"OH GOD, SOMEBODY HELP ME!"

Kei sat up so fast his head spun. How had an intruder managed to get into his bedroom? Mind already running a mile a minute, he leaped out of bed and grabbed the gun from inside his pillowcase. There was no time for the silencer. He zipped around the bad, gun at the ready -

-and almost flattened the blur of white and grey that came zipping out of the bathroom.

"Kei!" Large pink eyes filled with fear looked up at him. "Help! Get help! There's a - why do you have a gun in my face?"

"Yikes!" Hurriedly, Kei put the safety back on and lowered the gun. "I forgot I got married."

His wife of fifteen hours glowered at him. "Oh, I know," he snapped. "You certainly didn't sleep like a man sharing a bed!"

"Sorry," Kei said, smiling sheepishly. "What happened, though? Why are you screaming?"

"That!" Yoru pointed a shaking finger at the open bathroom door. "There's a lion on the toilet!"

A second of shocked silence passed before Kei burst into uncontrollable laughter. "What's so funny?" Yoru demanded, watching Kei clutch his stomach and wheeze, his eyes watering.

"That isn't a lion!" Kei gasped. "Annaisha? Come here, girl!"

"Don't call it here! Gah, it's coming, I can hear it miaow - wait. Miaow?"

Yoru peeked out from his hiding place behind Kei as a giant, tawny, amber-eyed feline walked up to Kei and rubbed itself against Kei's leg. "Yoru, meet my cat Annaisha," Kei said, picking it up. "Annaisha, say hi to your new mommy."

The cat moved its huge head, fixing Yoru with its stern eyes. Yoru hesitantly held out his hand. Annaisha sniffed it, paused and pushed its nose into Yoru's palm, asking for a scratch. "She likes you," Kei observed.

"Not enough to sit on me, I hope."

Kei laughed and put Annaisha down. "She doesn't like laps," he said. "But here: you fell asleep in the car so I couldn't show you last night."

"A window seat!" Yoru hobbled to it and sniffed. "Varnish...it's new?"

Kei nodded. "It was completed a couple of days ago. You said you can't sunbathe in direct sunlight, so..."

Yoru smiled over his shoulder. "You know I'm a done deal, right?" he said. "You don't need to please me so much. I'm not going anywhere."

"I know that," Kei said. "I'm doing it because I want to. Well - inaugurate the window seat while I brush. Don't climb the stairs alone."

Yoru nodded. As he settled back into the cushions, he felt a superstitious unease take root in his mind. Things were going too well for him - and the more the good piled up, the worse would be the bad that would befall him next. At the same time, he couldn't exactly wish for something bad to happen to him. "At times like these, I really envy people who can live in the moment," he mumbled.

The rest of the family was already up by the time Kei and Yoru entered the dining room. Suddenly feeling very awkward, the two mumbled their greetings and stiffly took their places at the table without meeting anyone's eye. "You needn't excuse yourself," Ayako reminded Yoru, chuckling. "This is your home now."

"Um. Yes. Thank you," Yoru said, meeting the eye of a curious young man who ogled him as he entered with a plate of egg rolls.

"Miura, you're staring," Kei sighed.

"I'm sorry!" Miura put down the plate and bowed deeply before Yoru. "I forgot my manners. Again."

"It's alright," Yoru said, holding out his hand. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Yoru."

Miura hesitated. Even someone as tactless as him wasn't so stupid as to freely touch his boss' wife. "Don't mind him," Yoru said, placing his hand on Kei's eyes. "He always looks like that."

"I know!" Miura agreed, nodding vigorously. Finding a sympathizer removed his awkwardness, and he took Yoru's proffered hand and shook it vigorously. "Oyassan never lets up, and none of us can tell if he's mad at us or not."

"Ow! Just...not so hard."

"I'm sorry! I forgot again! Oyassan told us about your injuries. Please don't worry anymore, anesan. We're all here now to protect you."

Yoru smiled, touched. Having done the protecting for most of his life, he was so unaccustomed to the cocoon of safety he was being wrapped in that he worried about ensuring his safety being nothing but a burden.

“Hey, get off!" Kei tried to bat Yoru's hands away, but the latter clamped them even tighter. Junta used that opportunity to steal Kei's bacon, duly depositing one piece in his aunt's mouth as payment.

Yoru had never enjoyed breakfast so much. Even the ache in his ribs was not enough to get him to stop laughing. Four more group members joined the ruckus and promptly edged their boss out of the way to make space for them to sit around their anesan and chat.

A jealous Kei was quick to steal Yoru away. "They shoved me," Kei grumbled, fumbling with a cufflink as he prepared to go to work. "I can't believe it."

"Here, let me do it," Yoru offered. "They're all just excited. How sweet."

"They're not usually this quick to accept people, but their excuse with you is that since I've met you, there's been fewer instances of my 'glaring so hard I scare the pee out of them.' "

"Hmm? Why were you such a grouch before?"

Kei smiled devilishly. "Why, because you weren't here, darling," he sang, ducking down and lifting Yoru into the air and spinning him around.

"Wah! What's gotten into you!" Yoru laughed. "No, seriously! Why were you so sad before?"

Kei stopped mid-turn. "I'll tell you someday," said he.

"Someday? I'm not patient enough for someday."

"Get used to it." Kei set Yoru down on the bed. "Okay, then. Stay off the stairs, and if the kids ask you if they can go for crepes with Kobayashi, I did NOT say on the phone that they could. I'll stop by your house and pack you some of your stuff - all we have here is your hospital bag."

"No! Hey, no, Kei. My parents don't like you. What if they make a scene? I'll manage in two pairs clothes until I find a j-"

"Don't be ridiculous, Yoru. I'll be in and out."

"At least take me with you! I can mediate. Dad won't hit me if you're there."

Kei opened his mouth to snap back, but stopped. Instead, he sat down and put his arm around Yoru's shoulder. "I'm worried about you," he said, putting on his best smoulder. "Two fractures, two concussions...it's horrible. You need rest!"

Yoru raised a challenging eyebrow. Hooking a long, white finger into Kei's collar, he pulled him close and returned the smoulder with double force. "I do need rest," he crooned, lips brushing the corner of the transfixed Alpha's jaw. "But you, darling...you need me."

*

"You're lucky your father isn't home."

Yoru shifted uncomfortably under his mother's glare. "I know," he said. "It will be quick, I promise."

"What, he can't afford a few pairs of clothes for his bride?"

Yoru pressed his forehead into the table and groaned internally. "He'll hear you, mom," he said.

"Then let him. What can he do to me now?"

Yoru hoped his husband upstairs wouldn't hear his mother's ranting. He'd managed to convince Kei into bringing him, but he was starting to regret it. Kei had refused to let him climb the stairs and had gone up to his room alone, leaving Yoru to deal with the pissed off lady of the house.

"You could at least pretend to be nice," Yoru complained. "He hasn't done anything wrong."

"He hasn't done anything wrong yet," Miriko snapped. "He won't ask for your permission when he does do something. And he will - mark my words. And when that does happen, don't come running to me! Even if he beats you half-dead!"

"Why would you say that? You don't even know him!"

"Do you?"

Yoru could neither agree not disagree. His mother would laugh if he told her he was relying on a hunch. "Just stop saying things like he'll beat me."

"It's a real possibility!" Miriko fumed. "I'm not going to sugar-coat anything."

Yoru flinched and pressed his hands to his ears. "I don't want to hear that now! I got married yesterday!"

"Yeah. My warning comes too late."

Infuriated, Yoru jumped to his feet. The room spun. "If you didn't like Kei, you shouldn't have arranged for me to marry him," he snarled.

"I never gave my consent to this marriage. It was you and your father who decided it without an iota of foresight! Carried away by appearances...there's no difference between you and your father!"

That hit a nerve. Yoru slammed the table hard and stormed off to his room, not even realizing the agony in his legs before he'd reached the top of the stairs. Kei, who'd emerged from Yoru's room upon hearing someone stomping, dropped the two bags he'd been holding.

"What did I tell you about the stairs!" He cried, scooping Yoru into his arms. "What happened?"

Yoru took a good, long look at Kei's face. The concern in his eyes warmed Yoru's heart as much as the fear of losing that concern chilled it. "I'm okay," said he, smiling with a touch of sadness. "Let's go home."

Kei wasn't convinced, but realized that Yoru didn't want to talk. Without another word, he took Yoru downstairs before returning for the things he'd packed. Yoru ignored Kei's admonishments and walked out the door by himself, refusing Miriko's support. Miriko followed him nevertheless, and stopped him right as he was about to walk away. "There's still time," she warned. "The registration hasn't been mailed yet. Annul this marriage."

Yoru simply glared and turned away.

"Fine," Miriko responded. "It's your funeral. And make sure that man or any offspring you two produce never darken my doorstep."

The ride back to the Tsunoda house was silent. Despite Yoru's reticence, Kei had a suspicion that he was somehow related to his wife's agitation. So he kept his mouth shut and made a mental note to worm the details out of Yoru later.

Everyone was already asleep when the two reached home. Kei vehemently refused to let Yoru walk any further and carried him again, much to his chagrin. "I'll take the couch," he said, suddenly very awkward. "I'm an antsy sleeper, and I seem to have bothered you last night-"

"No," Yoru said. "Stay. Please."

"What if I accidentally kick you or something?"

You felt a little sick as his brain conjured up a vivid visual of Kei's words, only in this version the kicking wasn't an accident. He squeezed his eyes shut, bit of course that didn't help. “Stay,” he begged. “I don’t like being alone.”

Kei gave in with a sigh. “Wake me up if I hurt you,” he said, joining Yoru in the bed. “Hey...are you sure you’re okay?”

“No, I’m not okay. I’m scared.”

“Scared? About what?”

“...I’ll tell you someday.”

Kei frowned, but didn't argue. Yoru looked like he would cry at the slightest aggravation. So he quietly settled into bed, sleeping just a little closer than a friend would and with his arm extended - a silent invitation for Yoru to seek comfort in his hold.

Yoru kept his distance. Despite his best efforts, fear had crept into his mind thanks to his mother. However, he couldn't resist grazing his fingers over the sleeping Kei's palm. This hand had brought him so much happiness. Would it one day become his worst nightmare?

"If you ever feel like it's pain I deserve from you," Yoru whispered, "hit me. Hit me so hard I lose my memory." He gently caressed Kei's face. "I'm not strong enough to bear the pain of your blows and of the memories of what used to be."