"What do you want to take home?" Sora asked, after he checked the updated reservation and verified that a car was scheduled for delivery soon.
"Just you and the empty case," Mizuki assured him with a grin.
He laughed and informed her, "I want to pack a little more than that."
"Okay," she agreed.
"The car should arrive in a few minutes," he added as he started packing his duffel bag. "If there's anything left in the refrigerator, go ahead and eat whatever you want, then toss the rest. I'll take out the trash on our way out."
"Okay," she agreed again. "But there's only one pudding left, and some milk, I ate the other two earlier while I was playing."
He paused his packing to kiss her for a moment, before holding out a nearly empty box and informing her, "We need to buy more of these again already."
Mizuki rolled her eyes at him and asked, "Gee, I wonder why?"
"I have no idea," he lied complacently. "Save the milk for me, I'll drink it."
"I'll eat the pudding then," she volunteered.
"You need to restore your energy too," he agreed teasingly.
She laughed and ate the last pudding while he finished packing. He drank the last of the milk before locking up and leading her out. They took the trash over to sort into the chutes.
"Mind stopping at a convenience store?" Sora asked.
"How can you still be hungry?" Mizuki protested.
"I'm not, I'm tired and want caffeine for the drive, and we can get more condoms in case things are closed tomorrow," he explained.
Mizuki stopped and asked, "Do you want to just take a nap first?"
"No. I'm not so tired that I don't think we'll be safe," he assured her. "But when I do sleep, I'm not going to wake up until morning."
"We could get up really early and get there before breakfast, or skip it," she offered.
He hesitated a moment, but then replied, "We can get up early if you'd rather, although at this point we still have to meet the car and I'd have to find it parking. But I think it'll be fine to just go Mizuki?"
"Okay," she agreed. "I was just pointing out that there are options."
Sora bent and kissed her again before they collected the car.
--
They arrived safely at her parent's about two hours later, but they weren't the first to arrive. When they came through the door, they saw that Akane was seated at the table crying, while her mother looked up at them hopefully.
"Akane just arrived with only the children, and she won't stop crying. Your father is still at the bar, and Shinichi-kun had already taken Shizune back to their hotel!" Minori explained in a rush, without even a greeting.
Shusuke sat next to his mother with a pale worried face, and the baby was crying in Minori's lap.
Mizuki pulled out her phone and called her brother-in-law. "Where are you?" she demanded.
"At the airport waiting on a 1am flight without my wife!" Kyohei replied bitterly.
"Why?" she asked with surprise.
"I'm being sent on a last minute business trip, and I couldn't refuse without quitting my job," he explained miserably.
"Can't you take her with you?" she asked, looking at her tearful sister.
"She won't come!" he protested. "I even demanded a ticket for her, and got the departure and return destination set to the airport where your parents live, so that we could leave the children there. But she insisted that she can't leave them behind on Christmas! She's not even Christian!"
"It's just always been a family thing," Mizuki reminded him.
"I know," he admitted.
After a minute of silent thought she asked, "How long will you be gone?"
"Only four days," Kyohei replied with a sigh.
"How long do we have to get her to the airport," Mizuki asked abruptly.
"No more than another 15 minutes if she's checking in luggage, another 35 or so without," he replied hopefully.
"Buy her some clothes," Mizuki advised, and hung up.
She gave Akane an exasperated look, and saw that Sora was hovering anxiously. Akane spoke first.
"I can't go Mizuki! It's Keishi's first Christmas!" she explained miserably.
"It's only four days Aka-nee-chan! Even Shusuke can't count to 25 yet!" Mizuki exclaimed.
Shusuke objected, "I can count to ten already."
"I know, you're very smart," Mizuki assured him quickly.
To Akane she said with exasperation, "Christmas is a day that we open presents and have breakfast together, it's not the calendar that matters Aka-nee-chan, go with your husband now, while you still can!" She added more gently, "You can come back and do everything with your children when you get back. We will all wait for you, I promise."
Minori assured her eldest daughter, "Mizuki is absolutely right this time Akane, you should go! I don't mind having Christmas after you get back."
Mizuki bit back her protest at the qualifier 'this time', while Akane sniffled, without responding right away.
"But I didn't pack for it," she finally protested a little weakly.
"Stuff a set of clean underwear in your purse and have Kyo-nii-chan buy you some new clothes, but hurry Aka-nee-chan!" Mizuki insisted. She turned and asked, "Sora, can you drive her there?"
"Sure," he agreed quickly.
Minori instructed Akane firmly, "Go!"
Akane went, but only after hugging both her children again, promising she'd be back for Christmas soon, and dripping tears all over them.
Sora had been feeling ready to crawl into bed when he and Mizuki had arrived, but the anxious scene had chased sleep from his thoughts. He got Mizuki's sister to the airport in time, and her husband greeted her with relieved tears and more hugging.
At the last minute Akane objected, "I don't have my passport."
Kyohei pulled it out of his pocket, with his, and the ticket receipt. "Stop worrying Akane, let's go," he replied as he pulled her through. He called back over his shoulder, "Thank you Sora-kun, and tell Mizuki a thousand thanks!"
Sora grinned and waved, the same way he would have if Takumi and Eri had been departing, even though they didn't know each other nearly as well yet. His connection to Mizuki was already tying him to dozens of other people, but it didn't feel like a bad thing.
--
When Sora got back, things were much calmer. After he reported the safe delivery, he asked Mizuki a little tiredly, "Where will we sleep tonight, and will it be soon?"
Mizuki hugged him tightly, and told him reassuringly, "We're going to sleep in my bed like normal. We've already set up the little foam futons and tucked them in out here." She pointed to her nephews who were already asleep in the corner.
"They're already asleep?" Sora whispered questioningly.
Minori assured him quietly, "The only thing keeping them awake was how upset their mother was, it is way past their bedtime."
He replied with amusement, "Mine too."
Mizuki stuck out her tongue, but didn't confess that it was the same for her. Her mother grinned and added cheerfully, "Since it's this late, I'll just wait up for Jun, and explain what happened when he gets home. You two go on to bed."