Chapter 22

Kyoko was at a crossroads in her life. A very difficult one. She loved him and he loved her. They had developed a deep relationship over the past months and Shin was getting along well with Kuon; however, there was still the fact that Juli and Kuu had not been told about any of this. Taking into consideration their past behavior and words, she felt the tangible fear of them wanting to take him away from her still, but she also felt the guilt of being the one to stand in the way of them having a relationship with Shin and Kuon both. She wasn't stupid, in fact she was very aware that Kuon had been avoiding his parents regarding the subject of her and Shin. She honestly didn't want to be the responsible party for breaking up a family. She knew that she would feel deeply hurt if Shin ever did something like that to her, and she could only imagine how Kuu and Juli could blame her for Kuon's attitude towards them.

Yes, they had developed an authentic, mature relationship; however, they still had not taken the leap of intimacy that they had shared years ago that resulted in their son. He was waiting for her to give him the 'green light', and she was waiting for him to make a move on her. They'd been stopping just short, in their make-out sessions, of stripping each other and completing the deed where they were at any given moment. Kuon wanted to also make it public and official, and he knew that she probably wouldn't do that until they had his parent's approval in the matter. Which led them to have the ever important conversation topic of her finally meeting his parents.

Kuon and Kyoko finally hashed out the details and decided that it would be for the best to confront Kuu and Juli, and work things out. Not that anything really needed to be worked out. If they had known what the elder couple was thinking, they probably wouldn't have been so shocked at the relief that Kuu and Juli would visibly display when they met for dinner a week after their initial discussion.

"Just calm down." He instructed lovingly. "We want to make this as comfortable for everyone as possible." He reminded.

She leaned back into the seat that she had taken across from him and sighed out. This was the dinner where they would meet the person that had found their way into Kuon's heart. Neither were certain exactly who it was, but they had suspected his manager. They were still a little old fashioned, but open-minded on the topic. Love was love, as long as he didn't end up marrying a zoo animal or potted plant, they really didn't have a problem with whomever he chose.

Juli glanced up at her glutinous husband as he snacked. "How much longer?" She asked impatiently.

Kuu paused his indulgence in the appetizers and flipped his wrist to display the shiny gold, diamond studded watch. He sighed out. "Baby… We still have a few more minutes. Enjoy your martini, it'll help calm your nerves."

She nodded then slid one of the green olives off the toothpick in her drink then popped it into her mouth to suck out the pimento to enjoy the little red treat separately from the pickled green fruit before sipping the slightly sweet cocktail. "Who do you think it is? He really hasn't been very open about who he's been with over the past few years." She pondered to her husband.

Kuu grimaced a little. He was in perfect understanding why Kuon was so secretive about his life now. "Juli… let's not mention any of that. Okay?"

She looked down into her drink with sadness coloring her beautiful features. She nodded. "Okay…" She murmured. She knew full well it was her actions that drove Kyoko and her son out of their lives at that time. She was not going to make the same mistake twice.

Ninety seconds later… "What time is it?"

"Juli… They'll get here when they get here…"

KNOCK… KNOCK…

Juli nearly jumped from her seat and Kuu put down the fork. He, as Juli, firmly believed that Kuon would be bringing Yukihito with him and they had both fully prepared themselves for the announcement; however, one could not possibly describe the shock and relief that they felt when the head-waiter opened the door to their private dining room, and escorted Kuon with the his petite little goddess.

"Kyoko-chan?" Kuu breathed out in a whisper. He knew instantly who this little beauty was. She really hadn't changed much from when she was a teen or from the time he brought Juli to Japan and ruined her life. Yes, there wasn't a single moment that he didn't regret everything that happened, and blamed himself for everything that went wrong in Japan for her, but how was she here at this moment? Simple answer to Kuu and Juli's cluelessness when it came to matters such as this, they simply didn't pay attention to anyone other than their own son when it came to stardom, and the not so small fact that she was really good at everything she put her mind to. If she wished to disappear and emerge as someone new, anyone other than her father and son would most certainly not recognize her, and well… maybe Kuon too come to think of it. He had after all, been keeping track of her for the past couple of years.

~xoxo~

"Kuon, are you sure this is a good idea?" She whispered as they followed behind the maître d'. Yes, it had been initially her idea to meet with his parents because she didn't want to be the reason he stayed away from them, but that certainly didn't mean she wasn't terrified of what the result of this little meeting could do to her own tiny family. However, Kuon did assure her that his parents would definitely not separate her and Shin, and if they did he would fight it with everything he had. He also assured her that Lory and her own father would have plenty to say about it if they tried to do something like that. Not to mention Kanae, Chiorin, and Fuwa.

He gently rubbed the small of her back and kissed her temple. "Babe… Everything will be okay. I promise." He chuckled a little, knowing that his parents had firmly believed he would be bringing Yuki with him, judging from their strange behavior and comments over the past couple of months. "Trust me, they will be overjoyed that I brought you with me to meet them tonight."

She noticed the mischievous little sparkle in his eyes and wondered exactly what he had told them or what he'd done. What exactly did he tell them? She thought with the curiosity eating away at her. Juli and Kuu had the most peculiar looks on their faces. Almost as if they were completely shocked and oddly enough… relieved. It wasn't the anger, disappointment, or even the disgust that she had completely expected from them, much to her surprise and relief.

"Kyoko-chan?" She heard Kuu stammer out in shock. Well, he sounded a bit happy and they were both smiling like two children on Christmas morning. Which wasn't too far from how they both felt. Somehow, the powers that be had decided to bless them with every holiday all at once and bring Kyoko back into their son's life, regardless of how they had treated her initially.