Asuna's p.o.v.
I pulled into the parking lot after a long day at work. It was the day that Mrs. Matsuda moved out and I was swamped in paperwork for her release. I had to manually write copies for everything since the copier was busted and they couldn't get it fixed until next week. My right hand was aching and my back hurt from sitting up so straight the whole day. We'd had a ton of visitors come in today. It was one of the patient's birthdays and they were throwing her a party.
I climbed the stairs and unlocked the door, then walked inside. I could smell food coming from the kitchen. I walked in to find Kazuto making food in a pot. He smiled at me as I walked in and sat down at the table, then put the lid on the pot and walked over to me.
"So how was work?", He asked, putting his hands on my shoulders and massaging them.
"Busy. A patient turned 90 and they had a big party for her. On top of that, the copier broke and they can't get it fixed until next week. I had to copy a bunch of stuff by hand. I think my wrist is numb.", I said.
"I'm sorry. They only have three I.T. guys for the whole city now that I'm gone.", he said.
"No, it isn't your fault. One of the nurses didn't know how to change the ink cartridge and she ended up pulling out something that wasn't the ink cartridge.", I joked.
"Ouch. That's not good. I've got curry udon on the stove. It'll be ready in a minute or so, it just has to cook a minute more. I've also got a movie for us to watch and relax.", he said.
"That sounds amazing.", I said.
"I thought you'd say that.", Kazuto chuckled.
He stopped massaging my shoulders and leaned down to hug me from behind. I smiled and laid my head on his, then closed my eyes. We stayed like that until we could hear the pot behind us start to boil over. Kazuto let go of me, then took the pot off the burner. He got out some bowls and served the curry udon, which smelled great.
I took a bite of the noodles and slurped one of them up. I knew it was kind of childish, but I didn't care. I slurped up the noodles until I just had broth and veggies left. I used my spoon to...eat?...the broth. (I don't know, do you count that as drinking it?)
"Did you come home and change before work?", Kazuto asked, looking at my shirt.
"No, I had something on it when I got to my mom's house and she happened to have a spare change of clothes that she gave me. She and I are all good, now.", I said smiling.
"Oh, cool. You know your dad set it up that way, right? I overheard him talking about it over the phone, which happened to be connected to mine.", Kazuto said.
"I figured he did, but I didn't mind. It's not like he did anything bad or wrong, just something sweet. I'm glad he did it.", I said.
"That's good. I saw Liz on the way home. I stopped at the store to get some ingredients and she was there with Klein. They seemed kind of embarrassed when I saw them, though.", Kazuto laughed.
"You know they're going out, right? They don't want us to know, but they aren't making it very discreet.", I said.
"Yeah, actually Klein told me. He didn't mean to, he just kind of let it slip over the phone.", Kazuto said.
"I bet Liz almost killed him when she found out.", I said, thinking back to when Liz got all hot and bothered at me even suggesting such a thing.
"She doesn't know. He's afraid of dying.", Kazuto laughed.
I almost choked on my curry laughing.
"Oh, he's in so much trouble if she ever finds out. Not only did he tell you, he didn't tell her? Oh man. We might have to hold her back.", I joked.
"I've already promised him I would.", he said.
We both laughed. When we were finished eating, I put our bowls in the dishwasher and followed Kazuto into the living room. We sat down on the couch and I cuddled up next to Kazuto. He draped an arm over my shoulders, then grabbed the remote and started the movie. He'd gotten the new Marvel movie, Doctor Strange. It had Benedict Cumberbatch as the main character and I'd been wanting to see it for a long time.
While we watched the movie, my eyelids kept getting heavier and heavier. I rubbed them to keep them open. I was not going to fall asleep during this movie. I'd done that a lot lately, fallen asleep in the middle of a movie. I was determined to stay awake through this one and see the end of it.
I managed to keep my eyes open throughout the whole movie. As soon as the credits started rolling, I stood up and stretched, then turned off the tv and went into the bedroom, where I changed into my nightgown and crawled into bed. After a moment, Kazuto came into the bedroom and got into bed with me. He was already in his pajamas. I assumed he'd changed right after he got home.
Kazuto took off his shirt, then threw it to the side and pulled me close to him. He'd gotten used to sleeping with me in his arms, so it wasn't as much of a problem as when I started being a restless sleeper. At first, he would end up on the floor in the mornings due to me almost pushing him off the bed.
"Goodnight.", I said.
"Goodnight. I love you."
"I love you, too.", I said.
I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep.
~~~~
When I woke up the next morning, Kazuto wasn't in the bed with me. He was in the kitchen making breakfast. I got up and put a robe on, which I was really glad I did, then walked out to find that there were already people here. Sugu and her dad were sitting on the couch, sorting through some of our things and putting them in different boxes.
"Morning, Asuna!", sugu said, getting up and hugging me.
"Good morning.", I said.
"We decided to come a little early to get a head start on the packing. I think that if we all work really hard, we can have it all packed by the end of the day.", Sugu said.
"Ok. Let me go change, then we'll eat and get started.", I said, rubbing my eyes.
Sugu nodded, then went back to packing. I walked into the kitchen where Kazuto was standing at the stove with his aunt.
"Hey, Mom. Could you grab the milk?", Kazuto said.
I almost forgot that he'd started calling her 'Mom' again. I smiled, then walked over to Kazuto and hugged him.
"Good morning, Sleeping Beauty.", he said. (I know, it's totally cliche)
"Good morning. Whatcha making?", I asked.
"Biscuits and gravy. I thought it would be cool since these are the easiest thing in the world to make and we can serve them without having to stay at the table and eat them.", Kazuto said.
"Yum.", I said, looking into the pan Kazuto was stirring. He was making the gravy out of milk, flour, and bacon grease.
"Isn't this an American recipe?", I asked.
"Yup."Kazuto put on a western accent."Best breakfast in Texas.", he joked.
All three of us laughed, Midori, Kazuto, and myself. I let go of Kazuto then turned to walk out.
"I'm gonna go change. I'll be back in a minute.", I said.
I walked back down the hall and into the bedroom. I opened the dresser and pulled out a pair of sweatpants and a pink t-shirt then changed into them. If I was going to be packing, I might as well be comfortable.
The doorbell rang and I heard Sugu open the door and greet somebody. I guessed it was my parents since they were the only other ones I knew were coming. I pulled my hair up into a ponytail, then put on my house shoes and walked out into the hallway.
My parents were standing in the entryway, just as I thought. They smiled when they saw me and both came over to hug me. My mom looked like she felt a little out of place. I could tell she was used to being a little more strict and it was all she could do to try to be as kind as possible.
"Hey, Mom. Hey, Dad.", I greeted.
"Hi.", they said in unison.
"So where do we start?", they asked.
"Um, I think we're starting in the living room, but we're gonna eat first.", I said.
"Ok. We've already eaten, so we can go ahead and start.", Mom said.
"Uh, ok. Kazuto and Sugu's parents are here, so they can explain more. I just woke up, so I'm still not sure what's happening.", I said.
"Oh. We'll figure it out, so don't worry.", Dad said.
I nodded, then headed back into the kitchen to find that Kazuto was already taking the biscuits out of the oven and setting them on the stove next to the gravy. Midori was setting out plates and cups with apple juice. I went to the fridge and got out some jelly, then put it with the other spreads.
Kazuto walked out into the living room and announced that breakfast was ready. Everybody got up and walked into the kitchen, then got a plate and some food, except for my mom and dad, who just stood next to the sink. Dad walked over and started pouring the juice into the cups of the people who wanted it. I wanted water, so he handed the glass to my mom, who filled my cup with water from the tap, then gave it back to me. I thanked them both, then sat down at the table beside Sugu.
I had two biscuits with grape jelly and gravy on them. I picked up one of the biscuits and took a bite. It was warm and fluffy with butter underneath the gravy and jelly. Nobody was talking, we were all just eating. My mom always said that you can tell when food is good because the table will be silent since everybody's eating it.
Once we finished eating, we all got up and threw away our plates, then went into the living room to start packing. I sat down in the armchair and started packing up the pictures on the coffee table, wrapping them in a bunch of old newspaper, provided by Sugu, who had made a run to the recycling center before she came to get boxes and newspaper.
Before long, the whole living room, save for some of the furniture, was packed up and out in my dad's truck. He was making the runs from the apartment to the house and having his friends help him unload it all. He was fairly quick and was able to take a bunch at a time.
"Let's get the furniture last. Then we can worry about the light stuff first and get the heavy stuff last.", I said to Kazuto.
"Ok.", he replied.
Everybody moved on to the nursery and began packing everything up. We didn't totally take the cribs apart, that way we didn't have to rebuild them later. We did, however, take off the mattresses, sheets, and pillows. All the baby clothes we'd gotten were packed into boxes, then put in the truck along with everything else. the nursery, since there wasn't really that much there, only required one trip.
By the time we started in the bedroom, my dad was already back from our house. He came in to help us pack up. Sugu helped me with the dresser and our moms started on the closet. Kazuto, his dad, and my dad were working on taking the bed apart. I had a box for my underwear and pajamas, which I just took the drawer out and quickly dumped it in the box, then closed the box. I didn't need anybody seeing that stuff. Over half of it was things that I'd gotten from Sugu, Liz, and the rest of the girls.
"I wish my wardrobe was half as stylish as yours.", Sugu said.
"I've had most of this since before I got married. Some of it is years old. I think I got this before the SAO incident.", I said, holding up a green sweater with brown buttons on the collar.
"Well who says that makes it any less cute?", Sugu said.
I shrugged my shoulders, then put the sweater in the box. I was barely even bothering with folding them. I was just going to refold them when I unpacked them, so why make a fuss out of it? I taped the box closed, then pushed it aside. We didn't have that much more to go. Just the hall closet, the bathroom, and the kitchen, which were already partially packed.
When we finished the bedroom, it was already lunch time. I got up and took out my phone. I opened notes, then cleared away the notepad I'd written a reminder on yesterday.
"Ok. I'm gonna make a Sonic trip for lunch. I'm gonna pass around my phone, so just write it down in the notes and I'll get it.", I said.
I passed the phone to Sugu, who typed her order, then passed it off to my mom, who didn't take that long to order. The phone went around the room and Mom walked over to me.
"I'll go with you so that you don't have to bring it all in by yourself.", she said.
"Ok.",I replied, taking the phone from Kazuto, who smiled at me as he handed it back.
I turned the phone off, then Mom and I walked down the hall and into the entryway. I slipped out of my house shoes and into the sandals I'd left by the door. They were flip flops since tennis shoes and sandals with ankle straps no longer fit. My ankles were just starting to swell, so I didn't have that many options.
Mom and I got into my car and went to Sonic. One we got there, I read off the orders from my phone and reached for my wallet, which was on the dashboard. When we got to the window, they started passing bags into the car. I handed them to Mom, who checked them, then put them in the back seat floor boards so they wouldn't slip around. I handed the cashier my debit card and he swiped it quickly, then handed it back.
"Are you having a party or something?", he asked.
"Well, I guess you could say that. We're having a packing party and packing up my apartment.", I explained.
"Oh, well have fun with that.", he said.
I thanked him and drove off. Mom took my wallet and opened it up, taking my card out.
"What are you doing?", I asked.
"I switched the cards so that I paid instead of you and Kazuto. I'm just switching them back.", she said.
"Seriously, Mom? Why?", I asked.
"Because you need to save your money. you just bought a house and you're about to have twins. It's not like it's a big deal for your father and I. He just bought me a diamond bracelet, you really think we can't afford it?", she asked.
"I guess, but you could have at least told me. You don't have to sneak your card into my wallet.", I said.
"I knew you would have protested if I'd said anything.", she said.
"Whatever.", I laughed.
We pulled into the parking lot and then got out. I opened the back door and we started grabbing bags and taking them in. When we walked in, everybody came out and grabbed a bag or two. Kazuto decided to show off and carry five at a time.
"If you drop my food, I'm going to hurt you.", Sugu said behind him.
Kazuto just laughed and set the bags down on the table. I took all the food out of the bags and set it out on the table. I took my food and sat down on the couch. Now that I was looking around, the apartment looked even more empty than when I first bought it.
"It looks so bare.", Kazuto said.
"I know. It's like a ghost house.", I said.
"Even the tv is gone. I was gonna turn on the football game.", Kazuto said.
"That went on the first trip. I would've thought you'd noticed your flatscreen was missing.", Dad said.
"I was probably paying attention to what I was packing.", Kazuto said in defense.
I laughed, then took a bite of my chicken strip sandwich. I'd always loved these. They were my weakness when it came to Sonic. That and their tater tots. It didn't take me long to finish my food, so I just sat around and talked with everybody until they were all finished.
"So what cravings have you been having?", Sugu asked.
"I don't know. I've been eating a lot of eggs, but I don't know, other than that.", I said.
"Um, pancakes, rice balls, and chicken strips.", Kazuto said.
"Well I guess you would know.", I laughed.
"That's practically all you eat. I have to cook in order to get something other than chicken for lunch.", he joked.
"Ok, that's enough.", I said, elbowing him lightly in the ribs. Well, maybe not so lightly.
Kazuto almost choked on his food, then gave a 'what was that for?' look, to which I gave him a 'stop it now' look.
He just smiled nervously and put his arm around me. I leaned on his shoulder and played with the drawstring on my sweatpants. After everybody was finished, we all stood up and went back to packing the bedroom. I used the bathroom first, then joined the group in the loading process. We had everything packed, we just needed to put it all in the truck and take it over to the new house.
The bedroom was the only thing that required three trips to get it all. Most of it was clothes, but then the last trip we decided to go ahead and take the dresser, the nightstands, and the bed. I decided to go with my dad this time, just so that I could make sure everything got to the right room. Kazuto came with me and everybody else started in the kitchen.
It didn't take that long to get everything into the house, with Dad's friends helping out and setting everything up where we wanted it. The house was starting to feel like a home already. I vaguely recognized some of Dad's friends who were helping us out. Some of them greeted Kazuto and I. Kazuto seemed to know some of them from work, but most of them were complete strangers to him.
"Well, I think that about covers everything from this load, so let's go ahead and go back.", Dad said.
I nodded and got in the truck with Kazuto. We both sat in the back and Kazuto sat in the middle because I was on the side. He put one arm around my shoulders and the other around my waist. I rested my head on his shoulder and almost fell asleep on the short commute back to the apartment.
When we got back, I walked in to find that the kitchen was almost completely packed up, along with the bathroom. Sugu had started on the bathroom while we were gone and all she had left was the pack up the shower curtain and the hand soap.
"Wow. That was quick.", I said.
"Well they were already almost halfway done, so we just took it from there.", Midori said.
"Thanks, Mom. We couldn't've done this without you.", Kazuto said, hugging his mom. I smiled, then went to help Sugu take the shower curtain down. She was balancing on the side of the tub, unhooking the curtain holders.
"How about I just bring you a chair? That way you don't -", Sugu's foot slipped and she fell into the bathtub, bumping her head on the faucet.
"slip.", I finished.
"I'm ok, but man did that hurt.", sugu said, rubbing her head where she hit the faucet.
Her hand came away clean, but she looked dizzy. I helped her out of the bathtub, then went to go get her an ice pack from the freezer. She was able to stand, so she stood next to me as I stood on a stool and took down the rest of the hooks. I got down off the stool with the shower curtain in my hand. It was just plain white, like the rest of the bathroom. When I moved here, I couldn't afford to be stylish.
"Sorry I fell.", Sugu said.
"There's no need to apologize. You were just trying to help.", I said, smiling sincerely.
I folded up the shower curtain and put it in the box, then put the hand soap bottle on top of it, after screwing the pump down so that it wouldn't leak on the way over to the house. I closed up the box, then set it out in the hallway.
"Ok, let me look at your head.", I said.
Sugu took her ice pack off her head, then looked down so that I could see the spot where she hit it. I parted her hair to see if I could find a cut. There was a red indention where she hit it, but there was no blood or a scrape.
"Ok, you'll have a nasty bump, but you'll live.", I said.
"Thanks", Sugu laughed.
I smiled, then let go of her head. She looked back up and wiped her hair out of her face. She placed the ice pack back on the top of her head, then got up and we walked out of the bathroom.
"You ok, Sis?", Kazuto asked.
"Yeah, I just bumped my head. I'll be fine.", she said.
"Ok.", Kazuto said, giving her a light punch on the shoulder.
I sat sugu down on the couch, then went to help take the boxes down to the truck. I picked up the box from the bathroom, which was just big enough for it to be difficult to carry. I set it down by the entryway, being too scared to try and walk down the stairs with it. Kazuto took it and carried it down.
"I think we've gotten everything.", Kazuto said.
"Nope. The hall closet still needs to be unpacked the rest of the way.", I said.
"Oh. Well that won't take too long.", Mom said.
I opened the closet, which was full of coats and scarves. It also had some of Kazuto's weights, which I hadn't seen him use in a while.
Kazuto grabbed the weights, then put them in a box and I started taking down the coats and scarves. Mom taped the boxes as I filled them and Kazuto's dad took them down to the truck. We had it all packed up in five minutes.
"Whoohoo! We're totally done with packing.", I said, putting the last coat in the box.
Everybody cheered and we all laughed. Kazuto's dad took the last box out to the truck and Kazuto hugged me. I snuggled into his chest and hugged him back. He kissed the top of my head, then I looked up at him and kissed him on the lips.
Kazuto let go of me after the kiss. I hugged my parents for helping us pack up, then I hugged both of Kazuto's parents.
"Thank you guys so much for helping us out so much. If it wasn't for you, we'd still be unpacking the living room.", Kazuto said.
"It was our pleasure. It gave us a chance to get to know you two a little better. You might have grown up with us, but you learn something new about a person every day.", Midori said.
"Well, I think that we ought to get the rest of the stuff over to the house, that way we can all go home and rest after such a busy day.", Dad said.
I nodded in agreement, then grabbed Kazuto's hand and we all walked out of the apartment. I got in my car and Kazuto got in his, then we all drove to the house. I parked my car on the curb behind Kazuto's since there was furniture in the driveway. In the last trip, we'd packed up all the furniture and taken it, so now we just had to work on getting it all into the house.
Dad's friends all pitched in and took something inside the house, taking it to the room written on the box in Sharpie. I walked into the new house. It felt so new, yet it felt comfortable. I walked into the living room where the couch had already been put into place. They were bringing in the armchair, which they set next to the couch.
"I'll arrange it all later.", I said.
"Yeah, we'll have to do a bunch later, but it shouldn't be that big a problem.", Kazuto said, walking up behind me and putting an arm around my waist.
I looked around and smiled. This would be the house our kids would grow up in. They'd come home from school and run into the living room to hug us when they got here. We'd all eat as a family in the dining room and occasionally eat in the living room with a movie. I felt tears sting the back of my eyes as I thought about all the happy memories we'd make. I blinked the tears away, then leaned on Kazuto's shoulder again. I liked to do that. He was so sturdy and was alway there for me to rest my head on his shoulder.
"Well, that's everything.", Dad said from behind me.
I turned around and smiled at him.
"All the furniture has been brought in and there's just some boxes to unpack.", he said.
"Thanks, Dad.", I said.
"No problem, Sweetie.", he said, reaching out to hug me.
I hugged him tightly, then let go. He kissed my forehead, then turned and walked towards the door. Mom walked up with a smile on her face. It was the first time I'd seen her real smile since I was little. She hugged me briefly, then let go.
"I had fun today getting to know you and your husband.", she said.
"We're pretty cool once you get to know us.", Kazuto said grinning.
Mom laughed and let go of me. she walked over to Kazuto like she was about to hug him, but hesitated and stuck her hand out for a handshake instead. Kazuto just chuckled and hugged my mom for the first time. She looked mildly uncomfortable, but she didn't push him away.
"Thanks for helping.", Kazuto said.
"You welcome. Take care of my daughter.", she said
"I will.", Kazuto said.
Mom let go of Kazuto and then turned and walked out the door. Next were Sugu and her parents. They came up and engulfed Kazuto and I in a group hug. I laughed and embraced it. When they let go, we were all laughing.
"Once again, thanks for helping, you guys.", I said.
"Your welcome.", they all chorused.
"Well, we'll leave so you two can rest up.", Midori said.
"Bye.", I said, waving as they walked out.
Kazuto put his arm around my waist again and I put my arms around him. He smiled and laid his head on the top of my head.
"So, I'm thinking a nap. We still have a little while before supper.", Kazuto suggested.
"Yes, please.", I said tiredly.
He chuckled quietly, then we walked down the hallway of our new house to the master bedroom, which already had everything put together in it. The bed was already made, thanks to Sugu, who had done that when we got here.
"I'm not even changing.", I said, crawling onto the bed.
Kazuto laughed and crawled up next to me. He was just in sweatpants, a white t-shirt, and a gray hoodie, so he took off the hoodie and the shirt, then pulled me close and kissed my cheek.
"Are you happy here?", he asked.
"Yes. I can't wait to get out lives here started.", I said.
"Me neither.", he laughed.
Kazuto put both his hands around my waist and got quiet and still. I could hear his soft breathing and feel it on the back of my neck. It wasn't creepy for him to be breathing down my neck. His breath was warm and it made me feel safe, knowing that he was there. I closed my eyes and let drowsiness overtake me.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I'm sorry for the short delay between chapters. I didn't want to stop writing, so I tried to make a place to stop before it became one of those 30,000 word chapters that take people a week to read. Seriously, how long does it take y'all to finish one of my chapters? It usually takes me about an hour and a half, or one class period, since I'm on a block schedule, to finish a chapter if I have nothing to do. Does it take you that long to finish them?
-Scarlet