Author's note: Hello there, Dear Reader! It's so good to be back! I'm really sorry about the long wait; real life is quite hateful at times. I'll rant a bit at the end of the chapter, just in case anyone's interested. Otherwise, let's jump back into the story!

TW: Pixie almost has a panic attack twice. Incredibly vague mention of abuse at the end. Nothing too stressful for Dear Reader, hopefully. (Even Pixie's potty mouth is almost nonexistent!)

-The next morning-

Sky yawned and grumbled to herself, attempting to burrow into the warmth surrounding her. Takashi's comforting scent wrapped around her just as surely as his strong arms. She sighed happily and nuzzled against his shoulder, then gasped and shot bolt upright.

"Shit! Takashi, we fell asleep!"

A quiet, but emphatic, curse sounded behind her as he sat up as well. Before either could comment further, soft snickers came from across the room, followed by raucous giggles. Whipping around at the noise, Sky groaned loudly and scrubbed both hands over her face. Takashi, on the other hand, escalated the situation by hurling a couple of pillows at the intruder. Satoshi's giggling was punctuated by a startled yelp, but only momentarily.

"Well, good morning to you, too!"

Sky was not awake enough for Satoshi's hyper cheer. She wondered briefly if she could just sneak away to the guest room she was supposed to have slept in. Takashi's arms tightened around her just a little, however, almost as if he could read her mind. She made a small discontent sound, pouting slightly. He pressed a kiss to her temple and spoke quietly, humor tinting his voice.

"Don't worry, mo anamchara, you can have caffeine soon."

"Thank God. What time is it, 'Toshi?"

"Too early for most people, big sister."

Satoshi's grin widened further when she gasped softly and smiled even more brightly than the night before.

A little while later, Sky was properly caffeinated and appropriately dressed for the day. She was immensely grateful that one of her mother's maids had brought a bag for her earlier. She didn't fancy wearing yesterday's clothes again, and there was no way she could get away with wearing Takashi's things. She was tempted, however briefly, to sneak the borrowed clothing into her bag.

She had offered to wake Honey, much to Satoshi's horror. The younger teen tried for several long minutes to convince her to abandon the idea, but she refused to budge. Even Takashi was unsure, and tried to persuade her, but to no avail. Surely, the sweet little blonde couldn't be nearly as bad as he described. With a quiet laugh, she traipsed down the long hall to his room. Kneeling beside the bed, she reached out and ran her fingers softly through golden locks.

"Time to wake up, Honey."

A quiet growl was the only reply, as Honey scowled and tried to burrow under the mound of pillows. Sky snickered and tried again, poking his cheek playfully.

"Come on, little bunny. Up, up, up!"

Another growl, low and dangerous. She giggled and poked him again, undeterred and unafraid.

"Up and at them, come on, time to start the day."

"Don't wanna. Go away."

"Not happening. Rise and shine, precious. Or do I have to eat all those yummy chocolate-chip waffles by myself?"

That one worked. Honey shot out of bed and tackled Sky to the floor with a little squeal. She let out a small grunt of pain and then a yelp as he squeezed her tight. He jumped up, laughing sheepishly, and grabbed her hands to tug her to her feet.

"Waffles?"

"Yeah, Satoshi said he convinced the cook to make them for us."

"Yay! Waffles!"

He turned and dashed for the door, only to stop cold and whirl around with a comically shocked face.

"Pixie-chan! Did you spend the night?!"

Sky giggled quietly and nodded. She strode toward the blonde with a little grin, and tapped his chin, causing his mouth to close with an audible click.

"I did. Takashi's mom invited me; she said a family breakfast would be a good idea."

"Awww! Yay!"

Her little giggles turned to full-blown laughter at the sight of both Morinozuka sons in the doorway, comically slack-jawed in utter shock.

"That was amazing, Pixie. I've never seen anyone wake Mitsukuni so fearlessly."

"I told you, little brother, he's a sweetheart."

Satoshi shook his head, incredulous. Everyone's laughter was cut off abruptly at the sudden appearance of Mr. and Mrs. Morinozuka behind their sons. Sky's good mood evaporated immediately, and she trembled faintly at the severe looks directed her way. Takashi stepped up beside her and took her hand, giving her a reassuring little squeeze.

"Takashi, Pixie, we need to speak to both of you. Please come with us."

Sky clung tightly to Takashi's hand, whimpering a little. They look so mad. Oh God, they hate me, they're gonna kick me out. Takashi let go of her hand and slipped his arm around her waist, tugging her close. He pressed a kiss to her temple and spoke softly, his voice calm and sure.

"It's alright, Sky. Everything will be fine."

They sat together across from his parents. She did her best to keep her fear to herself, but tremors racked her body anyway. Takashi pulled her even closer and laced their fingers together, shushing her quietly. She kept her eyes down, focused on their hands and the way his thumb kept lightly tracing the cluster of scars below her knuckles. She took several deep breaths, struggling to keep them slow and even.

"You're right to be nervous, young lady. One of our maids told us she saw the two of you in the media room. You were warned about our rules."

"Mother-"

"No, Takashi. I'll get to you in a moment. Well? Explain yourself, Pixie."

Sky took one last deep breath, trying to calm herself enough to speak without stammering.

"Yes, ma'am, I... I remember. I swear, I didn't mean to break your rules. It's... it's just, um..."

"Just what? Don't you lie to us, girl."

She yelped, startled at the booming voice of Takashi's father. But after a moment, indignation replaced her fear. She sat up straight, squared her shoulders, lifted her head, and looked Akira Morinozuka in the eyes.

"I would never lie to Takashi's parents; I have no reason to. Yes, I broke your rules. I didn't mean to, but it happened, and I take full responsibility. No, Takashi, shush; if I hadn't gotten up to get a drink, we wouldn't be in this situation."

Takashi's discontent grumble and near-pout would've been cute in other circumstances. But Sky was focused on his parents' disapproving scowls. Akira spoke again, shocking her further.

"What would you say if I told you that your every move was caught on our security cameras?"

She scoffed, barely resisting the urge to roll her eyes. Her fear was long gone at this point.

"I would say fine, watch the footage. Nothing inappropriate happened. As I said, I got up to get a drink because I couldn't sleep. When I walked by Takashi's room, I heard... A ghrá, is it alright if I tell them?"

He nodded, gaze glued to their joined hands as a slight blush crept up his cheeks. She continued before his parents could say anything.

"He was having a nightmare. I've never heard him cry like that; I was terrified. So of course I rushed in to make sure he was alright. Neither of us wanted to be alone, so once I got him calmed down, we went to the kitchen for a snack, and then we decided to watch a movie. The media room was my idea, because I did remember that we weren't allowed to be alone in the bedrooms. Neither of us thought we'd fall asleep before the movie was over. We didn't break the rules on purpose, but I'm not sorry. Takashi has taken care of me after my own hellish nightmares. I can't and won't apologize for doing the same for him. I refuse."

Akira and Sayuri shared a look, silently conversing for just a moment. Sayuri nodded and placed her hand over her husband's on the table, patting lightly. Akira sighed softly and ran his free hand through his hair before clearing his throat and turning back to the teens.

"You're right to refuse. In this instance, an apology is not needed. Rather, you don't need to apologize. We made assumptions and didn't bother to simply ask you first. I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry as well, Pixie, dear. I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions again."

Sky let out a shaky, relieved breath, sagging against Takashi. He wrapped his arms around her and nuzzled her cheek, pride swelling in his chest. His beloved had handled that situation so well; he would be sure to tell her so the next moment they were alone. For now, he simply reached up with his free hand to wipe away the single tear that she'd let slip.

A little while later, everyone was gathered around the table, eating and talking happily. Everything seemed to be going really well. Sky took another little bite, thoroughly enjoying her second strawberry-covered waffle. Until Satoshi spoke up.

"Y'know, you'd be really cute if you grew your hair out, Pixie. You'd look just like that one Disney princess. Ugh, what was her name?"

Sky swallowed thickly and shoved her plate away, suddenly sickened. Her breath hitched and stuck in her throat, and she started to tremble. Takashi grabbed her hand and squeezed gently, which helped to ground her a little. She clenched her teeth hard and stared at their joined hands, determined to keep her tears and whimpering at bay.

"Jasmine, that's it! Man, that was rough. Uh... Are you ok, big sis?"

Her relief was palpable, evidenced by the inelegant snort and uncontrollable giggle that escaped. She scrubbed her damp eyes with one shaking hand and nodded, then cleared her throat as she finally got a hold of herself.

"I, um... I'm alright, 'Toshi. I thought you were gonna say something else, and... Well, uh, there's some... bad memories associated with a different Disney princess. Just kind of startled me, I guess. I'm ok though, honest."

"Huh? What are you talking about, what's so bad about princesses?"

She shrugged with her good shoulder and leaned a bit closer to Takashi before answering.

"Nothing's wrong with princesses. Or Disney movies, in a general way. I just can't handle being compared to Pocahontas. Um... A very bad person from my past called me that really often, and it still hurts to think of it."

She noticed the knowledge seep into several pairs of eyes around the table, as well as the confusion and slight guilt in Satoshi's. She reached across and patted his hand.

"It's alright, no real harm done. I'm ok, really."

She ended her sentence with a bright grin that she hoped didn't look as forced as it felt, and stole a berry off his plate. Popping it into her mouth with a little giggle, she turned to Honey and asked him which cupcakes he wanted to help her with later. She really hoped no one would ask follow-up questions.

AN2: Thanks for reading! Especially if you waited around, wondering when/if I was going to post again. (Hi hi to new Readers, too, though! Love you!) Don't worry, you aren't forgetting anything, Sky's problems with Pocahontas haven't been mentioned before.

Hopefully, this chapter marks the return of semi-regular-ish updates. Real life has finally started to get a bit better and settled into some semblance of "normal" (I use that term loosely, because...ew, normal.) I'm still struggling with grief and depression, but most days seem a bit easier nowadays. I can't say that I'll have a set schedule for updating, because I never have. There's no outline for anything I write, it's all up to the Muses of the day. But I promise to try my absolute hardest to update again SOON. Thank you so much for sticking with us this long!