AN: This chapter is a little shorter than I intended but I hope that you still enjoy it.

Chapter Three – Food Dates

Kuu was pacing the area where he had agreed to meet with Julie. He had bought her a bouquet of flowers and was wanting to know if she would consider this a kind offer or if she would think that this was conforming to gender roles. He was impressed by how independent Julie was and he didn't want to ever take that away from her. He sat down for a moment trying to calm himself but as he heard a pair of heels on the ground he stood up, it wasn't her.

He watched the other woman with a disappointed smile. Where was he? Why couldn't he stop his heart from beating out of anxiety to impress. He looked in the direction of where some other women were and then felt a hand on his shoulder.

He turned around and his face burst into a grin as he saw her, she raised an eyebrow.

"I hope that you weren't watching those other girls, that's an automatic strike out in my books," she said and Kuu looked at her with a chuckle and shake of his head.

"Never, after meeting you, I can never again look at another woman," he told her and Julie blushed before nodding.

"Good because I hate men who are disloyal," she said. Julie was used to people staring at her as if she were some mythical goddess who could rival Aphrodite herself but she hadn't expected for someone with Kuu's good looks to be watching her. She felt that she had control over the situation which she really liked. Hopefully he would prove worthy of her.

"You know," he said softly, "I realize now that flowers are not the best gift. If they're not put in water, they'll dry up. That will mean that we'll have to end our date sooner."

"Not necessarily," Julie told him and Kuu watched her with great interest as she took the flowers and went over to speak with a man at the front desk. Before Kuu had really grasped the situation, the man had pulled out a pot to put the flowers in and Julie had written down her name and phone number. He smiled at her thoughtfulness. He'd have to do something really big to impress her.

"So," Julie smiled as she returned to his side, "We have to go to the convention soon but I thought maybe we could grab something to eat," she looked him over before a playful smile appeared on her face. He stared at her with uncertainty. Was something wrong? Why was she looking at him like that? "Turn around," she told him and Kuu did so but with a little bit of hesitation. Julie slipped her hand up the back of his neck and tucked the clothing tag for his jacket in. "You must have been in a huge rush this morning," she said and he nodded.

"You know," Julie told him, "I'm glad that I make you nervous. It means that you respect me as a woman," she took his hand and his eyes widened. He had never felt something so soft before and something that felt as perfect a fit in his hand as hers. It would be a feeling that he would -"

…

…

"-treasure for the rest of his life," Kuu said dramatically and Julie laughed with a role of her eyes. She knew that her husband wanted to paint her in the best light possible but, just like always, he was getting a little carried away with his story. She shouldn't be upset though, these dramatic emotions were one way that Kuu had always made her laugh.

She looked at the younger actors, "You know, you shouldn't treat everything that Kuu says seriously. I mean, he does tend to exaggerate things," she said before giving him a playful smile.

"You have no idea how nervous I was when we first went to that café," he told her and Julie hummed.

"I knew," she replied with a smile. "The fact that you were so interested in me wasn't a bad thing though, I liked the respect that you paid me. I also knew because I was nervous as well. I hope that I managed to hide it though. At least you must not have noticed with the breakfast you ate."

…

…

Julie blinked as she watched the man opposite her, she had never known a man to order this many pastries from a café. She had had the occasional date get two or even split three different ones with her but Kuu had quite an appetite and a body that didn't really match up with how much he wanted to eat. He must have an amazing metabolism.

"Did you grow up eating a lot?" she laughed as she drank her coffee.

"I know, it's probably a huge turn off," Kuu sighed and Julie shook her head.

"I think it's cute. It's amazing that you can eat all of this food and not gain weight. I always find that I have to count calories to be able to keep my job. I'm really envious of you," she said and Kuu bowed his head.

"I've always had a passion for food," he told her and then nodded. "I grew up in Japan. My father is Japanese and my mother is American. It was always important to my mother that the family eat together. She was an amazing cook, she is an amazing cook, and so I found myself loving food but always craving more. At first it was only small things, a second serving of dinner but the more I ate, the more I wanted to eat. I never seemed to gain weight though."

Julie laughed, "Well, you should watch that as you get older, if your metabolism slows but you're still used to eating a lot then you'll gain weight like crazy," she said before watching him. His expression had softened a lot when he started to talk about his family. She wanted someone who showed this much love and respect towards his family because that was the type of father that her future kids should have.

Wait, she couldn't let him know that she wanted kids in the future. That wasn't appropriate for a first date.

"I'm still waiting for you to impress me," she said as she looked at him and he nodded. She could see the way that he was thinking, trying to plan out something that he could do right there. "You know," she shook her head. "If you have to think about it then you're planning out something amazing, I want something spontaneous."

Kuu looked at her in shock, "Really? You want something spontaneous?" he asked her before laughing. "Should we walk down the bad part of the city? Otherwise, you might not agree to go out with me again," he told her and Julie smiled playfully.

"I don't know. Spontaneous events are pretty rare, how do you know how much time I'm giving you to impress me?" she asked before gesturing to the food with a smile on her face. "Besides, if this is a typical breakfast for you then I'm really intrigued to see what your dinner consists of."

"You'll join me for dinner tonight?" Kuu asked excitedly and Julie hummed.

"Let me think about that. I do have some plans and some photo sessions that I need to go to," she said and Kuu nodded, "but if you are available after those things then…would you be willing to wait for me before you eat?"

"I would wait for you for as long as you want me to," he told her and Julie felt the butterflies in her chest. She had wanted to take control of this date but she was being caught up in his eyes and his words. He was such a charming individual.

Julie was definitely excited to see what a second date would mean for the two of them. She had decided early on that he was special but she hadn't allowed herself to really understand how special this man was.

…

…

Julie had been kept an hour later than she had originally planned and though she knew that Shuuhei, Kuu's stage name, also had work that he had to complete, there was no guy on earth who would wait this long for her. She had often found notes or people had come up to her to tell her that the guy was tired of waiting and hadn't thought the date would be worth the sacrifice.

She hoped that she hadn't been wrong about Kuu. He had seemed so energetic and fun and honestly she needed that in her life. She was too sick of counting calories and trying to keep the perfect posture and sense of balance that a good model needed to be known for.

As she got to the area that they were planning on meeting, she saw him with his back pressed against a wall and his eyes closed. She took a shaky breath before coming over to him. He wasn't going to berate her, was he? He wasn't about to cause a scene where he would yell at her and she would be left crying. She walked over to him before seeing his eyes open and that grin across his face.

She already knew that she would fall in love with that grin. He was such a child at heart. He wasn't like the serious men that she usually went out with, the Russian men, and he wasn't your stereotypical Japanese man either. He was a free spirit. Someone who didn't have a problem joking around and stayed positive. She liked that about him.

"I'm so sorry that I'm la-" she said and Kuu shook his head.

"Don't apologize," he told her before looking into her eyes. "I wasn't going to not wait for you and I understand how busy work is, how crazy life can be but I'm really happy that I didn't give up because I have never seen such a gorgeous woman in all of my life."

"You're pretty gorgeous yourself," Julie smiled. She looked around feeling a little anxious about what she was going to say. "Many of the restaurants have closed now or are just about to close. I know that you wanted to -"

"The grocery store is still open, right?" he asked her and Julie nodded slowly. "How about I find something that I can cook for you?" he asked and Julie stopped. He was going to cook for her at this hour? Wasn't he exhausted, where were they even going to go anyway. She froze before putting her hand on his wrist.

"Why don't we buy the ingredients and you can cook at my apartment," she suggested and he smiled causing her to laugh. "You know," she told him as she put a hand to his chest. "I am really glad that I met you, Kuu Hizuri."

"Don't be," he told her and Julie looked at him nervously, "Because I'm the lucky one here. I'm the lucky one for meeting you," he said and Julie felt her heart pound in her chest. She followed him along as he started whistling and she laughed. "Something funny?" he grinned to her and she took his hand, causing him to smile.

"You're just a really happy-go-lucky guy," she said, "I like that."

Kuu smiled to her. He had waited for a long time to do this and now he was getting his chance. There was no way that he was going to let her down.

End of Chapter Three

Thank you for reading, reviews are appreciated

Thank you to the reviewers of Chapter Two

Brennakai, Kaname671, Kris XD

Author Response

Well Kuu tends to exaggerate things which was also shown in the manga so I'm hoping Julie creates a type of balance for them. I'm really thankful for all of the support.