Family Affair

Chapter 6 ~ Two Days Later

“You did WHAT?!?!” Faust yelled.

Yoh looked at the ground silently.

“Yoh, please tell me you didn’t just tell me that you and Manta had sex!” Faust yelled bluntly.

Yoh looked up. “We did...” He frowned after a moment. “What does it matter if we did, anyway?! We’re married! That’s supposed to be a part of normal life for us!”

“Yoh, you’ve been pushing Manta’s recovery too much! He was barely ready to be doing anything without his clothes!” Faust yelled angrily. “You have to remember that he can’t protect himself! For all you know, he could have been too afraid to tell you to stop, just like before!”

Yoh glared at Faust. “You think I don’t know Manta is weak?! But the other night, he wasn’t scared. Or at least he wasn’t scared when I was seme! I could feel it! He was happy when we made love, and he hasn’t had any nightmares!”

“And what if the reason he won’t wake up is because he is stuck in a nightmare right now?” Faust asked icily. “You put my son’s well-being on the line when you did that, Yoh. If any thing happens to him, you will regret it.”

Yoh looked silently at Faust. It had been two days since he and Manta made love, and since then the blonde had not awaken. “Faust I...”

“Daddy,” Kibo said quietly.

“Don’t interrupt, Sweety,” he replied. “Faust, Manta hasn’t made a sound in over eleven years. I can tell now when Manta wants or doesn’t want something. He wanted that, and he enjoyed it. I don’t know what’s wrong with him, but that isn’t...”

“He can’t handle it, Yoh,” Faust replied angrily.

“Um... Yeah... Just thought you guys would like to know that Mom and I are going to go have dinner,” Kibo said with a cocked eyebrow, then turned and walked out.

“He can too handle it!” Yoh said irritably. “If he couldn’t, I would have felt it!”

“Yoh, you’re ac...”

The two blinked.

“What did Kibo say?” Faust asked slowly.

Yoh blinked, then shot out of the room and to the kitchen, followed by his father-in-law. The two came to a stop and gaped when they found Kibo and Manta retrieving berries from the fridge. They stared quietly at Manta, who seemed happier than they had seen in a long time.

“Manta-chan...” Yoh murmured.

“What?” Faust said quietly.

Yoh smiled gently. “I told you he was okay.”

Manta blinked, then looked up. He smiled brightly, then ran over and hugged Yoh.

“Manta-chan,” Yoh said softly, then scooped his beloved into his arms and cradled him. “Manta, I need to speak to you and Kibo about something.”

Manta nodded while looking up at Yoh, his face glowing softly.

“Kibo,” Yoh called.

“Coming, Dad,” she replied, then walked out of the kitchen after her parents.

Soon, the family sat in Kibo’s room, Kibo sprawled lazily on her bed, and Yoh sitting crossed legged with Manta in his lap.

“You two, I have to go to America on business,” Yoh said quietly. “Normally I wouldn’t do such business, but there is a resort in the Rockies that has specifically asked that I come and do an evaluation based on Funbari Onsen’s standards. If things work out, the owner may sign over the deed.”

Kibo sat up. “Hey. Then that means you can start a chain like Best Western, right?”

“Well, sort of.” Yoh looked down at Manta, who was snuggling warmly against him. “I’ll be gone for a few weeks, though.”

Man stared at the floor, then slowly looked up.

Yoh looked at Manta quietly, then smiled. “Daijobu. I will call every day, Manta-chan. And I’ll bring you back a special present.”

Manta sighed while snuggling more tightly in Yoh’s arms. After a moment, he looked up with a small smile and nodded a bit.

“You’re sure you’ll be okay?” Yoh asked.

Manta nodded quietly, looking softly in Yoh’s eyes.

Yoh sighed with a smile. “Yeah. Faust and Shizuka will be here, and Ryu’s going to come home on the weekends,” he said quietly, then looked up at Kibo. “How ‘bout you, little monster?” he asked with a grin.

“I’ll be fine,” she said with a grin.

“Naa,” Yoh said with a smile. “I’m leaving tomorrow, so I’ll have to turn in early,” he said with a bit of a sigh.

“Alright then,” Kibo said as her father stood, holding Manta in his arms.

“Your mother and I need some time alone, so perhaps you could just help Shizuka finish the evening chores and stay away from our room.”

“Yeah, Dad,” she replied with annoyance as Yoh walked out of the room.

-

“Manta-chan?” Yoh said gently as he sat down on the futon. “Are you sure you’ll be okay while I’m gone?”

Manta nodded gently while snuggling into his arms.

Yoh smiled as he took his kimono off and tossed it across the room, and then laid Manta down on it and let his finger trace various patterns on the childlike face. “You’re so pretty, Manta-chan,” he said softly. He grinned when Manta blushed, and then let his hand slide down and open the pink kimono Manta wore, then gently raised his shirt and kissed his love’s small tummy. “Maybe one day we could have another?” he suggested.

Manta looked down with a glowing face, and then smiled while closing his eyes.

“I know that aura,” Yoh said with a giggle. “Anything I want? Well, I wanna know if you want another baby someday.” He sighed when he received the same responding aura, and then closed the kimono and took Manta into his arms while lying down so they could cuddle. “Manta-chan, I’ll come home as soon as possible.”

Manta snuggled tightly against Yoh, enjoying the sound of his heartbeat, and nodded with a happy smile.

“Manta-chan, I love you,” he whispered. “And I don’t say it nearly enough, so I’ll try harder.” He could tell that Manta didn’t mind, but still he felt he should say it more often. After a minute, he closed his eyes with a smile. “I love you,” he whispered again feeling Manta was drifting to sleep, and then soon after he joined his beloved in a happy dream.