Yours to Hold (An OHSHC fanfic) [Completed]

Chapter Twenty-Six

A/N: As a warning, I'm starting a lot of different ending plots in this chapter, so it sort of jumps around a little, but it's got important stuff. Hope it doesn't throw you off!

“That’s a dog.”

I blinked, looking up from Aki who was tucked into the crook of my arm to where my uncle stood in the entryway, staring at me with a dumbfounded expression. I believe it was probably the first time I’d seen such an expression on his face. It was enough to distract me, at least for a few moments, from the fact that he’d obviously been waiting for me to come home.

“Great observation.”

He blinked, annoyance flashing across his face a second before he pulled on a neutral expression.

“Excuse me?”

“Ah…” I began, lightly running a hand over Aki’s back as he growled softly. I doubt Uncle could hear him, but it didn’t hurt to calm the poor puppy down. “Sorry. That slipped out, it wasn’t meant to be as rude as it sounded.”

Uncle Harou opened his mouth to respond, obviously irritated, but shut it a moment later. I was surprised even further as he sighed, leaned against the wall, and focused his eyes on the ceiling.

“You want to keep it?” he questioned.

“Yeah.”

He crossed his arms, another sigh escaping him. I could actually see it as he clenched and unclenched his jaw while mulling the idea over. Eventually he dropped his eyes back to me.

“Fine.”

It took me a full minute to realize I hadn’t imagined what he’d said.

“What?” I demanded.

“Fine,” Uncle Harou replied instantly, that irritated tone still there. “I said fine. Are you as deaf as you are dumb?”

Ignoring the barb, I hugged Aki a little closer, ignoring how he squirmed as a result. Sure, I was suspicious, Uncle never gave into anything without reason, but if I got to keep Aki then I’d put up with whatever it was he had in mind. The only question was of how long it would take for me to find out why he’d given in.

“You were waiting for me to get home,” I commented when he didn’t say anything else.

I must have hit the nail on the edge because he shifted his position against the wall, obviously uncomfortable when it came to the sudden change in topic.

“I was.”

“... why?”

“I’m leaving town for business in three days,” he replied after a moment.

I frowned, confused. Why did that matter? It wasn’t unusual for him to leave and I’d gotten used to him just telling me out of the blue that he was doing so. Uncle wasn’t exactly the most considerate person in the world, his schedule was always the one you were expected to abide by.

“Oh.”

Another, irritated, sigh left him as he dropped his arms and studied me.

“You forgot, didn’t you?” he questioned.

I immediately racked my brain for anything that he might be concerned about. Finding nothing, I gave into the inevitable lecture about responsibility.

“I guess so. What did I forget?”

“... you really are her daughter,” Uncle grumbled. “Your birthday. You forgot your birthday, Nao.”

My birthday?