Title: A Question that Cannot be Answered

Characters: Chihiro, Kana, Ying.

Rating: G because FOR THE LOVE OF GOD IT HAS YING IN IT.

Genre: It has YING. This shit is choke-worthy level fluff by default, guys.

Timeline: In-game, Friday; Hiro and Kana are already in an established relationship.

Summary: Ying wonders what it's like, being in love. So she asks the most OBVIOUS choice for an answer: Kana.

Note: I on-off with Hiro's Japanese name, "Chihiro", and his English name. I headcanon that his full name is his Japanese name...he just goes by 'Hiro' for short (Much like how I think Cam is simply short for "Camil", his Japanese name). I also use the 12-month calendar in my fics, rather than the 4 season one.

"You two look really happy. You and Dr. Chihiro, I mean."

Ah, the simplicities of childhood. To be able to look at something so complex as an adult relationship with small, easy words, cutting through the usual trappings that exemplifies the existence of the world's most wonderful and irritating emotion and putting it in such a way that more eloquent people (like 'Hiro, come to think of it) would weep with joy from the lack of need to go into further detail than was necessary.

"Yeah? You think so?"

And of course, there was Kana. If there were no words, then the faraway look in his eyes and the perpetual grin could say enough for you.

Ying nodded. The little girl clung to her favorite place on the edge of Kana's stable-fence, though for the life of him, he could never understand why she kept trying to climb on the thing. Rahi did it sometimes, but she was sick, wasn't she? He'd have to keep a close eye on her. "Uh-huh. You remind me of how my mom and dad are."

"'Sat so? Guess I should take that as a compliment then, huh?"

She giggled. "Mm-hmm."

Minutes passed; even on his off-days, the horses needed to be tended and the pasture cleaned, and it was still early yet. He could do a little bit of work without 'Hiro jumping down his throat and demanding he get his 'much-important' rest. He didn't leave the clinic until the afternoon, anyway, and if he shoveled without putting any real pressure on his right leg, then...

Ying shifted where she stood. Kana's eyes rose; she wasn't feeling sick, was she? Oh, no. She was okay.

"Hey, you okay, Ying? What's up?"

"Mmm..." She shuffled her feet slightly. "Ummmmm, Kana? Can I ask you a question?"

If Kana was an older, wiser man he would have dreaded those words coming from a child's mouth. "Shoot."

"What's being in love like?"

Wait. What WAS it like? Sure, he'd said it enough times (and meant it, too), usually in the hush of those shared moments that they seemed to have so many of, and he couldn't say that it was a BAD feeling. Well, okay, it sucked when he didn't know if 'Hiro felt the same (though really, who wouldn't question that, seeing as...well...the differences between them and normal couples were pretty obvious), and he was definitely bummed when the doctor felt blindsided by his declaration and ran for the proverbial hills, but that was neither here nor there.

It was weird, it was complicated...

'Hiro was a nag. He was a mother hen. He worried unnecessarily, risked himself for anyone he met if it meant that they would be safe and healthy. He was a pushover most of the time, tending to bend to the whims of those who were in a higher position, but when he WAS stern, you listened. He was sweet and well-mannered, always with a smile on his face and rarely angry. He got embarrassed easily, but he was also very affectionate in private. He was warm, he was sweet...

...He was Chihiro. His best friend. His...boyfriend, weird as that still sounded.

"Kana? Are you okay?"

"Huh? Yeah, sorry." How long had he been thinking about it? Couldn't be any more than a few seconds, right? "...I never thought about it."

Ying blinked. "Never thought about it?"

"Nah." Kana shook his head. "I really don't know much, but...what I do know is, well...It's just...it's good, you know? It makes me happy, and it's good when 'Hiro's happy. Who cares what it is? It's love, yeah? It just is what it is."

Yeah. It was just what it was. There wasn't anything else to it, nothing else to think about it. Man, sometimes Kana was so smart, he impressed himself! Sure, he didn't read all the heavy books 'Hiro did, but he managed to explain something that didn't HAVE an explanation in record time!

Surely Ying was impressed, too. That's why she was smiling so big. Though really, why did she look like she was laughing...?

"Worry not, Ying. I can explain what love is like."

That voice...! From behind? When did he...!

So THAT was why Ying was smiling. "Dr. Chihiro!"

If his leg wasn't starting to smart, then Kana would have turned around faster. How did he not notice Chihiro coming up from behind...? The guy was completely hopeless at climbing fences and was clumsier than just about anyone in the village! Surely if he'd tried to sneak up, he would have heard him, right? Or was he hiding there the whole time? No, that couldn't be right. That wasn't what it could be...

Though really, he had no real reason to smile, the jerk. "Ying, I thank you that you kept him here for me this long. I hope it was not an inconvenience for you?"

She shook her head. "Huh-uh. And I did what you asked...gave him a question that would be hard to answer, so he wouldn't work!"

"That you did. Thank you so very much, Ying."

"It was nothing..."

"Wait..."

Kana looked from Hiro, having walked from behind him to Ying's side, to Ying, to Hiro once again. Both were watching him.

Both were smiling.

"You both were...!"

"I had to make quite certain that you were not unnecessarily straining yourself on your bad leg, Kana." How was it that he could scold someone and still use his face to smile? That sort of deception had to be illegal in some countries. "You had injured it only recently, and I had told you that you were not to use it unless perfectly necessary. Though while it does seem that you have at least tried to take the weight off your damaged leg, my fears were founded that you would attempt to work even though you were asked to take it easy for a while."

"The shop has to be taken care of, ya know." Kana snorted. Though really, now that he thought about it, that leg was starting to smart... "I can't just slack off."

"And I had told you that Lillian had taken the reins to look after your horses while you were down. She already knows the special instructions, and it is not as though she has not done it previously for a similar incident."

Kana bit his lip. "I get you, but..."

"If you understand," Chihiro sighed. "Then you should take my advice and rest. It will do you no good to damage yourself further; no, you will simply extend the breadth of your injury and cause you to be down much longer. Certainly you would wish to avoid this."

Maaaaan, if this was what 'Hiro considered 'love'-deceiving him, mother-henning him, and then smiling that stupid smile he could never say no to-then it was the most manipulative, conniving, absolutely underhanded version of love that Kana had ever seen in his life.

...Though when 'Hiro smiled like that, Kana supposed he couldn't really complain.

Much.