Kyoko had never felt more welcome anywhere than with Shizuo's family.

"Kyoko-chan, please sit down, you're our guest!" Namiko exclaimed as Kyoko rose from her seat and began gathering the dishes.

"I want to help. It was so nice of you to make all this food, I should at least help you clean up." Kyoko insisted.

Namiko looked ready to protest before Kichirou spoke up.

"Actually dear, there's something I'd like to talk to Shizuo about privately."

Namiko nodded in assent and Kyoko followed her into the kitchen with the dishes; Shizuo looked to his father curiously before following him into the other room.

"So, you've been at your job for almost a year now." Namiko started as she turned on the sink; she tested the warmth of the water before beginning to rinse off the utensils. "Are you enjoying it?"

Kyoko smiled. "I love it. Just the other day a man brought in this parrot that wouldn't stop cursing. He got it from a shelter; it makes me wonder who the heck had it before, you know?"

"What did he bring the bird in for?" Namiko chuckled lightly as she handed Kyoko a clean dish to dry.

"He was worried because the parrot was molting."

"Molting? You mean, losing its feathers?" Namiko asked with wide eyes. "Why would it do that?"

"Sometimes they'll do it out of stress. That, or they're just getting on in years." Kyoko explained; it tickled her that Namiko was paying her rapt attention. Her own mother wouldn't have even asked about her work, let alone listen to her talk about it.

"I heard parrots live a long time. Or is that canaries?" Namiko smiled sheepishly; Shizuo's resemblance to her was very clear in that moment. They had the same somewhat self conscious way of smiling, the same gentle eyes. "I don't know much about animals at all; we never kept any pets. We were worried with Shizuo's...condition." Namiko grimaced a bit in thought; after all this time, they hadn't really found a term to address Shizuo's inhuman strength.

Kyoko smiled a bit sadly. "Shizuo always says how sorry he is, that he made things hard for you guys."

"I'll admit, it wasn't easy, but he's our son." Namiko said as if there could be any other option. "I just wish we could've done more. He tried not to show it, but we could tell he was lonely. We almost got a dog for him at one point."

"Really?"

Namiko switched off the faucet and dried her hands. "We thought maybe a big dog, one he could play with and take for runs. We figured the responsibility of having one might make him feel better; our place is way too small though, and seeing as how strong Shizuo is, he might've actually hurt it by accident. It just would've broke his heart."

"Sometimes when Shizuo comes to get me from work for lunch, I'll have a client with a dog; sometimes they'll know who Shizuo is and get anxious. Do you know what Shizuo does?" Kyoko grinned.

Namiko shook her head with a curious expression.

"He pets the dog and starts talking to them; if they're nervous for the check up, him being there calms them down." Kyoko giggled. "You should've seen the look on this woman's face when her little dog was trying to play tug of war with him!"

"I'm so glad Kyoko-chan." Namiko said with a soft smile; Kyoko stopped laughing and cocked her head to the side in confusion.

"When you have children, you want to protect them from everything." Namiko sighed. "You think the world should be a perfect place where they can be happy, where they never cry or feel bad or get hurt. The day Shizuo tried to throw that fridge at Kasuka, I knew this would be even harder to do, maybe impossible."

Namiko took a deep breath; she suddenly looked very old. It struck Kyoko that, as much as she loved her son, the years of dealing with Shizuo's rages must have taken a toll on her. No doubt Shizuo could see it himself.

"I hoped that he would get better; when that seemed impossible, I hoped he could be happy with that power. For a while, that also seemed like it wouldn't happen." Namiko was smiling suddenly, wide and ecstatic as if she had discovered a treasure. "But then one day he comes home and he's smiling and he's trying not to talk about this girl he ran into who made him drop his ice cream, but he does anyway. It was like he couldn't help himself. I don't remember the last time he was so happy..."

Kyoko's eyes widened; she had no idea that Shizuo was already talking about her to his family when they were just starting to hang out.

"Do you see Kyoko-chan, how much this means to us? How much you mean to us?" Namiko gently took Kyoko's hands in hers. "The day he called to tell us he was getting married to you is what made us hopeful again. We just want him to have a nice, peaceful life, at least as much as he can."

"I want to make him happy." Kyoko looked down at her hands. "I'm kind of nervous though. I hope I'm doing everything right…"

"Oh, you're probably not, but no one really is." Namiko laughed good naturedly. "It's not easy being in a relationship, especially when your husband has the temper and strength of an ox. Promise me that whatever happens, you won't break his heart?"

Kyoko held her hands back tightly. "Never."

Namiko hugged her. "You're a good girl; and as troublesome as he can be, Shizuo's a good boy. Oh, I guess I should say man." Namiko sighed wistfully. "My baby's all grown up now. So, when should I expect grandkids? I'm not getting any younger you know, either you or Ruri-chan need to deliver."

As Kyoko sputtered an answer, Shizuo listened intently as Kichirou departed some words of wisdom.

"Don't fuck this up son." Kichirou said holding Shizuo firmly by his shoulders; his gaze was steady and serious, mirroring his son's own expression. "Now it's important to protect your wife, but you know what's even more important?"

"What?"

"Making her feel safe." Kichirou said. "I know it's hard to control yourself, but once you're married, you're not just living for yourself anymore. You're living to make her secure, to support her, and most of all, listen. You know what you need to do if Kyoko-chan starts talking about someone being a problem at work?"

"Kill them."

"What? No!" Kichirou said. "You let her vent, and don't try to fix the problem."

Shizuo scratched his head. "Uh, dad, shouldn't I be trying to help?"

Kichirou shook his head. "Yeah, but listen to her vent first. Communicating is very important to women; sometimes you just need to shut the fuck up and listen."

"Ah." Shizuo nodded. "Well, if someone is harassing her, can I kill them then?"

"No! Think about your wife dammit!" Kichirou took Shizuo by the shoulders firmly. "Think about how Kyoko-chan will feel having to spend your first year anniversary talking to you behind a glass case. Just give them a flick to the forehead or something, okay? And don't tell your mother I said that..."

"Yeah, you're right dad." Shizuo sighed with a frown. "I want to be a good husband."

"Look, we all mess up sometimes." Kichirou smiled with a wistful sigh. "Women are just wonderful son. They're compassionate, thoughtful, gorgeous; Kyoko-chan is the best daughter-in-law a father could ask for. If you love each other, you'll make it work."

Shizuo smiled slightly at his dad. "Yeah."

"Kichirou, what are you telling Shizuo?"

Namiko and Kyoko appeared from the kitchen with desserts.

"I'm just giving him marriage advice." Kichirou said nodding wisely as he took the sundae his wife handed to him. "Shizuo's a man now, and he should act as such so he can-hey, where's the chocolate sauce?"

"We ran out." Namiko said as she sat down next to Kichirou; Kyoko sat down next to Shizuo with a giggle.

"But that's the best part!" Kichirou sulked.

"I'm sure you'll be fine dear." Namiko said dully.

Kyoko fed Shizuo the cherry from her sundae. "Well, I know where he gets his sweet tooth."