Fair warning, I wrote this whole chapter on my phone. I appoligize in advance for any errors you may come across and happily welcome corrections.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays

Summary: Kyoko's birthday is drawing near, and Kuon's parents have come into town so as to celebrate and attend her grateful party. After a short initial shock of Jullie Hizuri paying a quick visit the night before, Ren and Kyoko are now preparing to meet with the Hizuri parents on top of all their work and the planning for the party. Kuon is fretting over his desire to propose to Kyoko. Kyoko's worrying over the implications of her eighteenth birthday. Lory is... being Lory.

enjoy

Kyoko groaned softly as she sat upon the porcelain throne. Around her angles were her ruined panties, an ugly red spot marring their soft blue color. These had been one of her favorites. She would need to wash them quickly if she wanted to ensure they didn't stain, but first she needed to take care of the issue at hand.

"At least I know I'm not pregnant." She grumbled to herself softly. She had honestly been worried ever since Ren mentioned her being slightly off schedule from usual. Despite all her certainty that this was a normal occurrence, that she wasn't always right on time, there still had been that tiny worry of 'what if, by some miraculous twist of fate...' It was a relief to know that no such miracle had occurred.

Luckily, she had anticipated the possibility due to Ren's subtle mention just the other day, but unfortunately she had failed to actually put any precautions into place before slipping into the man's bed last night. She simultaneously cursed and thanked the gods for allowing her to wake early in the morning due to the discomfort in her gut. At least she didn't have to face the embarrassment of her boyfriend witnessing her in such a state. Now she just needed to sneak past his slumbering form and grab her overnight bag without making too much of a commotion.

She shuffled quietly through the dark bedroom, feeling along the floor for her bag with her toes before quickly snatching it up and booking it back to the bathroom. As soon as the door was shut and locked again, she flipped the light back on with a relieved sigh, another coming soon after as she found her spare underwear and toiletries in their proper place. All good. Mission successful.

...

Ren lay in bed quietly for a moment, staring up at the ceiling. His arms were empty, but he could have sworn Kyoko had crept back into his bed last night at some point. Did she return to the guest bedroom before he woke up? He rolled onto his side and stared at his closed door, pouting quietly at it. He wondered if she would get upset if he slipped into the guest bed with her instead. Probably. She had been the one to leave, after all. Scratching at his head with a heavy sigh, he pulled himself to sit up and slip out of bed, padding over to the door with the intention to maybe start a coffee and read over his scripts for the day. He paused as he heard the sound of movement in the kitchen. She was already up? That was... new.

He continued his journey to the kitchen, peeking in and smiling as he found her reading over a script as she mindlessly tended to something on the stove. His body warmed with affection at the sight. She only startled a little as he snuck up behind her, slid his arms around her waist, and propped his chin on her shoulder. He had to hunch his body but didn't mind it for the opportunity to be so close and cuddly with her.

"You're up early." he mentioned, ducking his head to yawn against her shoulder. She looked to the side, observing him in the corner of her eye for a moment before craning her neck. He shifted forward the rest of the way to grant her a soft yet sleepy kiss.

"I'm not that early. You were just really restless last night so you woke up later than usual."

"Ah, so the little goddess in my bed last night wasn't just hopeful dreaming." he stated merrily. Kyoko blushed and turned back to her work on the stove.

"Flatterer..." she grumbled. He responded by peppering kisses all over the crown of her head. "In any case, you were still restless even in the morning, so I tried to let you sleep for a bit longer at least." She explained. She smiled shyly as she recalled how he had relaxed so easily just from a few passing pats on the head. It was nice to know that she could ease his troubles even that little bit, even when he wasn't conscious and able to fully appreciate her efforts. "You were quite cute, though. You settle down so quickly just from a few little touches and whispers." She teased lightly, peeking over at him to see his reaction.

Ren shifted his gaze away from her, his lips pursed slightly as he failed to come up with a retort. Dropping the topic completely, he made his way over to the cabinets with his supplies for making coffee.

"Mother and father will be coming over this morning. Father said he'll eat before coming, though." He explained, not sure if he had mentioned it at all before they went to bed last night. Kyoko tensed up slightly but continued to work on breakfast.

"Your... both of them, right?" She clarified softly. Ren let out a soft hum as he nodded in confirmation, watching Kyoko with a bit of worry. He knew she was nervous about meeting his mother. Hell, he was nervous too. He had no idea how it would play out. He liked to think they would get along, but his mother was so dramatic and sensitive and Kyoko... well she had her moments like that as well. He wondered if that had been what Lory meant when he said Kyoko and Jullie had a lot in common. He really hoped that wasn't the extent of it. Things could get really hectic if two people like that clashed unfavorably. He wanted Kyoko to see his mother as her own, or at least a mother figure she could turn to for motherly things or something. He wasn't entirely sure what that entailed, but mothers and daughters interacted differently than fathers and daughters... right? On top of that, it wouldn't be good for Kyoko to only be close to his father, and he wanted more caring people in Kyoko's life. She deserved to have good people looking out for her. She deserved that happiness far more than him, and he was eager to be the one bringing such people into her life.

"Do you know what time we should be expecting them?" Kyoko asked, bringing him out of his reverie. "Do they even know what our schedule is? I'd hate to head out before we can even greet them." she mused. Ren took a moment to sip on his coffee as he tried to sort through his thoughts.

"I'm sure father likely asked President Lory about it. As eccentric as those two are, they are at least sensible to a certain extent."

"Ah, I suppose that's true. I was actually surprised when he didn't tell you about my feelings back then."

"He laughed at me when he found out about my feelings for you... Wait," Ren turned to look at her with a confused frown, "When was 'back then'? That sounds like it was a while ago." Kyoko shifted her eyes away as her lips pursed shut in a quiet pout.

"We've been dating for a few months now, already." She diverted slightly. Ren narrowed his eyes at her as he set his coffee down a bit heavily, rising from his chair before destroying the distance between them in favor of looming over her.

"When did you start to like me? Now that I recall, you hated me quite thoroughly before, so much so that you couldn't even answer when I asked about it."

"W-Wha-? Why are you remembering such things?"

"Of course I'll remember a moment that stung me so painfully."

"Painful?" Kyoko echoed with disbelief, placing her hands on her hips firmly. "How could such a thing be painful at that time? As I recall, you were also not fond of me."

"Not true. I was fond of you."

"You bullied me!"

"So? People can bully someone they're fond of. President Lory often shows his affection in such ways. Your friend Kotonami-san also has a similar habit." he pointed out promptly. Kyoko stammered for a moment as she tried to find a good argument.

"That...! That is completely different! You were quite clear in your distaste for me."

"I found distaste in your motives for show business, something that has already become cleared up and irrelevant. I was quite fond of the memories of you from when we were young, though."

"Ha! You can't love someone just for their memories. People change a lot after ten years apart, you know." Kyoko argued before quickly skirting around him to get out of his looming shadow. She needed to get breakfast prepared and eaten soon if they wanted to keep from being rude when his parents decided to arrive. She wasn't surprised when he persistently followed after her to the stove, but it still irked her somehow.

"I think I understand such things much more thoroughly than you." Ren challenged. Kyoko glared back at him before huffing and turning back to her work on breakfast. Even if she understood what he meant by that, she felt annoyed to hear it. Somehow, it felt as though he was belittling all her struggles and changes over the past several years.

"In any case. You can't be in love with me for some brief memories from so long ago. If that's your basis for affections, then your feelings are actually quite shallow." she huffed as she worked on making an omelette. She felt her irritation rising as her boyfriend wrapped his arms around her middle again. How dare he be affectionate when she's feeling so irritable!

"Even I wouldn't be so naive to think so simply on my feelings." the man grumbled unhappily. Kyoko paused at the soft and somewhat hurt tone in his voice, peeking over her shoulder at him and finding a tiny frown on his lips. She chewed the corner of her lip for a moment as she considered him, stewing over a proper response.

"So then, why would you fall for me? Was my seduction simply that good?" Ren let out something between a cough and a laugh as he question caught him off guard, his arms tightening around her slightly as his hung his head against her shoulder and began shaking with laughter. Kyoko pouted before silently returning to her work on the stove.

"I fell in love with you for various reasons, some of which I'm still discovering. I guess if I had to pinpoint what started it all..., maybe your kindness and honesty? You're a hard worker, and you cared for me even when I was irritating. Also, you're super cute when you get excited about things, especially acting." Kyoko could feel her face heating up more and more by the second. "I really wanted to kiss you that time on the kitchen floor."

"WHAT?" Kyoko yelped and pulled back from the stove as she accidentally slipped and caught the side of her hand on the hot pan, stuck in a daze as Ren quickly pulled her to the sink to run cold water over it. It wasn't even all that bad, yet he fretted and scolded her as he stared at her hand with a determined look, as if that was all it would take to make it better.

"I need to turn off the stove of the omelette will burn." she stated softly as she looked back at the stove. Ren slowly pulled away from her before pointing in determination at the still running faucet.

"I'll get it. You keep your hand under the water." he ordered before heading over to finish the breakfast, obediently listening to Kyoko's instructions as she switch from running water to a small ice pack on her hand. It likely wouldn't even leave a mark, but he was adamant that she be careful about it.

They were sitting down to eat in silence as Kyoko poked at her food, glancing at her boyfriend as he started to dig in. One side of the omelette was slightly too brown, but it was still really good. It was strangely endearing in its own way, knowing it was the result of her lover helping and taking care of her.

"So..., you liked me since back then?" Actually, now that she thought about it, his job as Katsuki had been when he was going through his discovery of love. If she really was the only one he's ever loved, and he came to understand love at that time, didn't that mean he had loved her since then? She poked at her food timidly as she came to fully consider such things.

"At the very least, yes. Lory seems to think our meeting as children was 'true love fate' or 'love at first sight', which I can't say if I believe or not, but I do think I was at least fond of you since then. After all, it is a fact that I felt more sympathy toward you after discovering that you were the same girl from my childhood. I think I would have fallen in love with you even without that, though." He shrugged it off as if it were nothing, but Kyoko couldn't help letting the words tumble around in her head, warming her cheeks all over again as she stuffed egg into her mouth.

'This guy can say such smooth things in a carefree way.' She thought irritably. "Playboy." she grumbled under her breath.

"You're still saying that?"

"All smooth talkers are playboys. You just want to make hearts go 'doki-doki' all day." She grumbled out before starting to shovel food into her mouth with vigor, as if signalling that the conversation was over. Ren pouted as he ate at a more leisurely pace, practically nibbling on his food in comparison.

"The only 'doki-doki' I truly care about is yours, though."

"idiot."

"I'm your idiot." he responded cheerfully, gaining a sigh of defeat from his girlfriend.

Ren smiled in victory and started to eat his food more enthusiastically when his phone chimed. Checking it, he slid it over to Kyoko to let her see the message as he finished off his meal quickly, watching as she instantly went into a small cleaning frenzy around the kitchen. As soon as his plate was clear, it was snatched up, cleaned, and put away. It was heart-warming to see her going about his place as though it were her own, cleaning it as though she were partially responsible for every little mess or misplaced item.

'Why aren't we living together yet, again?' Ren wondered as he watched his girlfriend zip off to his bedroom, making the bed quickly before running off to clean up the guest bedroom as well, then darting past with an arm full of bed-sheets to be cleaned, apparently having decided to change the linen. She came back to fidget with the couch cushions, then ran off to clean the kitchen some more or something. Meanwhile, Ren was left standing in place as he watched the young woman run this way and that. He did try helping, but then he was scolded for doing it wrong and she ended up redoing his work. He decided it was probably best to just let her do as she pleased until she calmed down.

Kyoko seemed to be contemplating rearranging the furniture when the knock finally sounded at the front door. Ren wasn't sure if he was relieved or if he would have liked to see how she would shift his living-room around, considering the thought of encouraging such a thing as he went to greet his parents. Jullie was eagerly waiting to pounce as soon as he opened the door, greeting him almost as enthusiastically as she had last night.

Kyoko took several deep breaths, hardly even registering the sound of greetings coming from the front door.

"How's my other son?" Kuu's boisterous voice had Kyoko snapping to attention, her body relaxing slowly as she found herself faced with the older man approaching with open arms. She timidly accepted the embrace. Kuu eagerly wrapped her in his arms, leaving her feeling totally enveloped in his comfort and fatherly affection.

"H-hey otou-san. It's nice to see you again." She greeted with a soft giggle in her tone. He gave one last squeeze before releasing her and ruffling her hair. Kyoko bat away his hands as more giggles bubbled up in her chest.

"I'd like to introduce you to my wife," he started eagerly, stepping to the side and directing her attention to behind him, "Julie Hizuri. The woman Kyoko was faced with was breathtakingly beautiful. Long golden hair cascaded down in perfect waves, framing her small face and perfect makeup. Her shapely figure was the very definition of Sho's desires, the definition of what she had grown up understanding as beautiful. 'How am I supposed to face that?' She wondered with dread. If Kuon had grown up with that as his mother, how could he possibly see someone like her as good enough?

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Hizuri-sama." Kyoko greeted with a deep bow. Straighting again with hopes that she was making a good impression, ice chilled her from deep inside as she saw a too-bright smile on the woman's face.

"Nice to meet you... Mogami-san."

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"And she gave me that glittering smile, the one Tsuruga-san always gave back when he hated me! I knew this wouldn't end well. Hizuri-sama really hates me. I thought maybe she wouldn't be all that pleased with me, but I hadn't expected it to be this bad!" Kyoko cried in dismay. She had just recounted her experience from meeting Kuon's parents that morning, her best friend patiently sipping tea throughout the tale.

"Well, it's normal for the parents not to get along with you're significant other, right?" Kanae reasoned. "You hear about it all the time. The girl's father doesn't get along with her boyfriend, or the boy's mother doesn't get along with his girlfriend, something like that. It's a well-known situation, I think."

"But... but why?" Kyoko cried into her couch pillow as Kanae sighed. She hadn't really been expecting a sleepover tonight, but Kyoko seemed desperate so she had agreed to come over for the night. She didn't really know what to tell Kyoko, though.

"Well, she dotes on Kuon-san a lot, right? Not only is she an obsessive parent, but he seems to be an only child. Isn't it like a mother hen worrying over her only baby chick or something? Or maybe jealousy because he doesn't pay attention to her anymore. She probably holds onto memories when he was little and came rushing up to her for every little exciting thing, but now you're the one getting all that attention." Kyoko perked up at that, tapping a fist into her open palm excitedly.

"That's it! I just need to make sure Kuon shows proper affection to his mother." She concludes before snatching up her phone and typing out a quick text to him. Kanae watched with quiet uncertainty for a moment before speaking up.

"I doubt there could be any issue, seeing as that guy is already aware of all your oddities, but do you really think it's a good idea to go demanding he act a certain way with his mother? Won't that be a bit strange?" Kyoko paused in her fervent texting before heaving a sigh and regretfully deleting what she had written. Really, what a difficult predicament. Isn't there anything she could do to assure Kuon's mother that she wasn't trying to infringe on her territory? Or... was she? She supposed there was the fact that he was spending time with her instead of back home with his mother. But that wasn't her fault!

"Could it be that she already knows about you two discussing the possibility of marriage?"

"Eh?" Kyoko snapped her head up in attention, staring at Kanae with shock. "But... that's still just discussion! It's not like we're already engaged or anything. Besides... I don't see how that would make her unhappy?" Kanae pursed her lips as she mentally flipped through her options.

"It could be that he's already talking about it seriously with his parents. Usually the parents are the first to be contacted about the possibility, after all. And if you two do get married, wouldn't that mean that one of you will have to move?" the older girl watched as Kyoko's expression slowly shifted from confused to startled. She had somewhat suspected Kyoko hadn't given it much thought before, but she still felt a bit exasperated to have her suspicions confirmed.

"I... somehow I forgot that his home is actually in America! Wha- what should I do? Will this be okay? Will this work out? Ooh, but I'm already impure! If we don't actually get married, doesn't that mean I'll never be a bride?" Kyoko wailed in distress. Kanae groaned and rolled her head back with exhaustion.

"You're really old fashioned. Most people don't stay that pure these days." she groaned out. Kyoko pouted unhappily as she fiddled with a tiny thread in her couch cushion. She felt a little ashamed of how much she had been thinking of the possibility of sex after her birthday. They were going to have that conversation, but she could already tell that it will likely come down to whether or not she wanted to after Kuon's biggest concern -her age- was more appropriate for such a big decision.

"That's true... Kuon was already quite experienced before he left America." Kyoko sighed and hugged her pillow again. Kanae paused and stared at the ceiling before looking to Kyoko quickly.

"Wait, wasn't he only fourteen or fifteen when he came to japan?"

"Hmm? Yeah, that's right." Kyoko responded, looking a bit confused. Kanae wrinkled her nose at that, feeling a bit disturbed at the thought.

"If he was that experienced when he came to japan, he must have been doing such things in middle-school. That's actually pretty young, don't you think?"

"Well, he's said a few times that he had to grow up in an adult's world, so..." Kyoko frowned at how that sounded in context of the current conversation.

"I mean..., he probably had other kids his age growing up in the same environment," Kanae reasoned uncertainly, "But I don't think it would be too unbelievable that he may have been taken advantage of by someone older and more experienced. There are bad people hiding everywhere in the world after all." Kyoko nodded slowly in agreement.

"We'll have to make sure our children are properly protected from such things." The room fell into silence as the two girls ruminated on their thoughts.

"... Did you just say your children?" Kanae suddenly asked. Kyoko startled and turned bright red. She hadn't even realized! When had such a thought gotten into her head? Where had that come from?

"No! I... I meant the next generation! The children of the world!"

"Oh? You're going to protect the children of the world, then? Are you a superhero now?"

"Moko!" Kyoko whined and threw her pillow at the older girl. Kanae smiled as she easily caught it.

"I don't think it's bad for you to be thinking such things, you know. You've already said that it seems like a valuable life experience to have with someone. I think someone who views things in such a way would definitely be happy with something like that. You'll certainly be smarter about things than my family. Isn't it the duty of the intelligent to provide high-quality children for the next generation?"

"Stop making fun of meeeee!" Kyoko whined, throwing her whole body across the couch at her friend this time. Kanae only cackled as she watched Kyoko get so embarrassed. The girls rolled off the couch in a playful wrestle, giggling cheerfully only for a knock at the front door to cause them to pause. Kyoko blinked down at where she had her friend pinned to the ground, the two exchanging confused looks before they both got to their feet and went to answer the door together. Peeking out, there they found Aika pouting at the floor, currently wearing some comfy-looking winter pajamas.

"Hasegawa-san, hello. Were we perhaps too loud?" Kyoko asked sheepishly. Aika fiddled with her fingers awkwardly for a moment.

"It's fine, seeing as it let me know you were home. Could I maybe spend some time here for a little while?" she asked, glancing up at the two older girls with a pitiful look. Kyoko opened the door a bit wider as Kanae stepped out of the way, her eyebrows raising high with curiosity.

"Is everything alright, Hasegawa-san?" Kyoko asked with concern as she closed the door behind them. The younger girl nodded quietly.

"I just... needed to get out for a bit, but it's already late and... I guess I decided to give Kaomi some space or something."

"Space? Did you two fight again?" Kanae asked, sounding a bit bored, yet Kyoko could tell her friend wouldn't ask if she didn't actually care.

"Not... really. It's just..." Aika glanced to Kyoko, looking a bit contemplative as she started and stopped a few times. "Kyoko-senpai, that manager of yours is a good guy, right?" Kyoko and Kanae looked to each other in confusion. Where had that come from?

"I think so." Kyoko started slowly.

"He's reliable and always works hard." Kanae considered. She hadn't gotten a lot of interaction with the bespectacled man, but she could at least tell that much.

"And he looks out for people, though he's a bit excitable about things. I guess he's like President Lory in a lot of ways, but more sensible?" Kyoko concluded.

"I see..." Aika trailed off for a moment, picking at the hem of her pajama shirt.

"I'll go make more tea. Moko-er-Kanae-chan and I were just talking about trying out one of those home foot beauty kits we found the other day. Would you like to join us?" Kyoko offered even as she shuffled off to the kitchen. "Ooh! And we could invite Chiori-chan to join us as well!"

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"Nervous, Kyoko-chan?" Yashiro asked from the driver's seat. She was sitting up front in the passenger's seat lately due to her desire to quietly study driving until she could actually take the classes and such. She missed sitting in the back with her boyfriend a bit, but this also felt like it kept her a little more appropriate.

"I suppose a little. It's not like it's my first introduction for a new project, but I still feel a little anxious right before. I want to make a good impression, after all." It was at least helpful to have a manager at her side this time, and Ren had already wished her luck as Yashiro-san was dropping him off as well. Neither man had allowed her to object to the manager coming with her today, leaving her frustrated but quietly relieved.

She was practically bouncing as she hopped out of the car, beaming happily as she thanked a man for holding the door for her. She froze as she recognized Murasame, the man looking at her with a mixture of confusion and amusement.

"You comin' in, Miss?" He asked pleasantly.

"Everything alright Kyoko-chan?" Yashiro spoke up, causing the confusion to envelop Murasame's amusement completely.

"Kyoko-chan? You are one of my costars?" He asked incredulously. Manager and talent faced him with identical frowns before Yashiro adjusted his glasses and cleared his throat.

"Let us get going, then." He stayed before ushering Kyoko inside and deliberately turning a cold shoulder to the young actor. Kyoko shuffled away quickly, gaze down and body tight with tension. This was turning out to be quite the stressful week.

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Sorry I've been away for so long. I've been thinking about this story a lot in my free time, but there have been a few higher priorities as of late. Please forgive me.

As always, I really apreatiate all your reviews. Thank you so much for reading. Happy holidays, and I'll see you next chapter!