Haruka straightened his back and leaned up on his toes to capture Makoto's lips in another kiss, embarrassment dissolving in the intimate atmosphere because it was unnecessary anyway; with his husband he could always unabashedly and unapologetically be himself.Makoto kissed him back without hesitation, definitely not minding that the next words died out on his lips. Their feet stilled, needing all the leverage they could get or else they would surely be swept away by the copious amounts of affection that this kiss was dripping with.Once they broke apart, Makoto pressed their foreheads together once more. He smiled tenderly down at him as he nuzzled their noses together, hand coming up to rub the persisting tears from his skin. All of the feelings Haruka couldn't put into words left him in the form of a small sigh and he burrowed his head into Makoto's chest again."I love you," Makoto murmured into his ear, speaking Haruka's mind.Though he wanted to say it back, he didn't trust his voice not to crack if he attempted it. So he squeezed Makoto again and responded to him mentally, knowing that the love he wanted to express would be conveyed without fail.Lost in their embrace, Haruka didn't hear the creaking of the door being pushed open nor the footsteps against the wooden floor, but Makoto hadn't missed it."Sorry, did we wake you up?"It wasn't until Makoto asked this that Haruka looked up, and when he did, he saw Umiko and Mizuki standing beside them. Within an instant the magical ambience that surrounded them evaporated, but Haruka didn't mind it at all."No, we couldn't sleep," Umiko said and Mizuki nodded along, rubbing his eye with his free hand - the other, of course, clutching his trusty teddy bear.Haruka knew that wasn't true, otherwise they would have come downstairs much sooner, especially if they heard him rummaging around in the room next to theirs. She didn't lie on purpose though, because Haruka was sure that she had just drifted off and woke up again without having felt like she had slept at all. Hearing her parents making noise, she wanted to go to them. And judging by the drowsy look on Mizuki's face, he had simply been awoken by his sister getting out of bed and decided to join her in her trip downstairs.With regret flowing through their veins, they released their hold on each other in favour of picking their children up; Makoto scooped Mizuki off the floor before he could topple over and Haruka lifted Umiko because she obviously couldn't be left out.Right when Haruka opened his mouth to ask if they wanted another bedtime story, Umiko gasped, "Daddy, were you crying?""Just a little," Haruka admitted not because he wanted to, but because it was glaring and he had to set the right example when it came to telling the truth.Upon his confirmation, Umiko ran her little hand over his cheek to wipe away his tears. This adorable action made both Haruka and Makoto chuckle, especially since there were no longer any tears on his face and only his eyes remained to be a bit red and watery."Why are you sad?" Mizuki questioned, because in his world, sadness was the sole reason to cry."I'm not sad, I'm very happy," Haruka replied earnestly, "Sometimes we also cry because we're happy.""Yes," Makoto added to his explanation, playful smirk rising up again, "You should have seen how hard Daddy cried the first time we saw you.""So did you," Haruka quickly retorted, as if that was even something that warranted being defensive about."Then why are you so happy now?" Umiko wondered. She understood that he had been very happy when they adopted her brother and her, but she didn't see why he would be that happy now. It wasn't like they had just gotten a cat or something like that."Because I have all of you," Haruka stated truthfully, but his honest answer only made Umiko's brows knit together in confusion."We were looking through some photo albums earlier," Makoto supplied, wanting to help his husband out before more questions were thrown at his head, "And we saw pictures of you when you were just little babies, and that made Daddy and me think about how happy we are to have you with us."Umiko nodded in understanding, because that made sense, but not every piece of the puzzle was put together in Mizuki's head yet. "Then what were you doing here?""We didn't just look at pictures of you as babies, but also at pictures of our wedding day," Haruka clarified, the corners of his mouth curling up to betray his enthusiasm, "And when Papa saw pictures of our first dance, he wanted to dance with me again, so we did.""Without music?" Umiko asked sceptically, frowning once again because that seemed very strange."I thought we might wake you up if we put on music," Makoto shrugged, snorting because Haruka had sounded the exact same way when he asked him that earlier."Yes, so instead Papa sang a little.""But apparently that wasn't necessary since you were already awake anyway," he teased, knowing just as well as his husband that they hadn't been awake the entire time but he couldn't help but make a joking remark about it."I want to see those pictures too," Mizuki mumbled as he rubbed at his eye again, dropping his plushie to the floor in the process. Before he had the chance to complain about it, Makoto bent down swiftly and grabbed the bear by one of the limbs, promptly handing it back to their son."Oh, me too!" Umiko agreed excitedly, apparently far less drowsy than her brother."I have a better idea," Makoto said, "We also made a video of our wedding, why don't we go sit on the couch and watch that instead?"It was a smart suggestion, because they would surely fall asleep more easily if they were slumped into the soft cushions and watching a video than if they were perched up over an album. Besides that, he thought that it was also nice to watch the recording, because seeing the images move and hearing what was being said at the time was far more immersive. He didn't know how long it had been since they last watched it, but something inside of him told him that he wasn't done crying for the day yet.The children eagerly accepted that proposal, and before Makoto had the chance to ask for his approval, Haruka was already strolling over to the couch to put Umiko down, making him follow suit.Staying up beyond their bedtime wasn't an issue every once in a while, it just meant that they would sleep in longer tomorrow, so Haruka didn't have any reason to disapprove of his husband's suggestion. Considering that what they had planned was a relaxing day at the beach, it wouldn't be too bad if they were off their usual schedule, because playing around all day would probably exhaust them enough to make them fall asleep without any trouble tomorrow evening."While Papa sets up the video, how about I make us some hot chocolate?""Yes!" they simultaneously cheered, wide smiles stretching their adorable faces.Seeing it made Haruka smile too. Special occasions were only complete with a treat, and he knew that if either of them dozed off before they were able to finish their drink, then their father would selflessly sacrifice himself and down their share too."Your payment will have to wait until later," Makoto whispered when he thought they were out of earshot of the kids, winking seductively like his words weren't self-explanatory enough already.Alas, the children's ears were better trained to eavesdrop than Makoto had anticipated. "What?"Really not wanting to have to come up with excuses of what their father had meant with that, Haruka decided to distract them with the truth, "I promised Papa I'd make him brownies later.""Oh, brownies!" Mizuki exclaimed with as much enthusiasm as he could manage, but Umiko wasn't amused by that at all."That's not fair, it's my turn!" she protested just like Haruka already expected her to."I know," Haruka said, trying to console her, "I didn't forget about that. But since Papa asked so nicely I decided I would spoil you and make you all something that you like. It will still be your turn next time, so you're just getting something extra now.""Oh," Umiko muttered, realising that she had gotten ahead of herself. "Sorry.""It's alright," Haruka brushed off, because unbeknown to her, he had purposely evoked that reaction. Like Makoto said, the end justified the means. "So if you know what you want as your extra treat then let me know.""I want strawberry shortcake!" she instantly replied, excited grin re-emerging on her face."Really? Not lemon muffins?" Makoto questioned in bewilderment, seeing a mistake in his calculations; perhaps he actually could have bribed her. He, too, had gotten ahead of himself."No, I'll have lemon muffins next time, for my turn. For my extra treat, I want strawberry shortcake.""That's fine," Haruka complied, thinking to himself that she might have been spending a little too much time with Nagisa lately. "Mizuki?""I don't know yet," Mizuki mumbled, hugging his stuffed bear to his chest as he waited impatiently for his father to set up the video. It wasn't odd though, because at this rate he would fall back asleep before it even started."You can think about it some more then," Haruka dismissed, for this topic had served its purpose and he knew Mizuki would come up with something he wanted sooner or later regardless. "Well, if Papa puts up the video then I'll go make the hot chocolate."Without waiting for a reply, Haruka walked off, barely catching the "Yes, yes," that his husband muttered under his breath, relieved to have evaded an awkward confrontation. Picking up their abandoned tea mugs from the table, he entered the kitchen with the bright smile that he had been fighting off the whole time finally breaking through.Haruka now knew it for sure: today was the best day of his life. And he was certain that tomorrow would be even better.