I love my boyfriend. I really do. He's such a trooper. All while we were sitting at dinner with Abuelita, she mostly spoke to Daddy in Spanish. But he was so lost. He sat and nodded like he knew what they were talking about, but I knew better. Bless him. Although, I probably should've warned Ritsu about Abuelita. Because there is one thing that is worse than death to do to Abuelita. He should've known. I should've warned him. I regret not warning him. I dropped the ball.

There's a restaurant we always go to when Abuelita is in town. It's tradition at this point. It's a Spanish place near the building. Daddy and I would go there once in a while when he would get homesick. They gave us a metric shit ton of food to the point where no one was moving very quick afterward. Both Ritsu and I were full of incredible Spanish food and his shoulder served as my pillow. However, Abuelita didn't understand how much was too much.

Fortunately, she passed me by. She knew my tells. When I look like I'm about to pass out, I'm done. Ritsu, however, had no real tells. And Abuelita sure as hell didn't know them. If she didn't feel like someone has eaten enough, she will not stop feeding them. But like I said, he didn't know. I never told him. Dropping the ball.

"Ritsu," Abuelita pushed a nearly cleared plate of tamales toward him, "Deberías comer más, cariño."

Granted, Ritsu's Spanish knowledge is still nonexistent, but he could figure out what she was trying to get across. He looked down at the plate like he was about to throw up, "No, thank you, Abuelita. I'm good."

In that moment, Abuelita's eyes turned fucking red. I leaned over to him, making sure to keep my voice down, "Ritsu…take one."

"I can't eat any…"

"Ritsu…" I cut him off, "Just take one."

"But…"

"If you want to live to see another day," I insisted, keeping an eye on Abuelita, "Just…Take it."

"Ok," Ritsu obliged, taking another tamale, immediately putting a smile on her face. Ritsu leaned back to me, "Rei, how much do you love me?"

"That's earmarked for you, baby," I turned him down, "She'll know. I don't need that voodoo hanging over my head."

"Fine…" He did love me. I could see a bead of sweat run down Ritsu's forehead while he ate one last tamale. My boyfriend is a fucking trooper and I loved him.

When we got back home, Ritsu threw himself onto my bed. For a few minutes, he didn't move. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried, "Ritsu…?"

"Mmm…" he groaned, his face buried in the pillows in pain.

"Ritsu…?" I laid down next to him, cuddling into his back, gently resting my arm over him, "Are you ok, baby?"

"I'm in Hell," Ritsu whined, "I'm in my own personal Hell."

"You'll be ok," I promised, letting him shift into the little spoon position. He laid his head on my stomach, not giving my bodily pain a thought. I could tough it out for him.

"Will I?" he winced, "I don't think I've ever eaten so much in one sitting."

"Never turn down food from Abuelita," I ran my fingers through his hair, setting him at ease, "That is a horrible idea. She will get pissed and take it as a personal insult. She just doesn't want you to be malnourished."

"There's no fucking way I could be malnourished," Ritsu chuckled a bit, "Not with her around."

"Just wait until breakfast."

"There's more?" he freaked.

"That was a joke," I settled him, "This will pass. I promise."

"Don't get me wrong," Ritsu shut his eyes for a moment or two, "Everything was so fucking good, but there is such a thing as too much."

"Like I said," I kissed his forehead, "You'll be ok, Ritsu."

"You're so lucky I love you."

"I love you, too." It usually takes people a minute to get used to Abuelita's too muchness, but I'm proud of him. Ritsu adapted. And he adapted quickly. Really and truly, I'm proud of him. When I looked back down at him, Ritsu was out like a light. Food coma. Total food coma. I feel him. I pulled my blanket over us, ready to call it a night myself. Until I noticed a figure in my doorway.

"Reila?" Abuelita called into my room, "Sigues despierto, niña?"

"Si, Abuelita," I kept my voice down, "I was just about to go to sleep."

"Alright," she sat at the edge of my bed, noticing the sleeping lump on my belly. Going by the look on her face, she wasn't too keen on the idea, "Does your father know he's sleeping in here?"

"Yeah," I nodded, "He's ok with it. He fully trusts Ritsu's judgment and my ability to beat him senseless if anything goes down. Besides, he knows better."

"That's good," Abuelita let it go, smiling down at Ritsu, "You know, Reila…I can see why you love him."

"You should've seen him today, Abuelita," I bit the inside of my cheek, "When we were down in the narrows, the guy we had to take care of had the audacity to say some not so nice things about me. Ritsu would've torn the guy's throat out if I would've let him."

"You should've let him," she gave me a little nudge, "Why didn't you?"

"Because," I winced, ready to take the blow for it, "I took care of him. My bat saw blood today."

"Reila…" Abuelita knew the extent of what we did. She knew I would occasionally take care of these assholes. But when it stared her in the face, it made her queasy. Means to an end, "How bad was it?"

"He didn't leave with anything broken," I promised, "Except for a tooth. Maybe his nose. But that's here nor there. He walked out. With a slight limp, but I digress."

"I'm sure you make tu papi proud…"

"I do," I melted inside. I knew I made Daddy proud. For the good of the family, I kicked ass and took names. And I'd do it again, if he asked.

"Well, niña," Abuelita got up from my bed, kissing my cheek, "Get some sleep, ok? We have a big day tomorrow. You know what tomorrow is, don't you?"

"After tonight," I teased, "I might be hating myself tomorrow."

"I don't think so," she hushed me, "You know better. Descansa bien, mi amor."

"Buenas noches, Abuelita," I nestled down in my bed a little better with Ritsu twitching a little on top of me. She killed the lights on her way out and I shut my eyes.

The next morning, I woke up with Ritsu's head still on my belly. Not that I'm complaining. He's cute when he's asleep. Although, his face was lit up by his phone screen. I watched over his shoulder while he's scrolling aimlessly through his feed. I didn't expect Ritsu to be down for Pinterest, but who was I to judge? Let him be. But when his cooking gets better than mine, I know who to blame. Fucking Pinterest…

"How long have you been awake, Rei?" Ritsu wondered.

"Not very," I promised, "You know, normal people start with a good morning, but whatever. Go off."

"Good morning," he stretched up, giving me a little kiss, "Pain in the ass…"

"Your pain in the ass," I booped his nose, "And what the fuck, Ritsu? I'm the pain in the ass? You spent the entire night laying on my stomach. Remember how fucking full you were last night?"

"Yeah."

"I was in the same goddamn position!" I squeaked, "But did you hear me complain? No. And why is that? Because…"

In mid rant, I stopped myself, giggling profusely. And Ritsu gave me a look like I was on drugs, "The hell are you laughing at?"

"You know what my reasoning for that was about to be?" I shook my head, "It was going to be back into our patterns."

"What?" Ritsu chuckled a bit, "Us saying sweet shit to each other when we're in the middle of an argument?"

"Exactly," I moved down into his chest, laying my head in his shoulder, "You're exhausting."

"I'm exhausting?"

"Yes. You, Ritsu Kasanoda, are exhausting."

"So are you," he kissed the top of my head, "But you and me? We exhaust each other."

"That, we do," I agreed, pushing myself up from the bed, "We're each other's little shit."

"Where do you think you're going?" Ritsu wrapped himself around one of my pillows, "I thought we were just getting comfortable."

"I have a date with Abuelita for a little while," I told him, walking into my beautiful walk-in closet. Oh, I missed you, too, sweetheart, "You'll be able to manage for a while without me, yeah?"

"What do you mean, without you?" he scoffed.

"I have a dress fitting today," I thumbed through the racks of clothes, looking for something to wear today, "I know damn well you don't want to deal with that."

"And I know you sure as fuck don't either," Ritsu got up from my bed, "I know you, Rei. You and shopping don't exactly mesh well."

"I know," I chewed on my lip, "But I think I'll be ok. I mean, it'll be one dress fitting. I could manage. Besides, it'll be just me and Abuelita."

"Forgive me for being worried about you, Reila," he wrapped his arms around my shoulders, holding me tight against his chest, "Can you make me a promise?"

"Of course," I looked up at him, "What?"

"If it gets bad," Ritsu begged, "And I mean…If it gets real bad…Call me. Please."

"Ritsu," I swore, "I'll be ok. But if I do get bad, I'll let you know."

"Thank you," he hugged me tight, "Because I love you and I don't want you hurt."

"I love you, too," I grabbed a pair of black leather pants and kissed Ritsu's cheek, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go take a shower. If Abuelita comes in looking for me, that's where I'll be."

"Ok," Ritsu stopped me in the doorway of my closet, "Hold on…"

"What are you doing?"

He reached up and grabbed a bright red top with some kind of lace on it. When the hell did I get that? Whatever. I'll take it, "This one."

"Why this one?" I wondered, trading him my black one.

"It's a size smaller than the black one," he decided, "Therefore, it'll be a little tighter."

"Ritsu," I rolled my eyes, "I don't have any tits. We've been over this."

"I was laying on you last night, baby," Ritsu argued, "I beg to differ."

And he has the audacity to say I'm exhausting. Regardless, I walked into my bathroom and got a little less gross. It's sweet that Ritsu was so worried about me, but I really do think I'll be ok. If we're being honest, this was the only time I could get truly excited about shopping. It'll be nice to make up for lost time with Abuelita anyway. If I get nothing else out of this day (which there is no way in hell that's going to happen. Abuelita won't allow it.), I get to hang out with her.

I just hope Ritsu will be ok on his own. It's a big, beautiful city. I'm sure he can find somewhere to get lost. Fingers crossed he doesn't try to take a subway. That's how he ends up in New Jersey and I don't want to go to fucking Jersey today. I mean, if I have to go rescue Ritsu, then I'll have to go rescue Ritsu. But I don't want to go to Hoboken today. When I was going to school here, I had a friend of mine that came in from Hoboken. Even she hated Hoboken.

On the plus side, though, today's adventure meant me going dress shopping for my coming out party in the heart of Brooklyn with one of my favorite people in the world. I couldn't complain. It sucks ass that I don't get to do this with you, Mama, but I feel like you're here in spirit. I'm sure we'll find something here. Somewhere. Even if we need a custom rush order. We knew people in the right places that could do something like that for me.

After I kissed Ritsu goodbye and left him in Daddy's capable hands for the day, Abuelita and I took off for one of my favorite places in Williamsburg. The guy that ran it used to play in a band, but then, when he realized his music career wasn't going anywhere, he started moonlighting as a costume designer. It worked for him. He was a good dude. And he adored me. Mostly because the occasional anonymous investment from a certain crime family kept his shop running when his numbers weren't doing too well. Not that they mind.

"Reila!" he sang, taking my hand and giving me a little spin, "I haven't seen you in here in forever! How are you today, sweetheart?"

"I'm wonderful, Santiago," I beamed, my heart melting inside, "How are you?"

"Business as usual," Santiago shrugged, "You know how it is. Speaking of, rumor has it someone went to the narrows yesterday."

"I don't know what you're talking about," I denied him completely, "Abuelita and I were at dinner with Daddy yesterday. Her, me, Daddy, and my boyfriend, behaving ourselves like good, law abiding citizens."

"Bullshit," he chuckled to himself, "Rei, I know you. Somewhat. I know you by reputation. And the fact that you come into my shop."

"Can we not talk my business?" I requested, "I'm here for a reason."

"Of course," Santiago stopped, "What did you have in mind?"

"I don't know," I shrugged, "Abuelita? Thoughts?"

"You need something with color, kariña," Abuelita suggested, "You wear too much black as it is."

"I know," I pouted, "But I'm not today! Ritsu picked out my shirt."

"You always did look good in leather, Rei," Santiago pointed out, "But maybe Sariña has a point."

"Thank you," Abuelita chirped, "See? Someone sees it my way."

"So I've noticed," I shot a glare at Santiago. He's lucky I like him, "But see, I look really good in black, though."

"You need more color in your life, mija," she gave me a little nudge, "You know what color looks really good on you, Rei?"

"What?" I knew a few colors that I looked damn good in. But I looked better in black.

"Purple," Abuelita decided, pulling a dark purple dress from the rack. Granted, it had a little too high of a neckline for me, but I digress.

"I don't know," I mulled it over.

"Please?" she begged, "Will you try it? For me?"

"Well…" That was dirty ass move and Abuelita knew it. But that was the thing about her. She was a sneaky creature, "Fine. I guess."

"Gracias!" Abuelita handed me the dress and I found a dressing room. If I had my way, I'd be in here with a black leather dress that looked like it was painted on me. I wanted it to look like I was wearing a roll of electrical tape and nothing else. But to no avail. It's alright, though. The shit I do for you, Abuelita. At least it was a dark purple. That's why I'm glad Abuelita came with me. She got me. And I didn't have to do this on my own. I had no doubt in my mind that Ritsu would've come with me if she wasn't here, but he didn't need to go through this, too. Once I had this dress on, I took one good look at myself in the mirror.

Oh…

Oh my…

I know I didn't want to do this particular dress, but then, I noticed the black lace panel in the back just above the corset laces. I don't think Abuelita did, though. With a quick spin in the mirror and the skirt billowing out from under me, I only fell deeper in love with it. It'd be perfect if the neckline didn't make me feel like a damn nun. I bet if I asked Santiago real nice, he'd do a little altering for me.

"Abuelita," I walked out of the dressing room and looked in the outside mirror, "Me gusta. Me gusta mucho…"

"See?" Abuelita popped me one in the shoulder. Because her hindsight knew no bounds, "I told you so!"

"Is this the one, Rei?" Santiago asked.

"Absolutely," I dug in my bag and pulled a twenty out, keeping things quiet between the two of us, "If you could cut the neck a little lower…Like…Just under the boob? I'll love you forever."

"I love you, too, Rei," he took the money. Bless him.

"Thank you," I walked back into the dressing room and changed again, "I'm so glad this was easy. I don't think I have it in me to deal with it being messy."

"Reila…?" Abuelita worried, "Is everything ok? What's the matter, baby?"

"It's nothing," I brushed her off, "It's just…I know Mama would've wanted Victoria to be in on this, but…"

Immediately, Abuelita pulled me into her chest, hugging me tight, "Reila, you're not with her. You're with me, amor. It's ok."

"You know," I leaned against the wall, "I just saw her recently, too."

"Really?" If there was anyone in this world that hated that bitch more than Daddy and me, it was Abuelita. In a perfect world, she'd take my new shiny bat and beat the shit out of her with it herself. Well…She was trying to tear her son down and she treated Mama like ass, so…It's understandable, "When was this?"

"A little over a week ago," I told her, "I'm guessing Daddy hasn't told you about what's going on, has he?"

"Your father likes to keep me in the dark," Abuelita explained, "He thinks it's to protect me, but I think he just wants to keep my blood pressure at a reasonable level. What happened?"

"She tried jumping me." Sorry, Daddy. But it's Abuelita. I don't like secrets with her, "And she tried getting me…She jumped me while I was in Japan! She cornered me! But it's so much more than that."

"So," she asked, worry covering her face, "What happened?"

"You know how I am, Abuelita," I shook it off, "I didn't let her get to me. And I'm still here, aren't I?"

"Es mi chica," Abuelita smiled.

"At least I got you," I laid my head on her shoulder.

"Siempre, niña," she kissed the top of my head while Santiago brought my newly tweaked dress back in the bag, "Shall we?"

"Yeah," I nodded, "Thanks, Santiago. I appreciate it."

"It was good seeing you again, sweetheart," Santiago waved me off.

Well, since that didn't take nearly as long as I thought it would, why not just go home? Abuelita and I parted ways at the elevator and she went up to the guest room. Me, however…I decided to stop off on the first floor. I walked into the living room where my father, my uncles, and my boyfriend were sitting around the coffee table in a sight I never thought I'd ever see. If I didn't know any better, I'd think they were playing poker.

I peeked over Ritsu's shoulder, looking his cards over, "Hi there."

"Hey, baby," Ritsu cranked his neck back, stealing a quick kiss, "How was shopping? I'm assuming it went well."

"Yeah," I walked over to Daddy, looking at his cards, too.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Daddy put his hand down, "What do you think you're doing?"

"I know how to keep my mouth shut," I promised, "Daddy didn't raise a snitch."

"That's my girl," he put an arm around me, "So, what's Ritsu got?"

"Daddy!"

"What the hell, Frankie?" Ritsu whined.

"Kidding!" Daddy assured, "Just kidding! Besides, I'm folding anyway."

"Alright," I went back to Ritsu, "You guys aren't doing something stupid like playing with real money, are you?"

"Of course, we are," Uncle Tony glanced up at Ritsu, then back down at his cards.

"And how much is in the pot now?" I wondered.

"A couple hundred," Uncle César reported, also tossing his cards in, "It's good to have you home, Rei. How long have you been here?"

"A few days," I told him, "I'm sure Ritsu and I are going to be back by New Year's."

"Aww…" Daddy whined, "You're not sticking around for New Year's?"

"We're leaving after New Year's," I promised, keeping a close eye on Uncle Tony. I whispered in Ritsu's ear, "He's bluffing."

"What?" Ritsu perked up.

"Uncle Tony's got nothing," I spoke gently, "You're working on a full house, Ritsu. He's full on bluffing."

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

"Alright…" Ritsu pushed his chips in, "I'm all in."

"Uh…Ritsu?" I worried, "Wasn't that all the cash you brought for the trip?"

"A good majority of it," he admitted, "Was that something I should've ran by you first?"

"Too late," Uncle Tony took it, "All bets are in. Current pot is at five hundred and fifty US dollars. Ritsu, play your cards."

"Why don't you play first?" Ritsu started to sweat, "Rei…Our plane tickets are round trip, right? If I lose this hand, we'll still be able to get home?"

"Yes, Ritsu," I sat in his lap, "They're round trip."

"Good," he let out a heavy sigh of relief.

"Ha!" Uncle Tony put his two pair down, "Sorry, Ritsu. I hate taking money from a kid like that…"

"And I love nothing more than when people make assumptions," Ritsu threw his cards down, "Full house, bitches."

"Holy shit, kid," Daddy applauded, "You got a hell of a poker face."

"Not my first poker game," Ritsu beamed, taking in his profits, "Probably not my last."

"Told you he was bluffing," I hung my arms around Ritsu's neck.

"Thank you, baby," he kissed my cheek.

"Since you three are likely tapped," I assumed, "Does that mean the game's over?"

"Yeah," Daddy nodded, "You're free, Ritsu. Go ahead."

"There is this girl I kind of missed today," Ritsu admitted, wrapping his arms around my waist.

"And she missed you, too," that girl curled into his shoulder, "So? How about one more lesson?"

"Alright," he nudged me off his lap and I pulled him onto his feet, "Gentlemen, always a pleasure. When you want me to take your money again, I'd be more than happy to."

"Alright, you little shit," Uncle Tony shoved a finger in his face.

"Tony," Daddy settled him, "That was your own fault. You fucked up. And now, you're short a couple hundred bucks. Settle down."

"Shall we?" I held Ritsu's hand.

"Absolutely."

The two of us left Daddy and my uncles to stew in their bitter defeats and headed for the ballroom. I loved this damn ballroom so much. And after the day I had, a little bit of time with my beloved boyfriend would be just the thing I needed. Although, I also wouldn't mind a little more coffee, too. Abuelita didn't like me drinking coffee, but I managed to get in a cup before we left this morning. I turned on a little music and Ritsu and I started to move.

"You know, Ritsu," I pointed out, "You've gotten a hell of a lot better since we first came in here."

"Thank you, Rei," Ritsu spun me around and brought me back in like a pro. A little shaky, but he's getting there.

"You're still no Daddy," I told him, "But you're getting there. You're trying your best."

"Damn right, I am!"

"At least you're not stepping on me anymore," I teased him a bit, "And that's all I ask of you. Well…that, and to not look like an idiot. I know that part might be hard for you…"

"Fuck off!" Ritsu squeaked.

"And still excitable as ever," I giggled, "You're so easy to fuck with, Ritsu. You should know better by now. But you do know better, right?"

"Of course," he pulled me into his chest, holding me tight.

This was nice. At the end of a long day (or what felt like a long day), this was all I wanted. Just Ritsu and me, "I love you, Ritsu…"

"Te amo, princesa…"

My fucking heart dropped halfway to fucking China. There is no goddamn way that just came out of him, "Ritsu…Did you just…?"

"I've spent most of the day with your dad," Ritsu shrugged me off, "I've learned a thing or two."

"That was the sweetest thing you could've done for me," I buried my face in his chest, hiding the happy tears that fought their way out of my eyes.

"That's about the extent of my Spanish," he chuckled nervously.

"But the effort was appreciated," I cuddled into him. Have I ever mentioned how much I love this boy? Because goddamn, do I love this boy, "Can I teach you one more thing?"

"Sure. What is it?"

I pulled Ritsu down to the floor and laid my head in his lap, content with the world, "Eres mi todo, mi corazon."

"And what does that mean?" Ritsu wondered.

"You're my everything," I hid a little smile from him, "my heart."

"So, that's what you told Abuelita," Ritsu put two and two together.

"That's right, baby."

"In that case," Ritsu gave me a slow, sweet, passionate kiss, "Eres mi todo, mi corazon…"