Chapter 2: Preparations and Temptations

"It was really wonderful to meet you, Kyoko," Julie said sweetly as she and Kuu prepared to leave the apartment. She gave Kyoko another hug.

Kuu gave his son a warm hug, feeling grateful at the opportunity to spend time with him again. "We plan to go visit Lory tomorrow." He told Ren.

Ren smiled when he saw his mom making a face out of the corner of his eye. "I'm sure he'll be very happy to see you both again."

Kuu laughed, "I doubt he's looking forward to meeting your mother again."

Julie pushed Kuu aside as she embraced Ren again. He knew it must be hard for her. After all, the last time she had hugged him good bye he had been a fifteen year old boy, and she'd had no idea she wouldn't see him again for seven years.

"No running off this time," she whispered, and Ren could hear the emotion in her voice.

He kissed the top of her head. "Don't worry, I'm done running."

Kuu stepped over next to Kyoko. "You know, I have to thank you."

She looked up him, confusion filling her face. "Thank me?" she asked.

"Yes," he answered, "For taking such good care of Kuon. He's really doing much better than I'd expected." Kuu reached out a hand and ruffled his daughter's hair. "I think I might have been right in deciding to give my approval for you to marry him." He teased.

The next moment, Kyoko had thrown her arms around him. It had taken all the courage she had to do something so unfamiliar to herself, but she hated forcing herself to hold back when she had a desire to show her emotions.

"I'm glad you're here, Dad." She told him softly.

Kuu smiled down at her, feeling his heart melting at the sight. "So am I, Kyoko."

They soon bid their parents good bye, with promises to set up another dinner the day after next. After they had gone, Kyoko dropped onto the couch. She had used up a lot of energy over her stress of the upcoming dinner and now that it was over she felt exhausted.

Ren sat down next to her. "Tired?" he asked with a smile.

Kyoko nodded, "But it was fun." She looked down, feeling her face warm up. "I really like your mom. She's even better than I imagined."

Ren reached out and held Kyoko's hand. "She's your mom too, you know."

She wiped her eyes with the back of her free hand, hating herself for getting so emotional. "I'm glad they are here. It'll be nice having them around for the wedding."

"Did you and Mom talk about it at all?" he asked.

"Yeah. She told me to make sure we don't let ourselves get too busy to enjoy it." Kyoko told him. "I told her we really haven't planned anything aside from the date yet."

Ren sighed, it was true. They hadn't sat down to discuss anything that normal couples would have. "Well," he began, "Did you want to begin now?"

Her eyes widened, "B-but I don't even know where to start." Kyoko confessed.

"Wait here."

She watched as her fiancé left the couch. He returned a moment later with a notebook and a pen.

"What are some things that are important to a wedding?" he asked her.

Kyoko's eyebrows scrunched together as she thought. Things for a wedding… "Oh! I guess we need to pick the wedding party. Bridesmaids and groomsmen."

Ren nodded and began to make notes. She couldn't help but admire how cute he looked. A small giggle escaped her mouth.

His eyes flicked up from the notebook to meet hers. "What?" he asked.

Kyoko blushed, "Nothing." She lied. It's not like I'm about to tell you that you're cute. She thought with a smile.

"So did you have anyone picked out yet?" Ren asked.

Kyoko nodded, "I know I want Moko-san to be one. And I'll need to ask Maria-chan too." She looked thoughtful for a moment. "I can't leave out Amamiya-san either though."

"All three then." Ren replied, jotting down her answers.

"And what about you?" Kyoko asked, curiously.

Ren was quiet for a minute. He hadn't really thought about it up until now. "Well, I mean, I guess Yashiro-san is the obvious choice." He answered. "Since you have three I guess I should too."

"What about Yukia-kun and James-san?" Kyoko suggested. She didn't want to force him, but it seemed like Ren didn't have many friends and might have trouble picking anyone else.

Ren smiled at her. He reached out and ruffled her hair. "That's perfect." He told her. "Now then, what do you plan to wear?"

His question caught her by surprise and Kyoko blushed. This was something she had always known. No matter who she married, she had always wanted to wear a traditional style kimono for her wedding.

"Can we wear kimonos?" the words had slipped out in a whisper and immediately Kyoko worried if it was too much. After all, maybe Ren would want to wear a suit instead.

"Kimonos then," he replied with a nod. He began to make notes on the paper again.

"We don't have to if you'd rather not. You don't have to go with everything I suggest." Kyoko could feel herself worrying again. She wanted this to be a perfect and happy occasion for both of them.

Ren watched as Kyoko chewed her lip nervously. He reached out and stroked the side of her face gently. "If you suggest anything that I disagree with, I'll let you know. Remember, we need to trust each other. So trust me." He told her softly.

Kyoko nodded silently. "Sometimes you're too nice to me." She muttered.

Ren laughed, "I guess it's to make up for when I was so mean to you." He teased, reminding her of their earlier conversation in front his parents.

Kyoko blushed, "Sorry for saying that."

"It's okay. I don't mind if you tease me a little."

Kyoko blushed darker at the tone behind his words. She hurriedly decided to change the subject. "So where should we get our kimonos?"

"Well, if you wanted, we could go visit Miki-san again." Ren suggested. "She does specialize in wedding attire. And I think she particularly enjoyed the last time she got to make something for you."

He watched as her face lit up. "That would be perfect!"

"Great. I'll give you her number so that you can call her once you're ready to make an appointment." He told her. He then closed the notebook and startled Kyoko by leaning over and kissing her on the lips.

After a few moments of kissing he pulled back still keeping his face close to hers. Both of them were breathing hard. "I promise," he whispered, "This wedding will be everything you could ever dream of."

She could feel tears prick her eyes, but before they could fall, his mouth was back on hers. Lost in passion he pushed her back onto the couch, causing a gasp to escape her mouth. He slipped his tongue into her mouth and deepened the kiss. The hand that wasn't behind her head, touched her waist, gently caressing it before slipping under the bottom of her shirt.

Kyoko's eyes flew open and her hand grabbed his reflexively, stopping it's progress. Ren pulled back immediately, breathless and blushing. "Sorry." He muttered shyly.

As he started to move away, Kyoko shook her head. "No, it's okay. I just, you startled me. I- I didn't want you to stop kissing me."

Ren raised his eyebrows, questioning what exactly her statement meant.

She blushed, "I'm not saying I want to go any, Um, further than that. I just," she paused, struggling to explain herself. But she didn't have to.

Ren leaned over her, pressing his lips close to her ear. "I won't do anything that would lead to more. I know it's important to you that we wait. And I can make it a few more weeks."

Kyoko nodded, keeping her eyes tightly closed to hide her embarrassment. The next second she felt Ren's breath on her neck, followed by his lips. His hand returned to her waist. His fingers caressed the soft skin of her stomach, and it sent chills up her spine. She allowed her own hand to move to wrap around Ren's back. As his lips moved to hers, she slid her hand down his back to the hem of his shirt.

Suddenly, she felt anxious to touch his skin. Sure, she had before but not while kissing him like this and the last time it had been this seductive of a setting had been as Setsu.

Just as her fingertips touched his warm skin, he stiffened. He kept his eyes closed as he pulled back from the kiss. All of the excitement was getting to him and the feel of her hand on his bare skin had sent his imagination into a dangerous place.

Kyoko froze, she quickly pulled her hand away. She wasn't sure what it was but she knew she had done something wrong. "Sorry…" she whispered. He looked like he was in pain and that made her heart hurt.

His eyes flew open. "No," he breathed out. "Don't say sorry. You didn't do anything wrong." He sat up completely, moving his body a safe distance away. His hand ran through his now messy hair. "I just need to stop now," he explained, feeling embarrassed.

Kyoko sat up feeling slightly confused, but then she processed his words. Suddenly, her face felt warm. In fact, her whole body felt warm. "Maybe we should go to sleep." She said shyly.

He nodded, "I think I'm going to take a shower. You go ahead." He was smiling but his eyes wouldn't meet hers.

"Okay. Good night then." She felt confused as she rose and headed into their bedroom. Somehow she suddenly felt lonely.

As Ren stood under the cool water, he felt his brain start working again. I'm such an idiot. I probably just freaked her out and now she's probably feeling guilty. He sighed as the water rushed over his head. And all because I can't control myself when she touches me. As he finished his shower, he reminded himself that there were only about eight weeks until they'd be married and then she'd be his completely.

He realized as he wrapped his towel around his waist, that he had forgotten about bringing pajamas into the bathroom and would have to go into the bedroom in just his towel. I was in there a while, she'll probably be asleep. He told himself as he entered their bedroom. He walked through quietly and slipped inside of the closet to dress.

After dressing he climbed into bed next to Kyoko and watched her sleeping form. But wait… there was something unusual about her breathing. It wasn't the relaxed deep even breathing she normally had while she slept. He couldn't resist the temptation to tease her for pretending to sleep.

"Did you enjoy the view?" he whispered. He could see her ears turn bright red, revealing her embarrassment and a chuckle escaped his mouth. She's too cute.

Kyoko could feel her irritation flare up. First, he kissed her like he had, then ended it suddenly when she decided to make a move. Then he walked through the room dripping wet and half-naked and teased her about it. Didn't he know how damn tempting he was for her too? She muttered her thoughts allowed but he couldn't hear her.

"What was that?" he asked, a teasing lilt to his voice.

She spoke up then, her voice ringing clearly through the quiet apartment. "Please don't think that you are the only one who has to work to control their desires. I may be an innocent girl but I am not immune to things like your kisses or you being half-naked after a shower." Her words had come out harshly, conveying just how much he had affected her.

And as much as he knew he should feel bad about what she had said, his first feeling was a tingling excitement that flooded his whole body, followed by embarrassment over her words.

When he didn't respond, Kyoko rolled over to peek at him for a reaction. She was pleasantly surprised to see a red blush had tinged his face.

Kyoko giggled at his expression. "I guess I surprised you."

Ren looked at her, his eyes softening. "I'm sorry for not thinking of how you feel. I just assumed it was easier for you."

"Well, it isn't." She confessed quietly.

Ren gave her a small kiss on her lips. "Well, I'm happy to hear you feel that way."

Kyoko cuddled close to him, enjoying his warmth. "I really can't believe we are getting married in just a couple of months." She murmured against his chest.

He smiled down at her as he felt her breathing relax. "I really can't wait."


A/N: I am so sorry for the long wait for this chapter. I lost my inspiration and got really stuck for a while. But I'm feeling better about this now and am back at writing. I'm going to post chapter 3 on new years day to kick off 2017!

Also, in case anyone asks, I will be using a combo of Japanese and western wedding traditions. I really needed them to have a wedding party but it looks like that isn't a super popular thing in Japan. I decided to include it anyway. I am however trying to keep somewhat to tradition. :) just wanted to give that explanation.

I hope you liked the chapter! See you next week!