[Fanfic] Bread and Honey
Human!Arthur and foxboy!Kiku.
The knife sawed steadily into the loaf of bread, brown crumbs scattering across the kitchen counter, miniature stars glinting in the pool of morning sun coming in through the window just above. Arthur paused for a moment as he wondered briefly if perhaps the slice he was cutting would be too thick for the small mouth it was going to feed. But then he noticed the pair of black eyes peering at him from behind, eyes which were large with anticipation, topped with equally black hair and a pair of grey-tipped furry ears which swiveled slightly as if questioning the delay in the food forthcoming.
“All right, all right,” he sighed. He finished cutting the loaf and took down a plate from the shelf beside him. “Go sit at the table. Breakfast will be ready in a minute.”
There was a scramble of limbs as Kiku hastily climbed onto a chair at the dining table and continued to stare eagerly at Arthur, bushy tail waving with enthusiasm as Arthur brought plate, bread and jars over to the table and laid them before him.
“Right,” said Arthur, flourishing the butter knife, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth at how the fox-boy at the table was practically drooling, black eyes riveted to the thick slice of bread in Arthur’s hand.
“What will you have? Butter? Marmite? Jam?”
The knife dipped into and exited various jars as the boy first pointed eagerly at the butter, then the jam. When it came to the marmite Kiku hesitated, ears flattened and eyes narrowed as he gave the sticky black topping due consideration. It was to Arthur’s disappointment that Kiku finally shook his head and eagerly held out his hands for his breakfast.
“Remember to chew- What did I just say?”
He watched in mild exasperation as Kiku desperately chugged down the cup of milk handed to him, huge gulps to wash down the bread he had literally swallowed without pausing to give his teeth time to work on it as Arthur had told him to earlier.
“Better now?” Arthur asked as the heaving boy set the now-empty glass down on the table, small shoulders heaving with relief. “Everything gone down properly?”
Kiku nodded. His life restored, he stared wistfully first down at his plate, then at the remainder of the loaf of bread on the kitchen counter. One hand on his stomach, he turned his gaze upwards towards Arthur, who stared back down at him, arms crossed and cheeks aching from trying to keep a straight face at how obvious his small guest’s wants were.
“More?”
The reply was a plate held up eagerly with both hands and a head nodding furiously in consent. This time Arthur didn’t restrain his smile as he turned around to comply to the request. A sudden idea struck him, and when he turned back he had Kiku’s second slice of bread in one hand and a new jar in the other.
Kiku’s ears perked up with interest. His nose twitched first with curiosity, then with excitement as the sweet scent of the opened jar wafted over towards him. Arthur hummed as he generously slathered honey on to the bread, glanced at Kiku now openly drooling on the table across him, and casually swirled on a second layer. He finished with a sprinkling of cinnamon powder and slid the bread, heavy with gold and brown, on to Kiku’s plate.
“Chew,” he ordered, and watched with satisfaction as the boy carefully balanced the heavily ladened slice on both palms and did as he said.
Cutting a slice for himself and spreading the neglected marmite on it, Arthur took his own advice and chewed slowly as he gazed at his little guest who was rapidly demolishing his second helping of the day. The bread stood no chance under the boy’s mighty assault and was quickly reduced to nothing but crumbs and an expression of sheer bliss. Accepting the refill of milk, Kiku once again drained his drink, but at a slower pace this time. Putting the mug down with a satisfied sigh, he burped and drew a hand across his mouth, resulting in a sticky mess of milk and honey.
Frowning at the mess, Arthur dusted off the last crumbs of his own breakfast and grabbed a napkin.
“Hands.”
The foxboy obediently stuck out his sticky hands. He watched as Arthur briskly wiped the honey off them. Turning the cloth over to a clean side, he firmly grabbed Kiku by the chin and did the same to his mouth, ignoring the silent grimace Kiku was giving him as he concentrated on the job at hand.
“There. All clean,” Arthur said with the satisfaction of a job well done. Kiku examined his hands, then hopped off the chair and padded over to the sink. He pointed up to it and gave Arthur a meaningful look.
“You still want to wash?” asked Arthur with surprise. The little fox nodded and pointed again. Seeing no way around his guest’s high standards of hygiene, Arthur obliged, lifting Kiku up by the waist and turning on the tap for him. He watched the boy splash around with the running water for a bit before asking hopefully.
“Since we’re at it, I don’t suppose you’d want to help with the dishes?”
*
Much, much later, dishes done and the day gone by peacefully, Arthur stroked the snoozing fox curled up in his lap and gazed at the fire burning steadily in the fireplace in front of him.
“You know, if there was really such a thing as incarnation,” he murmured sleepily, “I think… I think it would be nice to be reborn as a fox. Or perhaps you could be a human next time,” he pondered. “I don’t know. What do you think?”
A soft snore was the only response to his question.
“You’re right,” Arthur conceded, allowing himself to slump down a bit more comfortably in the armchair. “The best is for you to be you, and I’ll be me. That’s all there is to it.”
And then it was his turn to slip quietly off into dreams, where a golden fox chased his grey partner, two men watching over them as the sun set in fields the color of honey.
The knife sawed steadily into the loaf of bread, brown crumbs scattering across the kitchen counter, miniature stars glinting in the pool of morning sun coming in through the window just above. Arthur paused for a moment as he wondered briefly if perhaps the slice he was cutting would be too thick for the small mouth it was going to feed. But then he noticed the pair of black eyes peering at him from behind, eyes which were large with anticipation, topped with equally black hair and a pair of grey-tipped furry ears which swiveled slightly as if questioning the delay in the food forthcoming.
“All right, all right,” he sighed. He finished cutting the loaf and took down a plate from the shelf beside him. “Go sit at the table. Breakfast will be ready in a minute.”
There was a scramble of limbs as Kiku hastily climbed onto a chair at the dining table and continued to stare eagerly at Arthur, bushy tail waving with enthusiasm as Arthur brought plate, bread and jars over to the table and laid them before him.
“Right,” said Arthur, flourishing the butter knife, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth at how the fox-boy at the table was practically drooling, black eyes riveted to the thick slice of bread in Arthur’s hand.
“What will you have? Butter? Marmite? Jam?”
The knife dipped into and exited various jars as the boy first pointed eagerly at the butter, then the jam. When it came to the marmite Kiku hesitated, ears flattened and eyes narrowed as he gave the sticky black topping due consideration. It was to Arthur’s disappointment that Kiku finally shook his head and eagerly held out his hands for his breakfast.
“Remember to chew- What did I just say?”
He watched in mild exasperation as Kiku desperately chugged down the cup of milk handed to him, huge gulps to wash down the bread he had literally swallowed without pausing to give his teeth time to work on it as Arthur had told him to earlier.
“Better now?” Arthur asked as the heaving boy set the now-empty glass down on the table, small shoulders heaving with relief. “Everything gone down properly?”
Kiku nodded. His life restored, he stared wistfully first down at his plate, then at the remainder of the loaf of bread on the kitchen counter. One hand on his stomach, he turned his gaze upwards towards Arthur, who stared back down at him, arms crossed and cheeks aching from trying to keep a straight face at how obvious his small guest’s wants were.
“More?”
The reply was a plate held up eagerly with both hands and a head nodding furiously in consent. This time Arthur didn’t restrain his smile as he turned around to comply to the request. A sudden idea struck him, and when he turned back he had Kiku’s second slice of bread in one hand and a new jar in the other.
Kiku’s ears perked up with interest. His nose twitched first with curiosity, then with excitement as the sweet scent of the opened jar wafted over towards him. Arthur hummed as he generously slathered honey on to the bread, glanced at Kiku now openly drooling on the table across him, and casually swirled on a second layer. He finished with a sprinkling of cinnamon powder and slid the bread, heavy with gold and brown, on to Kiku’s plate.
“Chew,” he ordered, and watched with satisfaction as the boy carefully balanced the heavily ladened slice on both palms and did as he said.
Cutting a slice for himself and spreading the neglected marmite on it, Arthur took his own advice and chewed slowly as he gazed at his little guest who was rapidly demolishing his second helping of the day. The bread stood no chance under the boy’s mighty assault and was quickly reduced to nothing but crumbs and an expression of sheer bliss. Accepting the refill of milk, Kiku once again drained his drink, but at a slower pace this time. Putting the mug down with a satisfied sigh, he burped and drew a hand across his mouth, resulting in a sticky mess of milk and honey.
Frowning at the mess, Arthur dusted off the last crumbs of his own breakfast and grabbed a napkin.
“Hands.”
The foxboy obediently stuck out his sticky hands. He watched as Arthur briskly wiped the honey off them. Turning the cloth over to a clean side, he firmly grabbed Kiku by the chin and did the same to his mouth, ignoring the silent grimace Kiku was giving him as he concentrated on the job at hand.
“There. All clean,” Arthur said with the satisfaction of a job well done. Kiku examined his hands, then hopped off the chair and padded over to the sink. He pointed up to it and gave Arthur a meaningful look.
“You still want to wash?” asked Arthur with surprise. The little fox nodded and pointed again. Seeing no way around his guest’s high standards of hygiene, Arthur obliged, lifting Kiku up by the waist and turning on the tap for him. He watched the boy splash around with the running water for a bit before asking hopefully.
“Since we’re at it, I don’t suppose you’d want to help with the dishes?”
*
Much, much later, dishes done and the day gone by peacefully, Arthur stroked the snoozing fox curled up in his lap and gazed at the fire burning steadily in the fireplace in front of him.
“You know, if there was really such a thing as incarnation,” he murmured sleepily, “I think… I think it would be nice to be reborn as a fox. Or perhaps you could be a human next time,” he pondered. “I don’t know. What do you think?”
A soft snore was the only response to his question.
“You’re right,” Arthur conceded, allowing himself to slump down a bit more comfortably in the armchair. “The best is for you to be you, and I’ll be me. That’s all there is to it.”
And then it was his turn to slip quietly off into dreams, where a golden fox chased his grey partner, two men watching over them as the sun set in fields the color of honey.