Ah, it's good to be home - in the bed that's not truly mine, with a dim light in the corner, and a new musical obsession playing on the headphones. Life's good. lol Mom and I set a new record on coming back home from Indiana - fourteen hours and forty-seven minutes, y'all! We left at five this morning, and got home at a quarter 'till eight tonight! Woot! My mom is super woman, I tell ya! 'Course I got tired of her in the car on the way here, but I read some more of my John Buford biography, so I was satisfied. Only three chapters left to go, then I can comb through and write down my thoughts! *dead*

Okay! So I'm gonna post the only other ficlet I have for the 100_women challenge now, then I'm gonna get to work on theladyfeylene's belated birthday present. Inspiration finally came on the road, and I wanna write it before I forget. Enjoy this piece, y'all, and thanks so much for all the good wishes! ^_^

Title: Goodnight
Prompt: #36 Kiss
Character(s): Shizuru and Kazuma Kuwabara
Rating: G
Summary: After raising her little brother on her own, Shizuru reflects on his accomplishments.

Goodnight

After putting out her cigarette and setting aside her magazine, she ran her long fingers through her hair, flushing out a sigh in the process. The clock on the wall read past midnight, definitely late enough for her brother to be in bed, if not asleep. She would be asleep, too, but this new "quit smoking" thing was driving her up the wall, and so she found herself still awake at an hour that most would deem "too late to be up." She knew it was late, but didn't care since her bad habits were to blame for her recent behavior. Quitting wasn't as simple as everyone made it out to be. It wasn't like she could just drop one obsession for another.

...Men were a good substitute for smoking, she figured, but knowing her own luck too well, she found herself to be better off with the cigarettes than without them.

With a heavy and sleepy sigh, she got up from the couch, hearing it creak and groan from the years of pain and suffering it had endured. She glared at the old piece of furniture for a moment, and then growling softly, she proceeded to turn off the lamp and head back to her room.

On the way, she stopped at her brother's door which was open just a crack, giving her the brief chance to sneak a peak inside without disturbing him. Sure enough, the orange haired boy was sprawled out on his bed, sheets and other covers already on the floor to collect dust. With her almost motherly instincts now kicking in, she pushed the door open quietly and bent down to pick up his blankets, when she noticed that his window was open, too. Fighting back another irritated growl, she erased the original plan to place the bedding in the dirty laundry, and instead draped the sheet over him, doing so carefully so that she would not wake him.

Satisfied with her handiwork, she proceeded to about face out of the room, but stopped to look at the open text book on his desk. Next to it were a few pieces of paper, various equations and notes scribbled on the light blue lines to prove that he had been studying up until the moment sleep overcame him. Fortunately enough for him, his bed was close by, so he didn't have to stumble far to be comfortable.

She then took a few moments to flip through the other pages of his paperback algebra book, noting every mark and scribble he made in the margins of his lessons. But it was what was on the preface page that made her gasp inaudibly.

Make my sister proud of me.

She bit her lip and looked over at his quietly snoring, but still amusing sleeping form, tiny beads of sweat still underneath his hair. Until that moment, she hadn't realized just how hard he had been working, studying for hours on end just so that he could get into the best school in the area. And what was his reward for trying so hard at something she secretly believed he could excel in? Nothing.

...Yet.

Surely she could come up with something to reward him with by tomorrow, but that nagging feeling in the pit of her stomach was urging her to do something now. What could she do? It was too late to do laundry, cook him something special, or take him out, so she was practically without any options. However, when she watched him sleep so soundly, it all came clear in her mind, and with a smile she made her decision.

"All right, baby bro, you've earned it." Snatching his alarm clock, she changed the wake up time from six-thirty to nine-thirty, then set it down on his nightstand as quietly as she could. "Tomorrow's Saturday anyway, so I could use the extra sleep time myself."

Just as she began to pivot around to let him get his much deserved rest, she heard his hand slip from its perch on the bed, and looked to see his arm hanging like a limp branch off of his bed. Shaking her head, she bent down to place it back on the mattress, her fingers staying a moment longer than she originally intended. Her brother could look so adorable in his sleep, sometimes she didn't think it was really him. Granted, she looked more like their mother he didn't remember, long cinnamon brown hair and a slim structure, but their mother didn't marry their father for nothing. Oddly enough, her brother was almost a perfect replica of their father, and just seeing him reminded her of the memories she had as a little girl.

She wished she could have those good times back, like the memories of them all going to the park on Sunday afternoons to play together. Even the goodnight kisses were cherished, and she knew that her brother never got to experience them as she had as a child. But despite her hard-nosed exterior that usually made him cower away in fear, her expression softened and she leaned down to peck his cheek in the manner she remembered her mother to exhibit. It was just a rare and affectionate gesture on her part, but he deserved so much more than just a goodnight kiss. He deserved to have his education, his family, and his life.

Straightening her posture, she smiled down at him and spoke her last words of the evening. "Goodnight, baby brother. Keep working hard."

Spread the "Shizuru and Kazuma are cute siblings, too!" love, darn it!