Leonora suspects something is up between Alice and Ryo.

Leonora Nakiri watched with interest as Alice and Ryo excused themselves after tea break, to play some sort of video game in Ryo's room.

"Do you think the kids are... You know?" Leonora asked, the question posed at her husband who was still on the couch, drinking his coffee.

"The kids are what, Leonora?"

"They're always hanging out in each other's rooms, and they're at that age too, so..."

"The kids are what, Leonora?" Soe asked again, so that his wife would get to the point.

"Oh, you know. Having sex."

Soe Nakiri choked on his coffee.

After he recovered as gracefully as he could (that is, by gulping down more coffee), Soe gave his wife a concerned look. "Leonora, they're probably just reading books or playing games or something."

"Oh, really?" Leonora looked deep in thought, finger to her lip. "You know, Nassan, kids these days are a lot more rebellious than that! What if they're making out or... Or worse?! They are a guy and a girl, after all!"

Soe looked up from his papers, his expression clearly disturbed. "...What do you propose we do? They're smart kids. They... Probably know these things already." Probably.

"As parents, we just can't leave it at that!" Leonora had a determined sparkle in her eyes. "Maybe it's about time we give them the talk!"

"They'll figure it out by themselves," Soe said, dismissively. "I mean, I turned out just fine, and father never brought it up."

Leonora was pouting now. Clearly the cultural difference was rearing it's ugly head. "You Japanese and your refusal to talk about important things! I can't let this stand. You have to have an openness with kids about these things! After all, being a Nakiri means at one point people around you are going to be naked for some absurd reason."

"Leonora, they are well into their teens," Soe said, as if that was all the point he needed to say his wife was exaggerating. "Alice's curiosity is something else, I'll give it that, but Ryo has only ever been polite to her."

"That's just a front," Leonora said. "The boy's repressed. And he grew up among all those sailors! Who knows what they tell him? As Alice's parents and Ryo's guardian, we have to take responsibility! No buts! I'm talking to Alice! You take care of Ryo, okay?"

Soe scratched his head, as if not sure what he had gotten himself into.

"M-Mom! I am NOT having sex with Ryo, oh my god!"

The stylist trimming Alice's hair almost burst out laughing, and Alice herself nearly jumped out of her seat. Leonora, who was on a salon chair beside her, face completely covered in a facial mud pack, just confronted her daughter with the most absurd suggestion.

This was supposed to be a relaxing salon and spa day, typical of mother and daughter whenever they had time together. The "relaxing" part had gone out the window for Alice now, after her mom just flat-out asked her... that.

"Oh, okay, okay! If you say so," Leonora said, with absolute indifference, as if they were talking about something as casual as the weather. "You're still a bit young, so it's not bad to wait a couple more years. But if you can't wait, make sure you're at least being safe about it, okay?"

"Sheesh," Alice's face was pink, and she faced the salon mirror to notice that one side of her hair was shorter than usual. It was her fault from jerking at her mom's absurd assumptions. The Japanese salon staff were now obviously trying their best to not laugh out loud at this conversation, so Alice switched to talking in Danish. "Ryo is my aide, mom! I don't see him as... As that."

"He's a good-looking young man, though," Leonora said, with a little pout. "A bit scruffy-looking, but he's not bad without a shirt on."

"Mom!" Alice was just glad the salon staff couldn't understand them now. "That's a bit inappropriate of you."

"I'm just being honest, dearie," Leonora said. "He does work out quite a lot for a boy his age. And speaking of propriety, he's not being inappropriate with you at all, dear?"

"Not at all," Alice said. "He's always so polite, and not in the least bit touchy." If anything else, it was Alice who didn't know the meaning of personal space, grabbing Ryo often by the hand or the arm. "I don't think he even has the slightest interest! He never talked to me about girls or anything like that. Cooking is probably the only thing on that blockhead's mind."

Leonora pouted. "Eehh? That's not entirely natural for a healthy teenage boy, now. Ryo-kun has to live a little. Maybe we should introduce him to more girls."

"That's not really necessary, mom," Alice said, with a bit of a pout.

"How come, Alice? You don't like to share?"

"Mom! Stop it! It's just that... you know, those poor things! Ryo can't be good for them, he doesn't know how to treat a woman right!"

"But you were just telling me about how well he treats you!"

"Those poor girls wouldn't know what to do when Ryo starts throwing the occasional aggressive fit," Alice said. "I've yet to meet a girl who I think can handle him!"

While the girls were getting their hair done and their nails manicured, Soe Nakiri and Ryo were at a local fishing spot.

It was not unusual for Soe to ask Ryo to go out with him. Usually, it was for a run, or to the gym, and the occasional fishing trip. These were just things that the girls in his family had no affinity for. Fishing was a lot of waiting around and sitting still--something both girls would struggle with.

He also often used this time as well to ask about his daughter, things that he couldn't just outright ask Alice. He trusted that Ryo keeps a good watch on her, and that Ryo wouldn't lie to them about anything, either.

These conversations often always started with the same question:

"Ryo, how has Alice been lately?"

"As good as always, sir," Ryo replied, while rummaging around a toolbox for some fishing lures. There was an odd form of comfort in these conversations. They were almost always routine, and Ryo always knew what the next question would be.

"That's good to hear. Not getting into any trouble, I hope?"

"Nothing more than the usual," Ryo said. It was Alice. She often got into some sort of trouble, but nothing they weren't used to.

"Hmmm... Would you happen to know if she's seeing anyone? Dating a guy, perhaps?"

"None that I'm aware of, sir."

This was still part of the familiar script. Ryo knew that Soe was a doting father, and was protective of Alice in his own way. She was his only child, after all.

But something about that question always made Ryo feel off. He was Alice's aide, sure... but he did not meddle too much in that area of Alice's affairs. She droned on about boys sometimes, but Ryo always managed to block off that conversation, as if putting on imaginary earplugs. He simply did not want to hear it.

"Well, what about you, Ryo-kun?"

Ryo blinked, and nearly hit himself with the fishing rod as he tried to cast it into the sea.

This was not part of the script.

"Excuse me, sir?"

"Are you, well, seeing anyone?" Soe asked, with a knot between his brows, as if he was also confused why he was asking this question. He was trying to figure out how to get to that one question, the one his wife had been nagging him about.

Ryo was just as confused, but answered plainly. "No, sir."

"Oh."

There was a silence, except for some birds flying overhead the docks. By all means, both men looked disturbed, having deviated from their usual script.

But Soe knew he had to push through anyway--or else his wife was going to chew him out for it.

"Ryo-kun... you and Alice, are you--?"

"No, sir."

Soe looked surprised at the immediate denial. Ryo himself looked surprised, as if he didn't know why he went ahead and said that.

"No?" Soe asked.

"No, we're not dating, sir."

"...Oh. I see. But actually, I was going to ask if you two were having sexual relations or anything of the like."

Ryo looked at Soe as if the man had just grown scales.

"Excuse me, sir?"

"Well... I'm growing aware that kids these days are a bit more curious than they were during our times," Soe said, looking off into the distance, almost as if intentionally trying not to have eye contact with Ryo. "Alice is a curious young girl and... well, I know how it is to be a young man, and--"

"Sir, please," Ryo almost sounded as if he was pleading. "Alice and I aren't... We're not."

"Oh." Ryo couldn't tell if Soe was disappointed, or relieved. "Oh. Very well then."

The rest of the fishing trip was in silence.

"Miss... I think your parents have been acting kind of oddly."

Said parents were now on a flight back to Denmark, leaving Alice and Ryo to fend for themselves again in Japan.

The spa trip with her mother flashed in Alice's mind, but she immediately dismissed the thought. It was just her mom being her mom. "What do you mean by that, Ryo?"

"Your dad asked me some... weird questions."

"Huh? Like what?"

Ryo wondered if he could bring it up with her, but the memory of the conversation was giving him too much secondhand embarrassment. "Your mom has been loitering by our hallway a lot," he instead said.

"It's mom. You know how she is."

Leonora did tend to be a bit nosy--Alice clearly got it from her. But Ryo had always been the more cautious sort, and did not like to dismiss these things.

"Miss," Ryo said, while draping an arm around Alice's waist and drawing her in, "...I think they're onto us."

"Hm?" Alice lazily opened her eyes, not hearing Ryo all that well. She inched closer to him on his bed, seeking his warmth. "They're what?"

"I think they've figured it out." Ryo held out his hands, finding the hem of Alice's pajama top and slipping his hand up underneath it to the soft, pliable flesh of her chest. "They've figured this out."

"Mmm..." Alice hummed contentedly, enjoying the touch. But does Ryo really believe her parents were suspicious of them? "Maybe you're just paranoid, Ryo," Alice said.

"...Your dad asked me outright if we were having sex."

"He what now??" Leonora was one thing--her mom was often just nosy, but her dad? "What did you say?"

"I denied if, of course," Ryo said, squeezing down a bit more roughly at Alice, almost out of frustation. "I was pretty sure he was going to throw me out into the sea if I said yes."

Alice pouted, now almost certain that her parents had a certain inkling about them. The possibility that they disapprove of this, and that they force Ryo away... the thought just too much to bear.

She would tell them, someday. But not today.

"Ryo," Alice moaned, "Could you be gentle? My boobs are not stressballs."

"Sure," Ryo replied lazily, not really heeding Alice's request, continuing to grope her roughly. "You whine a lot but you like it, don't you, miss?"

Alice turned pink, and elbowed Ryo on his rib in response. "S-Stop teasing me!"

"Alright," Ryo backed off, pulling his arms away and putting some space between them on his roomy bed. He knew Alice was going to pout and basically beg to cuddle five minutes later, anyway. She would probably drive another guy nuts, but Ryo was already used to how she was.

So for now, Ryo turned to his bedside drawer, trying to scramble in the dark for his phone.

"What the--"

"Hmm? Is something the matter, Ryo?" Alice asked, seeing Ryo almost frozen at the sight of something in his drawer.

Alice sat up, and narrowed her eyes to find a box of condoms in Ryo's drawer.

He slammed the drawer shut, almost as if terrified by what he saw.

"Wait, whats's the matter?" Alice asked curiously, scooting over to open the drawer and examine the box of contraceptives. "Isn't that where you keep it?"

"No, too obvious," Ryo said. "I'm pretty damn sure I didn't buy that."

Alice was shocked. "Well, if you didn't, then who...?"

The two just looked at each other, and then things started to all come together--the trips with Soe and Leonora, the point blank questions if they were having sex...

And then there was the sticky note on the back of the box, with a note that read:

Use protection! I am too young to be a grandma!

"Ugh, mom!"

Yes, her parents definitely had their suspicions.

A/N: My partner's headcanon is like--Leonora would be totally chill with it. Soe probably has more traditional eastern views.

Thank you so much for everyone who has been here since day 1, or have been waiting on updates, or those who only recently found this fic! I'm glad to have y'all.Reviews are appreciated. Y'all times are tough these days. I honestly reread reviews lots, it cheers me up during rough times. I really appreciate and read them all.