"Yooootttaaan! Piggy back wide! I wanna piggy back!"

Youji winced at the wheedling voice emanating from below and tried to ignore the furious tugging on his jeans.

/One hour, twenty minutes…fourteen seconds./

That was how long he'd been with the chibi Kenken and it was getting on his nerves. Sure, the chibi had started out as a very amusing companion. And it didn't hurt that having a kid made him infinitely noticeable to the girls in the mall. He had underestimated the "cuteness factor" of a bouncing kawaii child on ladies everywhere.

But it got old after awhile, especially when said chibi seemed to take a very perverse satisfaction on running away from Youji everytime he got distracted. He had "almost lost" the little Kenken 20 times in the past hour. Luckily, there were many helpful people who brought the little terror back.

"PIGGY BACK WIDE!" The chibi cried and annoyed at being ignored, he grabbed Youji's leg and bit him.

"ITAII!" Youji jumped around holding his injured appendage which still had a little Kenken attached to it. He tried pulling at the painful fixture to no avail. Kenken had a deathgrip worthy of an eight-armed octopus.

"Look, little bra…er, little Kenken." Youji said in a pain-tinged voice. "If I promise to give you a piggy-back ride, you'll let go right?"

Vigorous nodding from the little chibi.

"Alright, you win. Piggy back ride." Youji said. To which the chibi promptly let go, beaming up at Youji.

Youji sighed, rubbed his injured leg and before the chibi could become annoyed again, he quickly scooped up Kenken and placed him on his shoulders.

"Whee!" The chibi squealed in delight and hung unto Youji's head for better support.

"Little brat." Youji muttered to himself. He didn't know how long he could take this anymore. He'd bought Kenken 2 new sets of day clothes, one of which the child had on now and another in reserve, just in case, some pajamas and underwear, and mini-goggles that the chibi had taken a shine to. Youji admitted that it had been fun. But that had been 30 minutes ago when the chibi had been more subdued and adorable.

Right after that, the little brunette had taken it into his head to launch into hyperactive mode. Youji had wanted to hustle back to Koneko but Ran called his cellular phone and told him that they should wait in the mall instead. Apparently, Ran and Omi had decided that they too wanted to spend a day at the mall.

/Well, they could have done it without me. And what is taking them this fucking long!/

"Kenken! Don't chew on the hair!"

Sure enough, the little brunette had taken a liking to the golden strands that were so temptingly near his mouth and was even now nibbling on Youji's precious hair.

"Kenken, no!"

Of course, the chibi paid him no mind and continued with his mind-absorbing task of stuffing as much of the hair into his mouth as was humanly possible. Youji sighed. He knew that nothing was going to distract the little brat from his hair unless he did something.

He was half-tempted to shove the chibi and let him fall but that would be too cruel. Besides, he remembered what Aya said.

"Ken shows up with one bruise Youji and you're dead."

And Aya meant it too. Youji snorted and sighed. "Here, Kenken." He shoved his revered omni-present dark glasses into Ken's hands.

The chibi, seeing the dark "shiney" forgot all about his hair and started stuffing the glasses into his mouth, making satisfied slurps as he did so.

Youji would have to buy new glasses, he was certain of it. /Those were my favorite Police glasses./ He mourned. Then he remembered his hair./On second thought, better the glasses than my hair./ He winced.

/Where are those guys!?/

"Youji-kun!"

/Finally!/

"Youji."

"Ayaaannn!!!" The chibi Kenken screamed as he heard the quiet voice and immediately launched himself from his high perch towards the redhead, uncaring of the height or the length that separated him from the purple-eyed Aya.

Youji was too surprised to do anything but cry out. "Kenken! No, you'll fall."

Aya reacted quickly, stepping closer and snatching the little bundle from the air before it reached the ground. He reached him in time, inches before Ken's head could kiss the hard polished floor. His heart thudded wildly at the close call.

"Nice catch Aya." Youji said as Omi sighed with relief.

"Hey Youji-kun! How did shopping with Kenken go?" Omi asked Youji.

Youji sighed in relief. At last an opening to air his numerous trials. He looked accusingly at Aya and Omi. "You would not believe how much of a devil that little Ken is!"

Kenken was oblivious to the furor he had caused or to Youji's complaints, he was too delighted at being near "his" Ayan. He clambered into Aya's arms until he was face to face with Aya, whereupon the little chibi smiled angelically and with all sincerity planted his lips on Aya's for a second or two, smiled and said "Aya, I wuv you!"

Afterwhich the chibi slid a little downward until he was cozily ensconced in surprised arms as he cuddled closer to Aya's sweater.

The kiss effectively silenced Youji, Omi and Aya who stared at the chibi in incredulity.

"You know," Omi said, recovered from his surprise. "I really did read in some newspaper article that children show their real emotions better than adults." He grinned

Aya blushed a bright red.

/Well there goes my chances of ever wringing any sympathy from them./ Youji thought and then shrugged. /What the hell./ Seeing Aya blushing in discomfort was just as entertaining to see. He smirked.

/Besides, seeing how enamored Kenken is with Aya, I'm at least free from the little brat./

That was a very nice thought. Life, Youji mused, was definitely looking up.

***

"Come on. We have to leave. We still have to open up the shop for the afternoon."

"NANI?" After a very tiring morning at the mall, Youji could not believe what Aya just said. "But Aya," Youji protested. "Can't we just close the shop for once? I mean, look, we are having a crisis here." Youji pointed at the chibi toddling alongside Aya.

"No. Having a kid does not constitute as a crisis, Youji."

"But don't we have to find a way to bring him back to his normal self?" Youji tossed back. He was already tired after a half day of running around with the hyperactive mini-tornado everyone recognized as Ken. Youji was starting to wonder if it was really a Tasmanian devil and not Ken that he had brought home with him.

"I hate to tell you this Youji-kun but when you and Kenken left for the mall, we already did that." Omi sighed. "Those jellybeans were only prototypes. The effect should wear off in a couple of days at the most." /It can't go fast enough for me though./

Like Youji, Omi was a little tired of having a small kid to look after. It wasn't as fun as it was tiring. And he didn't want to open up shop too.

"A couple of days?" Youji heaved a sigh that was almost despairing.

"A couple of days." Aya confirmed. "We can endure with a small Ken for a couple more days. Now let's open up the shop."

"You're heartless, Aya." Youji told the redhead, following the Weiß leader with leaden footsteps, a whipped dog expression on his face.

"And you're lazy Kudou. Now move it."

***

"How kawaii!"

A bunch of girls dressed in their Sunday's best crowded around the quiet oblivious Kenken who was intent on eating the dandelions in one of the flower arrangements.

One of them pinched the chibi's red cheeks.

"Ow…that huts!" (Translation: Ow! That hurts!)

"This is Ken-san's brother?"

"No, his cousin." Omi said for the umpteenth time at the girl who was pinching the chibi's cheeks. They had been telling people that Ken had to go on an emergency trip somewhere and had left his little cousin behind. They had to. They couldn't leave the little kid alone in the apartments. And how else could they have explained a small Kenken lookalike.

"He is just toooo precious!" Another girl butted in, pinching the other cheek.

Omi could see the chibi's face scrunching up and knew that a crying storm was impending as the chibi screamed. "Tha huuuurrrrrtttttsssss!"

Taking pity on the besieged child, he scooped the chibi out of the cluster of girls and placed him near Aya, certain that the chibi would not cry if he were near the one thing he obsessed over. Before the girls could come near the chibi again, Aya's glare kept them back.

"Aw…Omiitchi! Why did you do that for? We were taking care of him just fine!" The girls had been all over the kid eversince they saw how adorable the chibi was. Omi knew that some of the attention the kid was receiving was for his, Youji-kun's and Aya-kun's benefit too. The silly girls were trying to prove that they had maternal instinct.

/Yeah right! One more minute with them and we'd have a screaming banshee in place of an oblivious chibi./ Sometimes the girls just got to his nerves. He was almost tempted to scream out the fact that they were gay. Well most of them, anyway.

It would probably astound the girls if he said something like 'Look, I have a boyfriend whose far more beautiful than any of you and who won't even think twice about levering a large boulder on your head if you make a move towards me. Aya-kun here loves Ken-kun and vice-versa, though they're both too scared to admit it. And Youji-kun…well he likes everything with two legs. So go pin your hopes on him.'

Not that he could tell the girls that. That would be bad business. He had to think of something else.

"Er, you see, minna, Kenken likes to be with Aya-kun very much." /Yes, that's it. Good going Omi. Its not as if it wasn't true after all./ Omi grinned.

"Ayan!" The chibi glomped onto the aproned redhead who had been quietly arranging roses in a corner.

"See!" Omi told the girls, going back to the counter to water some of the flowers on display.

"Kenken, not the roses." Aya reprimanded as the chibi disengaged himself from around Aya and started for the red flowers. "They have thorns, you might hurt yourself."

"Kawaii!" The girls swooned at what they thought to be a show of paternal affection.

"Girls!" Omi rolled his eyes.

***

"Whee! We's home!"

"Yes, Kenken. We're home." Aya told the chibi before setting him down on the floor. The chibi toddled into the room and immediately started to look, touch and play with the various things inside the apartment.

The three adults wearily trudged in behind the chibi, tired beyond words.

"Where the hell does he get his energy!?" Youji said, watching the chibi run around the room.

"Watch what you say, Youji."

"What? You don't want me to say hell? Aya! Ken has heard me say worst fucking words before."

"But still. He's only a child now. So stop it." Aya said, glaring at the blond who had thrown himself on the couch.

"Actually Aya-kun, I would say that it wouldn't matter if Youji-kun did swear until his breath runs out. Kenken is still Ken inside. Only now he has the mind and body of a 4-year-old. I honestly think that whatever we say won't shock him."

"But…"

Crash!

They all turned around just in time to see the vase on the table crash and a small voice say "Fwuck!".

Youji smirked. He really wanted to laugh out loud but he didn't think Aya would appreciate it so he settled on smirking instead.

"See?" Omi said

"Oh shut up the two of you." Aya glared and went to where the chibi was staring in guilt at the vase and trying to pick up the pieces.

"Kenken." Aya said, scooping up the chibi and plunking him down on the couch next to Youji. "I think its time you went to bed."

"I think its time *all* of us went to bed." Youji said. "I'm damn tired as it is."

"What about Kenken?" Omi asked.

"What about Kenken? He has his own bed." Youji said in annoyance.

"But we can't leave him in his own bed. He might fall over." Omi said and gulped. "Someone will have to sleep with him." /Lord above, don't let it be me./

"Well I am not sleeping with the little brat!" Youji told them firmly in a tone that brook no argument. "I went shopping with him already."

"I have school tomorrow, I can't sleep with someone who'll wake me up in the middle of the night either." Omi replied.

Both of them then turned to Aya.

"I don't think it's a decision either of you should make. Kenken should make it. After all, he'll be the one sleeping in a different room." Aya said, trying to make the little chibi stop wiggling in his lap.

"But…"

Aya glared. "End of discussion. We ask Kenken."

No further argument was heard from the two. After all, even if they were bone tired after running around with the chibi, they still had enough sense to be afraid of Aya's million-watt deathglare.

They watched in stupefied silence as Aya raised Kenken up in his arms and asked gently. "Kenken, who do you want to sleep with tonight?"

Youji smirked. There were a million ways he could interpret that question, none of them wholesome. But he kept his mouth shut and listened to the chibi.

"Sweep with someone?" The chibi asked. His face scrunching up in confused cuteness.

"Yes. You have to sleep with someone. Wouldn't want the bogeyman to get our sweet little Kenken now would we?" Aya tickled the chibi.

/Eeyyew. That was cloyingly sweet./ Youji thought to himself as he looked onto Aya who seemed to enjoy teasing the chibi Ken. /I really wish Aya would just come out with his feelings for Ken. Or vice-versa. Its so painfully obvious that he likes Ken./

/Aya-kun is so good with children. If I had the guts I'd tell him he had to be the one Kenken should sleep with./ Omi realized the implication his thought just brought in. /With chibi Kenken *and* Ken-kun./

After squealing with laughter at the tickle, the chibi stuck his thumb into his mouth and became serious. Well, as serious as a chibi can get. "I'se scared of the bogeyman. I'se want to sweep with…"

Kenken blinked and looked around, passing his gaze over all of them. He stopped when he saw Youji.

/Dear God, notmenotmenotme!/

The brown orbs moved on much to Youji's relief. Kenken's gaze transferred to Omi.

/I'll sacrifice Nagi 2 to whatever gods who will make Ken-kun choose another./

Kenken's gaze also moved off of him. /Thank you!/

"With Ayan!" Kenken said finally, latching onto Aya's neck again and nuzzling his head onto Aya's chin.

"Well that's it I guess! I'm devastated I really am but if that's what Kenken wants." Youji said cheerily, "I'm going to sleep now." And he made a fast exit out before Aya could even think of ordering him to bathe the chibi.

"Uhm, me too! I still have school bright and early tomorrow." Omi said, following in Youji's wake.

"Well," Aya told the little chibi, standing up from the couch while holding the chibi in his arms with a gentle smile. "I guess its just you and me, Kenken. Let's get you into the bath before bed, hmmnnn?"

"I'se dun wanna bath!" Kenken wailed.

Aya sighed and rolled his eyes, paying no attention to the chibi as he carried him over to the bathroom.

***

"Nonononononononoo! I'se dun wanna bath!" Kenken tried to wriggle out of Aya's arms as the redhead undressed him.

Aya's brows drew together in annoyance. His infinite patience for all kids was fraying thinly at this point. But he tried to control it as he took Ken firmly by the shoulders.

"But Kenken is dirty. Ayan doesn't like dirty people near his clean bed, does he?"

The chibi nodded. "Hai. Tha's coz Ayan is OC."

Aya blinked. "And what does that mean?"

Kenken blinked too. "Um, Obsessi…er, um obsusi…um…" His chibi mind couldn't wrap around the word his adult self was telling him. "Ayan's a neat fweak!" He beamed.

Aya raised an eyebrow. Chibi Kenken could still remember some adult thoughts. He remembered how Ken used to tease him about being too neat.

/Interesting. I never knew he considered me obsessive compulsive./

"So, since Ayan is a neat freak, Kenken will oblige Ayan and bath ne?"

"No, dun wanna." (Translation: Don't want to.)

Aya was really getting tired and wanted to go to bed. /Now what can I say to make him get into the tub./

He brightened. After everything that had happened that day, he knew one thing that would make the chibi get into the tub. "Does Kenken love Ayan?"

That stopped the whining as the chibi looked up at him with serious liquid brown eyes and nodded vigorously.

"Well if Kenken really loves Ayan he'll bath won't he? If he doesn't bath, Ayan won't love him anymore."

"Ayan wuvs me?" The chibi pounced on his words.

"Hai." Aya smiled at the chibi. "Ayan loves Kenken."

He did love Ken. He just didn't have the guts to tell the grown soccer player that. A chibi Ken was different. Him, he could say 'I love you' to without casting suspicion on his motives. After, all who could resist children? /Except for Youji that is./

Aya could almost see the chibi giving in when the chibi adopted a pose of ruminative thinking.

/Ah, success!/

"But if Ayan wuvs Kenken, he should wuv me even if I'se dirty."

/Good point. Sneaky Ken, very sneaky./

Aya sighed. He never knew taking care of a chibi Kenken would be so difficult. After all, he had thought Ken was relatively low-maintenance to begin with. Did it not follow that a smaller version was as well?

/Who would have thought that nice, adorable Ken would turn into such a termagant child? If I didn't love him enough, I would just throw him into this tub and be done with it./

He tried a different tactic on the chibi.

"Please, Kenken? What does Ayan have to do to make Kenken take a bath?"

Kenken thought for a moment and beamed at him. "If Ayan really wants I to bath then I'se gonna bath." He glomped Aya. "But only if Ayan baths with Kenken."

"Alright." Aya said and started undressing himself.

If this had been a bigger Ken, he would have thought that he had been propositioned. In fact if he didn't know better he would have thought that the chibi was flirting with him. He recalled Omi's words.

"You know, I really did read in some newspaper article that children show their real emotions better than adults."

/I should really stop being ridiculous. Just because this chibi Ken likes me above the others doesn't mean the real Ken really likes me that way./

Aya should have asked Youji or Omi that question. Because if he had, he would have known that the real Ken had been hiding a growing infatuation for him for months, the brunette just didn't know how to approach the stoic redhead.

"Okay, Kenken," Aya told the chibi after he had divested himself of his clothing, "in we go, ne?"

"HAaaaiiiiii!"

***

A very clean chibi Kenken bounced on Aya's pristine sheets wearing the pale blue pajamas that Youji had bought and blinked sleepily up at Aya. "Let's sweep now, Ayan." The chibi told a very tired Aya who was dragging himself over to the bed with leaden feet. Aya was wearing an identical pale blue pajama.

"Hai, hai." Aya tiredly said, sitting down on the bed and tucking the little chibi beneath the sheets before getting up to close the lights.

When all that remained was the night lamp near his bed, Aya came back on the bed, kissed the sleepy chibi Kenken's forehead and whispered "Good night, little angel."

"Good night, Ayan. Wuv you."

And with that, Aya closed the night light and tucked himself in. The chibi snuggled until there was no space left between Aya and him, laying his head on Aya's chest and promptly fell asleep.

Aya smiled in the darkness, holding the little chibi close. "I love you too, Ken."

***

Aya awoke to the warmth of the sunbeams that flittered in through the windows. He always slept with the windows open just for the sunbeams that flooded his skin with warmth every day. Somehow those sunbeams reminded him of Ken and if he closed his eyes, he could almost pretend that the warmth playing on his cheek was Ken gently kissing him awake.

Not that he had to pretend today because he could feel the warmth of warm lips on his own. Aya cracked open his eyes to find a blurry image of chestnut hair tickling his face.

/I wish the real Ken would do this./

"Love you, Ayan."

Aya smiled. A smile that got wider as his vision cleared and he saw Kenken more clearly. Or perhaps he should say Ken.

In the circle of his arms was a very sleepy fully grown Ken nuzzling against him. A very sleep-fogged Ken who seemed not to have realized that he wasn't chibi any longer.

/Well no time like the present to find out if he really does love me./

Aya deliberately addressed Ken in the voice he used to address the chibi Kenken, chucking his chin to make Ken look up at him.

"Love me more than Omi?"

Ken blinked and looked into his eyes. "Hai, more than Omi."

"More than Youji?"

Ken beamed swimmingly. "More than Youji."

"More than…."

Ken glomped unto him. And Aya's cheeks flooded with warmth as he felt naked skin rub against his own beneath the sheets. Ken was fully naked beneath which shouldn't really have surprised Aya. After all, mini-jammies were for kids, not full grown boys.

/Get your mind out of the gutter, Fujimiya./

"More than anyone in the world! Kenken loves Ayan best."

Aya's purple eyes lit up with warmth as he kissed Ken's lips softly. Then he smiled mischievously. "Good. And you can't take it back, Ken Hidaka. Not even when you realize that you aren't chibified any longer."

Ken blinked a few times, sleepiness fogging his ability to think logically for a few minutes. As Aya's words began to sink in, Ken looked down and realized that he really was not chibi any longer. He eeped, blushed, and dived under the covers while Aya looked on in amusement.

"You can't hide underneath those bedcovers forever Ken. You might as well face the music."

Narrowed, suspicious chocolate eyes peeked out from the covers and a muffled voice issued from the blanket somewhere in the vicinity of Ken's mouth. "You knew I was back to normal the moment you woke up didn't you?"

Aya's smile widened. "Well, maybe *not* the exact moment I woke up."

"Why quibble over the details?" Ken glared at Aya as he propped himself up to a sitting position. "Why didn't you *tell* me?"

"And spoil your fun?" Aya teased. He was in an excellent mood today, especially after knowing Ken loved him and he couldn't resist ribbing Ken.

Ken whacked him with a pillow. "That is not funny, Aya Fujimiya! You should have told me."

"And you," Aya said, grabbing the pillow from Ken and edging nearer the brunette until they were nose to nose, "should have told *me*."

"Told you what?" Ken blushed, conscious of Aya's proximity.

"That you loved me."

"Do I?"

"You just told me you did." Aya smirked.

Crimson stained Ken's features. "I was under the influence of those jelly beans. Post effects and all that." He blustered, trying to rationalize his actions.

Aya raised an eyebrow. He did not believe Ken one bit. The younger Weiß was a very noticeable liar. Well, actually he was a consummate liar. Not to Aya, though, who knew every nuance of Ken's expressions after watching him surreptitiously for months. Ken's face told Aya he was lying.

But Aya was willing to play Ken's game. He shrugged and made to stand up. "Oh well. Since that's the case, I guess you wouldn't be interested in my answer then."

It didn't surprise Aya when Ken immediately pounced on his words. "Um, well, since you were going to answer anyway, you might as well tell me."

/Acting so nonchalant aren't we, Hidaka?/ Aya thought to himself. To Ken, he said. "It wasn't that important."

"I'd still like to know."

Aya grinned inwardly as he got out of the bed, acting for the entire world like he was going to walk out of the conversation. "It'd just be a waste of time."

Aya was surprised to find himself held immobile as Ken grabbed at his waist and uttered a plaintive cry. "Aya!"

Aya laughed as Ken blushed even more. He moved to disengage Ken's arms and sat back down on the bed.

"You're not being fair!" Ken sulked.

Aya brought a finger up to Ken's nose. "Whoever said anything about being fair?"

Ken stuck his tongue out for a moment and promptly asked again. "So what is it?"

"What's what?" Aya asked him with a grin.

"Don't be deliberately obtuse, Fujimiya! You know what!"

"Oh! So you want my answer hmmnnn? Well you'll have to refresh my memory then. I'm afraid my poor mind isn't what it used to be."

Ken glared again, certain that the redhead had been teasing him since the start of this farce. "Exactly where did you forget?"

"The part where you told me you loved me?" Purple eyes glinted with devilish glee.

"No way! And I *told* you it was the jelly beans."

"Then you aren't getting my answer." Aya told Ken, folding his arms before him and making himself comfortable on the bed as he slid a sidelong glance at the brunette next to him.

"Aya!"

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"Alright already." Ken said, exasperated. "I do love you. There! Are you happy now?"

Aya smiled. "More than anybody?"

"Yes." Ken blushed then recouped. "Now its your turn."

Aya didn't say anything, instead he leaned over the brunette and kissed him deeply in a soul searching kiss that left the younger boy breathless in the redhead's arms.

"You weren't hoping to distract me from my answer were you?" Ken asked.

"That, my dear Ken," Aya said, looking into Ken's eyes, "is my answer."

OWARI ^_~

Haiii!!! It's the end alright! Did you guys like it? OOC Aya I know! But I want him to be the teaser for once and not the old stick-shoved-up-his-ass person ^^

Ken: I don't get to be chibi anymore? disappointed look>

Youji and Omi: Thank God!

Aya: grumbles>I want a lemon! How dare you deprive me of my lemon. And here I had a nekkid Ken in my bed!

Ken: blushes>Aya!

Thank yous and glomps go to the following who have patiently read this fic through ^_^v:

bridget-chan, Sin, venus-chan, Krazy Kazuko, rebecca, cindy, mami-sama, trinity-chan, SW, Mizu Kagami, Finger, tyrne j, reiko, tschubi-chan, Betty Lee, giniro-chan, garnet stone, Silver Fox, Omiitchi, Roseclaw, Kisaragi Yuu, siberian-chan, kaetzchan, chibi-chan, Carmen, Shishi P., Akiri Shirataki, swythangel worshipper, Lola, Nall, firia, lady3, sophie, Ariadna, tenshi no ryu_rae, ochiba, HLH, mikaiyawa, r9nk3n

Kimmy, I still haven't finished beta-ing your fic but I promise before this week ends. Really.

r9nk3n, special glomp for the adorable chibification pic you drew for me. Your drawing rocks girl! glomps you thoroughly

Siberian-chan, I didn't get to put much havoc in the mall for Kenken. I figured Youji needed a break since he wasn't going to get Kenken in the end. lol (Youji: Damn straight!)

Tschubi-chan, I'm still waiting for my piccie! glomps you>Though its ok if you take as long as you like. Schoolwork sucks ne?

Ochiba-chan, you wouldn't be the same Ochiba from the Ochiba Anime site are you? beams>I love that site. ^_^v