Kiri opened his eyes and whispered, "Good morning," when he saw Hikaru watching him. She grinned and kissed him. When they came up for air he asked, "Did you sleep?"

Hikaru laughed and kissed the tip of his nose. "Do I look tired?" she asked.

He shook his head and replied, "No, you look absolutely gorgeous."

Hikaru blushed and he hugged her against him. She laughed and wriggled. "What time do you think it is?" she asked, grinning.

He blinked and sat up, he reached for his phone and said, "Oh." Then he looked over at her and asked, "Why didn't you wake me up?"

She reached out and touched his face and replied seriously, "Because I think this is only the second time I've seen you try to sleep in, and I woke you up last time."

--

Tae had left some breakfast things out for them, but when she heard them opening doors she called out from the garden, "Do you want to just wait until we all have lunch in an hour or so?"

Kiri stuck his head out the side door and replied, "Sure, who is we all?"

It turned out that lunch was another round of many cousins, aunts and uncles. This time because one of Kiri's cousins had just given birth a few days before their arrival. She and the new baby had had to stay at the hospital for a few days, but had just been released. Although Hikaru wasn't sure she'd want to attend a party in those circumstances, she admitted that Kiri's cousin looked really happy.

Kiri got a turn to hold the new baby and Hikaru stared as he cuddled it with practiced ease. "Do you want to hold her?" he offered.

She shook her head.

He watched her watching him for a moment and then asked, "Are you sure?"

She nodded. Then she grinned at him and replied, "But when my new sibling is born, I may ask you to help me, you look really comfortable with her."

Kiri laughed and replied, "When I moved to the same town my middle sister lived in, she assumed I came as a free baby sitter. I had children with me many Saturday nights." He shrugged and added, "Now that they're all in school, I don't see them as often."

He looked at Hikaru's expression and passed his tiny cousin on to her grandmother. Then he pulled Hikaru close and whispered, "What's wrong?"

She shook her head.

He frowned at her and she smiled and kissed him. "Nothing's wrong Kiri. I was just thinking about a song," she assured him.

Someone was dragged away from the party to drive them to the train station, Hikaru couldn't remember that cousin's name. She wasn't sure Kiri could either, since he didn't helpfully address the cousin by name.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

--

When they entered their home that night, Hikaru looked around with a funny expression on her face.

Kiri walked over and kissed her deeply. "What are you thinking?" he asked when he released her.

She blinked and looked at him and replied, "You kiss me like that and think there's still room in my head for thinking?"

He laughed and kissed her again lightly. "Then what were you thinking when we came in?"

She looked around again and replied simply, "I was thinking, I'm home." Then she looked at him and asked quietly, "Shouldn't it still feel stranger?"

It was his turn to blink at her and after a moment he asked, "Why?"

She shrugged and replied, "I don't know, because nothing has changed?"

He looked after her in confusion as she headed toward the bathroom.

--

Monday after school they combined their bank accounts.

Hikaru said, "I feel a little shocked by the amount you have saved."

Kiri laughed and replied, "I could say the same thing."

Hikaru slapped his shoulder and he laughed again.

"I have to go back to work," he said a little mournfully a few minutes later.

Hikaru started to laugh and then looked at his face again and asked instead, "What's wrong?"

Kiri shrugged and replied, "When we got back my boss dropped one of our recurring trouble cases in my lap. The next few days are probably going to be long ones."

She hugged him and he held her tightly and then murmured against her ear, "I love you so much. We're starting interviews for the general manager position." He pulled back and brushed a strand of hair back from her face, "Are you still certain these kinds of schedules and me as the field manager are OK?"

Hikaru nodded without hesitation.

He kissed her again.

--

Tuesday Hikaru went to Ryuske's place after school to meet up with Mirage and make their final decisions on their album before it was submitted to the publishing queue.

"Would you write a song for me?" Hikaru asked Ryuske suddenly while they were waiting for Rin and Hatsuharu.

He didn't reply right away, but looked at her a little oddly. Finally he asked, "What do you mean?"

"I mean like how you wrote the song for Hatsuharu when he wrote the lyrics for his wife," Hikaru explained.

Ryuske grinned at her suddenly and replied, "Try writing it yourself first."

Hikaru covered her face with her hands and said, "It's too awful if I try. Anyone would hate it. My brain keeps repeating," she blushed and sang, 'Everything changed, when nothing changed, I'm so happy, I'm so happy, I'm so happy! Nothing happened when everything happened..' The fragments of the song poured out, then she continued, "People would throw things."

Ryuske laughed openly. When he had his breath back, he grinned and said, "So leave the parts that would be annoying when said out loud instrumental." He turned to the keyboard and played it back to her, modified.

Hikaru stared at him, as he sang, "We're holding hands like yesterday, but with a thousand little fingertip touches, everything inside of me rushes!" Then played a section that danced off his fingertips and continued, "Something happened, when nothing happened. Nothing changed, when something changed."

Hikaru applauded and then sat on the bench beside him and slung an arm over his shoulder. "That's amazing!"

Ryuske grinned, but it faded and he looked at her hesitantly.

Hikaru raised her brows at him, squeezed his shoulders and said, "What? I bring you fragments of a song and you turn it into a real song within minutes. You're really amazing Ryuske."

He shook his head and said, "I just rearranged it. It's your song." He added after a moment, with a real smile, "I'm really glad that you're so happy, and this is a good song, we should add it to the album."

Hikaru released him and argued, "You turned it into a real song. And isn't it too late for that?"

"Too late for what?" Rin asked. Hikaru and Ryuske jumped a little and he laughed as he let the door close.

"To add Hikaru's song to the album. We'd have one from each of us that way," Ryuske explained. He turned to Hikaru and asked, "You do have more lines for verses don't you?"

She blushed and nodded.

--

When Hatsuharu arrived they spent five minutes on choosing cover photos and agreed that the second video released would be the one that Nezumi had just finished editing. In it the borrowed convertible and Rin's bike apparently cruised through the city at night, with Mirage singing out like a migratory flock as they passed through the districts in patterns of light and shadow.

Then they started to work on the new song. Ryuske didn't usually let them watch as he wrote, but he just laughed and said again, "I'm not writing it, I'm just writing an arrangement down."

They were still playing when Hatsuharu's plump wife came down to fetch him. Rin laughed when he closed the door behind the couple and said, "I almost expected her to throw Hatsuharu over her shoulder and carry him off."