AN: End of story bumper issue. Time to wrap up this adventure.
"There'd been talks of turning your story into an anime series," said Lloyds. Blue Rose's big interview was happening in fifteen minutes, and the man had taken it upon himself to personally drive both Tetsuko and Barnaby to the studio.
"Eeh? Really?" said Tetsuko. "Wow. Fancy that! An anime version of myself. That's supercool!"
"Hm, I wonder how they'll make me look like," Barnaby mused.
"I wonder who our voice actors are going to be!" Tetsuko said, starting to get excited at the notion. "They should look for someone who can be proud, and noble. Like me!"
Barnaby made a scoffing sound. "Please. You think too highly of yourself."
"Oh? And what does that make you, then? Huh?"
"Although," said Lloyds loudly enough to interrupt their impending argument. "They're not entirely happy with the idea of Barnaby having a female partner. So they're creating a male version of you, Tetsuko."
Tetsuko's jaw dropped. "What?"
"Yes. I believe they've even come up with a name," Lloyds said, tapping his chin thoughtfully. "Kotetsu. Kotetsu T. Kaburagi. Hmm…seems to have a nice ring to it."
"Buh…b-what…" Tetsuko burbled, before finally managing: "WHYYY?"
"It seems as if girls respond far more positively if there's a possibility of a yaoi pairing between the two main characters. Hence your impromptu sex change." Lloyds noted the look on her face, and hurriedly added: "Oh, but don't worry. I'm sure they'll add a disclaimer at the beginning of every episode, stating that the show's based of actual events, and the original character is female. And, of course, you'll be compensated handsomely for the usage of your likeness. Think about it, Tetsuko. Tiger and Barnaby action figurines, Blu-Ray sets, soundtrack singles…"
"Yeah. But I'd be a guy!" Tetsuko countered, indignation mounting. "And it's not Tiger. It's Tigress!"
Lloyds shrugged. "Meh, tomatoes…tomatoes…they're pretty much the same." His cellphone began to ring. "Now, if you'll excuse me…it's the anime producer himself. Don't worry, Tetsuko. I'll get a great deal out for you."
That was as good as an indication that the conversation was over. Barnaby watched Lloyds walk away as he silently counted to three for the nuclear explosion.
"The sheer nerve of that idiot!" Tetsuko exclaimed. "Why, that's practically a sexist move! What, so a woman can't be the lead character now? Those guys are assholes! I'm going to snatch that phone and give that knuckle-dragging producer a piece of my mind!"
Barnaby grabbed hold of her arm before she could get up. "It's just a minor adjustment, Tetsuko," he said soothingly. "Besides, Lloyds did say that you'll get paid all the same, so I'd say it's a win-win situation."
"Wha-? You're in cahoots with him now? We're talking about my identity, Bunny. My pride! I mean, can you actually imagine me as a guy? Without these?" she asked, putting both hands on her breasts.
He stared. "Actually, I can. You act like a man most of the time, anyway. I'm sure the transition will be effortless on the studio's side."
"Bah, it's pointless talking to you now," she snapped. "You're probably liking it because you can't wait to see some yaoi action!"
"I'm sure it'll be enjoyable," he said. "Whatever it is that yaoi means."
She paused. "You don't know what yaoi means?"
"It means something adorable or cute…right?"
"No, you're talking about moé. Yaoi is…yaoi is something else."
"Really? What is it?"
She told him. His expression never changed. "I see. So you say women are into that?"
"Apparently so. You should wait till they discuss about who would top."
"Top? Top what?"
"You know. Sex. As in who gets to be on top. Either you, or this…this Kotetsu guy," she said, making a face as if the name disgusted her.
"Oh. Ohhh…"
She cocked a brow at him. "Still think it's enjoyable?"
"I – uh – hm…I mean, are they – are they really going to show them…doing it?"
"Of course not. But wait till the fanarts come out."
Barnaby spoke carefully, as if he was poking at the fantastic intricacies of a ticking TNT Acme bomb: "What…what kind of fanart?"
"Remember last year there was this brouhaha going on about a picture of Nathan and Antonio together?"
"You mean, the one where-?"
"Yep. First time in my life to see Antonio burst into tears. Nathan even had it framed over his bed. So yeah…we're talking about that kind of fanart."
"I don't get it. Women lust over men who will never be interested in them?"
"It not exactly that. I guess there's just something hot about seeing two good-looking guys going at it like – pardon the stupid pun – bunnies."
He sighed, shaking his head. "It wouldn't be the first time for me to say this," he said.
"Say what?"
"Women are perplexing."
She snorted. "Yeah? Well now you know how it feels like dealing with you."
Kaede rushed back into her room, hair still wet from the shower. Her mother and Barnaby was due to be on air soon, so she hurriedly threw on her pyjamas, grabbed a packet of chips from her secret snacks stash, and settled down at her workdesk. She turned on the radio, making sure that she was tuned to the right station.
"-Midnight Ice Cream. We have two special guests tonight…two people which I'm sure needs no further introduction. They're the famous Hero duo, Wild Tigress and Barnaby!"
"Hellooooooo! I'm Wild Tigress, the fun and awesome one! Whoah, it's certainly been a while. How's everyone doing?"
"Hello, I'm Barnaby. I'm the more famous one-"
"Hey! Stop hogging the limelight, Bunny!"
"-yes, I'm also known as Bunny to some people."
Kaede grinned to herself, opening the bag of chips as she leaned back in her chair and propped her feet up onto the desk. Yep, this is going to be a fun interview.
"So how are you enjoying retirement so far? Any future plans you'd care to share with our listeners, Tigress?" Blue Rose asked.
"Retirement's boooorrring! It'd be nice if I had a cushy pension plan to settle back into…but no. I'm gonna start teaching at Hero Academy soon, though. The world's definitely haven't seen the last of me. I'll be the most awesome teacher yet!" said Tetsuko, giving an enthusiastic thumbs up and almost knocking aside her microphone.
"Ah, teaching? Now that's interesting," Blue Rose mused.
"Do refrain from giving your students corny catchphrases, though," Barnaby said.
"You're just not cool enough to appreciate them, Bunny," Tetsuko shot back.
"Speaking of retiring, you have one big news for your fans, Barnaby," said Blue Rose. "Care to tell us what it is?"
"Oh, yes. Now that this year's HeroTV season is winding down, I've decided to put my retirement on hold and continue working with Apollon for another five seasons."
It wasn't a choice that he made lightly. Tetsuko wasn't happy about it at first, but he'd given his reasons. He needed stability, and he needed a proper home with her. His apartment wasn't a place to raise families, and Bronze Tier couldn't afford to offer him the level of privacy that he needed. So they'd both reached a compromise. Five years was more than enough time for him to make sure that they'll never want for anything. Ever.
"Ah, so you've renewed your contract? What brings about that change? Brought yourself in some new sponsors?"
"No. I simply miss competing with you, Blue Rose." Barnaby said this with such sickly sweetness that made the teenager scowl at him. "Besides, we both have some important promoting to do. Let's talk about your upcoming music video."
"Oh, yes…the music video," she said. "To our listeners out there, I'll be releasing my new single 'Separation' soon, and you'll get to see Barnaby as my guest star in the video. Keep yourselves tuned to my website for the latest updates!"
Tetsuko visibly winced. She'd seen the rough edit for the video, and she must say that the director had done a very clever job out of it. No one would've guessed that the two of them were ready to murder each other when the cameras weren't rolling.
There had been several outtake shots where Bunny had his arm around Blue Rose's shoulders and she visibly looked like she was about to vomit. He, on the other hand, was enjoying every moment where he could make her as uncomfortable as possible. The funny thing was, both the director and producer were raving about how perfect their on-screen chemistry was, and how they ought to make a movie together.
"But before the rumours start flying, let me just confirm that myself and Barnaby are only working together. We're not secretly dating or anything like that," said Blue Rose. "Right, Barnaby?"
"If your fans weren't thinking about it then, they'd definitely will now…especially after a statement like that. Don't you think you're jumping the gun, Blue Rose?" Barnaby said.
"W-well it's not true!" Blue Rose countered hotly. "It never will be true! Besides, I'm sure your fans would want to know if you're actually seeing anyone…"
"As a matter of fact, I am."
"A blow-up sex doll doesn't count, Barnaby."
"Noooo…" Barnaby enunciated, drawing out the vowels in a way that indicated Blue Rose was an idiot. "She's an actual person. In fact, I've known her for years. We started out as really good friends."
"Huh, didn't think that you had it in you to have friends."
"Of course I do. Not everyone can be a block of ice 24/7 like you. How's your love life by the way? Cold and put permanently on hold?"
Blue Rose briefly contemplated the delightful idea of flipping him off, but thought better of it. The studio had a camera streaming the live video of the interview over the internet. So she turned instead towards Tetsuko.
"You're his partner. Maybe you could tell us who this mystery person is."
"Hey, don't look at me," said Tetsuko with a shrug. "I'm not privy to every minutae of his life."
"That's bull! You two are thicker than thieves, yet he doesn't tell you anything? At least give us a hint. What's the first letter of her name?"
"Erm..an A…maybe? Or was it S? Ooh! I'm pretty sure it's a G! Oi, Bunny. Help me out here, neh? It's not my job to keep track of your girlfriends," said Tetsuko, turning to look at him.
Blue Rose's eyes suddenly widened. Tetsuko's collar had hitched down a tad…and it was enough to reveal something highly suspicious-
"Ohmygod, is that a hickey?!" she'd involuntarily shrieked, halfway getting out of her seat to point at the incriminating evidence.
Tetsuko's hand immediately flew upwards to clamp onto her neck, the mortified look on her face betraying her. "Er, er…y-you're mistaken!" she stammered as she attempted to tighten up her necktie and almost strangling herself in process.
"You never get hickeys!" said Blue Rose, ignoring the show's producer who was frantically waving behind the studio's glass partition. She was wasting time by veering off topic. "And it's a huge one too. Tell us – who did it?"
"I was at a takoyaki stand, and this octopus just jumped up at me! I had the shock of my life! I mean, I thought it was already dead. Anyway, we got stuck for a while until the cook came to help me."
Blue Rose gave her a flat look. "An octopus? Do you honestly think anyone is going to buy that?"
"Well, sure! After you cut it up and cook it, that is…"
"Tetsuko, I think at this point it's best that you stop inventing more stories, because it's never going to fly no matter how you want to spin it," Barnaby suddenly said. He reached over to take her hand and kiss it. "It was me. I would like to take this moment to confirm that Tigress and I are officially together."
"…Tigress and I are officially together."
Kaede started, shooting up so fast that her chair lost its balance. She let out a scream as she faceplanted herself onto the floor.
While lying there groaning, there was a knock at her door and Uncle Muramasa popped his head in. He regarded the scattered chips, the upturned swivel chair with its wheels still spinning, and lastly the pile of Kaede existing in her own world of pain.
"What just happened?" he asked suspiciously.
"Nothing. I fell," said Kaede, wincing as she picked herself up. "I'm fine, by the way."
"Obviously you are, if you can stand on your own. Can't believe you'd get excited over nothing-"
"Mum's on the radio, and Barnaby's just announced that they're dating!"
"Really? Oh, joy," he deadpanned. With that, he withdrew and closed the door.
"Seriously?" said Blue Rose. Despite herself, she was excited. "Since when? Hey, to all of you listening out there, you got this news first from me…not from The Mario Breakfast Show."
"It's still new, but I can say that it's a long time coming. I've been waiting for her since last year," said Barnaby.
"Whoa. I can straight up say that both of your fans are going to be crazy over this. Let's take a quick break and listen to some music. When we get back, we'll go to the phone lines for some Q&A session. So start calling! I give you now The TinPan Brothers, with their song Hey, Golly Yeah."
The moment the song started paying, Blue Rose whipped off her headset and glared at the two of them. "This isn't some stupid stunt gimmick, right? You guys aren't pulling a fast one on me?"
"Why would I joke around with relationships?" Tetsuko asked, taken aback.
"Maybe you wouldn't. But he would," Blue Rose said, pointing towards Barnaby. "My goodness…Nathan's been dropping me subtle hints for days, but I'd never would've guessed that it was you two! Although, frankly speaking, it's hardly unexpected at all."
"I wanted to keep it quiet, but Bunny's going to announce it on Twitter."
"Why keep a good thing secret?" Barnaby quipped. "Everyone's just going to find out sooner or later."
"You jackass. You're obviously not thinking about Tetsuko," Blue Rose snapped at him. "She's done with the paparazzi stalking her everywhere! The last thing she wants is to open her front door and have a mic shoved up her face! What if her kid gets harassed over this? Geez, you can be so clueless, Barnaby!"
"Kaede's gonna be fine," Tetsuko hurriedly interjected, sensing the increasing air of hostility around them. "My brother's going to make sure none of that will ever happen. Besides, I don't think they'd be all that interested in me."
"Huh, wanna bet?" said Blue Rose. The phone lines were already blinking madly like Christmas lights.
Nursing her still smarting elbows with a medicated balm, Kaede settled back onto her chair and resumed her listening to the radio.
"And so we're back in The Midnight Ice Cream with me, Blue Rose along with two special guests tonight: Wild Tigress and Barnaby! We're taking in calls now, so if you have anything at all to ask them, then hurry up and dial 8008-5555. We already have our first caller – hello! What's your name, please?"
"Ano, this is…Yamaki, de gozaru."
"So, Yamaki…do you have anything to say or ask our guests tonight?"
"Firstly, I want to congratulate both Tigress and Barnaby for the excellent news! This is really exciting! I just want them to know that I've been rooting for them since day one, de gozaru!"
Kaede knitted her brows. He was starting to sound suspiciously like Origami Cyclone.
"Thank you for the kind support, Yamaki," That was Barnaby.
"Mr. Barnaby, you must take good care of Wild Tigress. She may not look it, but she requires a lot of special attention, de gozaru!"
"I will definitely keep that in mind."
"I think Bunny needs more special attention than I do, Yamaki-san." Tetsuko had butted in. "You probably won't believe this, but he's really a delicate flower."
"Stop talking nonsense, Tigress."
"Haha! You should see the Tumblr pages dedicated to you two, de gozaru. So who approached who first?"
"Uhmmm….." That was Tetsuko. "Bunny's reaaallly terrible at these things, to be honest. So I knew I had to take matters into my own hands, haha! Ok, he's glaring at me now. I guess it…kind of happened? Late night phone calls, a couple of drinks…well those things build up. It's not as fairytale as people might imagine. I mean, the other day he gave me a $500 debit card for groceries just to show that we're officially together. It's practical, and that's what I really like. Personally, I'm way beyond the romantic, sweep-me-off-my-feet phase."
"Still, it's very cute seeing you two together, de gozaru. I wish you all the best!"
"Thank you, Yamaki. Thanks for calling! Y'know, you sound really like a mutual friend of ours. Are you sure you're not him?"
"N-Nani? Wh-what are you talking about?!"
"Hehe, nothing. Bye!"
Tetsuko was still grinning when the call ended.
"Whoa, our Twitter newsfeed is overflowing!" Blue Rose exclaimed, scrolling through her touchscreen tablet. "Let's read out a couple of questions. This one's from HeroesAre4Eva, and it's for Barnaby. If you could pick any Hero as your partner, who would it be? Tigress and Ryan doesn't count."
"Any Hero, huh?" said Barnaby. "Then I'd say…Mr. Legend. Tigress really looked up to him, and I'd love to see him in action. If I could meet him in person, I'd definitely would."
"Interesting choice," Blue Rose said, a tad approvingly. "What about you, Tigress?"
"Fire Emblem," Tetsuko said instantly. "No doubt about that. Together we could be the Wild Flaming Teriyaki Duo or something like that. And, I'd get to ride my own bike for a change, instead of being relegated to the side car. Bunny has serious control issues. He'd never let me drive."
"That's because you keep crashing into things," said Barnaby.
"Side cars are so 1950's, man!"
"I didn't want to say this, but you are the senior-"
"Hush! Say no more or I'll gag you with my necktie!"
"Alright, Tigress," Blue Rose cut in. "You've hung your suit for over a year now-"
"Yep. And I'll bet I won't be able to fit in it anymore. Bunny here thinks I've grown fat."
"I most certainly did not!" Barnaby protested.
"What came to your mind when you saw your suit for the first time?" Blue Rose asked.
"I thought: how am I gonna pee in this? No, seriously," Tetsuko hurriedly added after seeing Blue Rose's incredulous expression. "I mean, there's gotta be a trapdoor you can open down there, but I couldn't find any. Besides, Bunny will find it easy enough…but me? Y'know, I once ate a bad burrito when I received a Hero call…"
"And?"
"Let's just say I was wishing for a trapdoor for the butt as well."
"Ewww…"
"Luckily the 7-Eleven store clerk was nice enough to let me use the toilet."
Barnaby groaned audibly. He remembered that incident all too well. It took him a while to explain to Agnes why they were delayed. Afterwards he'd made a snarky comment that Tetsuko should start wearing adult diapers – a suggestion which his partner did not take all too well.
"Okay, moving on to a much more interesting topic. Here's another question which fans are just dying to know," said Blue Rose, adding a sarcastic inflection to her tone. "BrooksGirl asked: does Barnaby wear anything beneath his undersuit?"
Barnaby realized - after many years down the road and he was looking back at this particular moment during one of his bouts of retrospection - that he really should've intervened at that point. But in his own defense, he'd thought that he'd already trusted Tetsuko to say the right thing. There were times when that trust was misplaced, but there were also times when she really did come through.
This was one of the times when he'd hoped for the latter.
"Eh? You want me to answer that?" said Tetsuko.
He really should've stopped her there and then.
"Well, that's a real easy one," she went on happily. "Everyone's got their pair of lucky underwear, and Bunny's no different. I mean, he likes to parade around in it at the changing room, taking selfies and all that…"
What a horrible liar, Barnaby thought.
"He likes to wear…
Goddammit, he was too late. She'd already shot him a mischievous look as she took a deep breath and said:
"A flaming red thong with his face on it!"
The next day, Kaede made a quick detour to the temple shrine. At the offertory box, she took out her purse and extracted a thick wad of cash. Three months' worth of allowance, enough to buy her a set of branded clothes and makeup – and she'd put them all inside the box. She clasped her hands in prayer, giving ardent thanks for making her wish come true.
"Thank you for making my mother happy," she whispered, smiling to the heavens. Wherever her father was at the moment, she knew for a fact that he'd be happy too.
"I want to have children."
Tetsuko, who was busily coddling the toddler attached to her hip, found herself hesitating. It was Monday…two days after the Blue Rose interview. He'd been more pensive ever since, oftentimes caught staring into nothing, contemplating mysterious depths which she knew better than to ask. She'd learned long ago not to push. Bunny would tell her whenever he's ready.
She should've been used to his bald statements by now…but this felt like something else. She set down the child, making a show of guiding its (she still wasn't sure of its gender) steps towards the waiting matron, a wry smile peeking from the corners of her mouth. If she had half of a suspicious mind, she would've thought that him bringing her along for his usual visit to the orphanage would come with an ulterior motive. But she didn't, so that thought simply flitted away to join the other random silly thoughts she'd ever had.
The silence stretched between them. She knew he was waiting for her response.
"You tellin' me you're getting pregnant, Brooks?"
"No." She had to snicker at his annoyed tone. "You know exactly what I mean."
"Oh, so you're adopting? Well, I'm happy to inform you that all of these kids are eligible. I can show you some likely candidates which you might be interested in…" Tetsuko started to point out at a child in random. "That one playing with mud pies – well, at least I hope they're mud pies – you're gonna have lots of fun with her. And that one, with juice spill down his shirt – or is it vomit? You can't really tell. Ooh, and we've got Miss Runny Nose – a stellar example of child rearing. You'll be feeding her cold medicine daily and stuff her pockets with as many hankies as she can carry."
"Tetsuko." He was using his serious voice.
"It's a bit too soon to be having this kinda talk, don't you think?"
"I don't want to wait any longer."
Tetsuko gave him a sideways glance, eyes narrowing speculatively. "If this is about some bullshit nonsense about my biological clock-"
"No! God, no! I never even saw it that way!"
"You can't handle fatherhood, Bunny."
He blinked. The words hurt him more than he thought it would. "Why would you say that?"
"You told me yourself. Remember?"
And suddenly, he did…funnily enough. All those beer-sodden nights of yore, where they'd both hung out together and he told her just everything and anything he could think of. Including the confessions he'd made to his therapist about his own inadequacies. Of how a damaged, pitiful creature such as himself shouldn't even think about passing down his genes onto anyone else, for fear that the result would be just as broken as he was. It would be cruelty to the child, and he'd known it.
Men such as himself were never meant to breed.
"It's hard work," he heard Tetsuko say. "And I'm not just talking about the process of making kids. All those pregnancy issues that you've heard of? Well they're all a walk in the park compared to what happens after the kid comes out. I had to leave Kaede behind because of my job, Bunny. And it was the most difficult and soul-crushing decision I'd ever had to make. I don't think–" she sighed, "I don't want to go through all that again."
"You made that decision when you were alone, and you had to. It's not my business to tell you whether what you did that time was the right or wrong thing, but I know that now…we can decide together. I'll do everything I can to make it easy for you. For us. I'm ready to take that responsibility."
Tesuko laughed, but it was without humour. "I know you are. And that's what scares me."
"What do you mean?"
"Don't you get it? After seeing what's happened to me, can't you still not realize what you're signing yourself up for? You'd end up losing your powers! You have to stop being a Hero, and that's not possible right now…considering you've got five more years ahead of you in the business!"
"That's not true. It's just speculation!" She was talking about Saito's theory. "There's no actual proof that NEXTs lose their powers after having children. Saito himself said that it's a rare occurance."
"Hah, rare. That's right. Wouldn't want my own rarity to rub off on you."
"I think it's already too late for that."
She let out a wan smile as he slid a hand around her waist. Already he was regretting his poor timing…if her response was anything to go by.
"If you don't want this, then just say it. We won't talk about it anymore," he said.
"But you'd be thinking about it. You would," she said insistently after seeing his expression. "I know you. Far too much for my own health." The last bit was muttered, but he still heard it well enough.
"When I first got married," she went on, "I remember wanting five kids. Then I'd realized how difficult it was with just one. And then after…everything that's happened, I told Kaede that our family won't be getting bigger anytime soon. And I really believed that. I mean, my brother might end up with his own family too…but you know how he is. Charming as a cactus. Had to beat the girls off with a stick with that kind of persona."
He chuckled. "Part of the Kaburagi family appeal, I think."
"Hah, funny. Didn't think you had it in you to make jokes. Something's definitely wrong with you."
"Tell me what you think."
"I think that this is a huge decision for you, and you should think about it real carefully. Losing your powers…it isn't just like turning off the light switch. It changes everything about you. Worst part of it is…it's permanent. The very moment where you need it the most, is when you wish you still have it. Last thing I want is for you to regret it, or start blaming everything." She raised a hand, stopping him from replying. "Don't make promises you can't keep, Bunny. It will change you. Trust me on this."
"Change isn't neccesarily a bad thing."
"Yeah? Well not having a backup plan is."
"Didn't you just say you know me? I always have a backup plan."
"You've really thought this whole thing through, haven't you?"
"Yes, I have. But it still depends on what you say."
Tetsuko twisted her mouth into a thoughtful moue. She looked at the children again. Truth to be told, she did miss holding babies. Goodness knows she didn't get to hold Kaede as often as she should when the girl was younger…
"I'm already thirty-six…" she ventured, very much like a fisherman angling with a hook.
He shrugged. "That's hardly menopause age."
"I had such trouble delivering Kaede that I asked the doctor to tie my tubes up."
"We can always-" he stopped. Whatever answer he had lined up fizzled when he finally registered what she just said. "What was that? Did you just-?"
"Mm-hm," she nodded. "Snip snip."
"No. No, you didn't. For something this big, you would've told me ages ago."
"You can't imagine that I'd tell you everything about myself now, can you? There's gotta be some kind of secret between us. Otherwise it won't be mysterious anymore."
"Mysterious as in kinky lingerie or a secret identity, yes. But not this. No, I know you're lying. Want to know why?" he asked, his inner detective starting to kick in. "You had 'contraceptives' as your recent Googled topic."
Tetsuko narrowed her eyes. "My laptop's password-protected."
"Took me only three tries to figure it out. Plus, you made an appointment with your gynae last week."
"It was for a pap smear test!"
"Oh? And you didn't think of asking additional questions while you were there?"
"Y'know, this whole snooping around my stuff is starting to bother me."
"It's not snooping. I'm just…observant. And let's not forget that you'd always insist on not having unprotected-"
"Alright! Alright! Sheesh, there are children here!"
"-except for that one time in my car. Shall I go on?"
"No! Fine, I was just kidding! Only wanted to see your reaction. Didn't think that you'd go overboard."
He smiled, reaching out to tuck an unruly lock of hair behind her ear. "Are there any other pertinent issues that you wish to raise?"
"Hm…" she said, thoughtfully stroking her chin. "It's a really bad call, knocking a girl up without making something official out of it."
"We'll go to City Hall first thing tomorrow morning. Then I'll make the drive down to your mother's afterwards. Been planning to do so anyway. Is that a proper enough step for you?"
"Kaede's gonna be real mad if we leave her out of it."
"Fine. We'll bring her over-"
"Not to mention Nathan, Antonio-"
"We'll invite them too, then! Strictly close friends and family, mind you."
"For something this big, it'd be impossible to keep secret."
"Dammit all, woman! Do you want this or not?"
Tetsuko grinned. "I dunno. Are you proposing, Brooks?"
"What do you think, Kaburagi?"
"I think you're a shitty romantic."
"Come on. That whole 'on bended knees' shtick is way beyond you."
"True, but…I still appreciate the occasional cheesy romantic overture."
"I'll serenade you from under your balcony tonight, then."
"Oh, God. No. Just no. Anything but that, please."
They laughed. He took her hands, but stopped short and frowned. Turned over her left hand, his thumb grazing over her wedding band.
Or rather: the band that used to be there.
Only a ring of flesh paler than the rest of her indicated that it ever existed.
One brow hitched, he swiveled his gaze towards her. He caught that expectant look on her face. She smiled, then shrugged.
"Are you sure?" he asked, softly.
"Pretty much," she said. "Figured that there are plenty other ways to remember. More importantly now, I've got a new set of vows to take. Oh, but…just so that it's out there: I'm not changing my last name."
"Not even to hyphenate?"
"No."
"Fine by me."
They kissed. She wrapped her arms around his neck and whispered: "You mentioned kids as in the plural sense?"
"Maybe. Why?"
"Most people would start with one first."
He gave her a rakish grin. "I'm not most people."
"Well," she said as he closed the gap again, his mouth seeking hers. "Make sure the sex is real good, then you'd just might be able to persuade me."
The epilogue: When nobody's around, let's do some hanky-panky in the VR training room.