Chapter 7

Caged Bird

Momoko couldn't help practically skipping into the hotel complex from her little hang out with her friend, Kukai. She used to have the ability to make friends with everyone when she was in high school thanks to her approachable personality which seemed to still work for her to this day. Momoko had only been hanging out with the redhead baker for a few months, but it felt like they had known each other longer than that. Though technically they had, but never talked or spend time together like this. Momoko giggled to herself and felt even more bubbly as she spotted Goro who was using the luggage carts to carry some bags for some visitors. She took out a yen for the boy and quickly jumped onto it. Momoko hadn't rode on one of these since the manager made her stop, but her energy was calling for it.

"To the elevator, Goro!" Momoko shouted passing him the yen and getting a laugh out of the brunette. He quickly pushed the cart making sure she and the bags didn't fall out. She laughed passing by the few people that would report her to the manager, but truly she didn't care. Once popping into the elevator, she waved goodbye to Goro then closed the door seeing the familiar suit of Goro's boss. Momoko sighed not able to get rid of the smile on her face as she played with the end of her plaid skirt. Kukai was really making her feel so special and she hoped she was doing the same for him. He brought out the side of her that she didn't feel like she needed to hide. Momoko giggled again starting to sing a lovely tune to herself as she opened the door to Sakamoto's apartment.

"You are in a good mood." Sakamoto said who was standing in the kitchen with a mug in his hand. Momoko continued singing to herself and grabbed a chocolate piece from the bowl next to him. "Did the planning go that well?"

"Yes, it did, thanks to Kukai being there." Momoko hummed happily.

"Kukai?"

"He's the baker who is doing our desserts for the wedding and the one who always makes me delicious goodies at his store." Momoko said sticking the chocolate into her mouth. "He was so sweet to come with me for the planning. We have been hanging out most of the time and we have become fast friends. It's just so — eeck!" Momoko didn't see Sakamoto coming over to her until it was too late. She felt her head hit the wall and his presence boxing her in, stopping her good mood. Momoko looked up to him feeling his eyes pierce into hers as she pressed more into the wall out of fear. Sakamoto's eyes looked irritated, but in the next moment they had soften and his presence seemed to calm down as well. "Sakamoto?"

"You know Momoko, I bet it's hard doing all that work on your own right?"

"Yes…it is."

"I believe it would be best to do more of the wedding planning together. Wouldn't want you to get moody from it." Sakamoto smiled while running his thumb along her face then rested it against her bottom lip. "Heard that this sort of things can make the fiancée even moodier than normal."

"Oh. I didn't really think it would do that." Momoko said thinking back to what happened throughout her time doing some of the planning. It would probably help if Sakamoto was there with her, and it seemed like he was more willing to help now. "I would love for you to help."

"Good." Sakamoto said delivering a kiss to her lips then headed back to the kitchen. Momoko noticed that he had actually spilled his coffee, so she got some paper towels as he got out a notebook. "Let's start right now."

As if a switch had been turned on, Sakamoto had been coming with her to all the wedding plans without a hint of denial. They went to four venues that Sakamoto was highly recommended in one day making Momoko feel worn out. One was at the local church that would fit an average group of people and have a good atmosphere. Momoko had always dreamed of a traditional wedding and felt this could be the place for them. But Sakamoto turned it down to look at the better options the wedding planners had. The next one was a small space that was comfortable and more private. Momoko could see this working out since she didn't have many people to invite on her side; plus, it would be more personal. He again didn't like it and they were on to the next location. The hotel venue would be ok since everything could take place here which made it easier for Momoko. But again, he said no and practically dragged her to the next location. The last one was outside with a stunning lake and a lot of space for tons of people. Momoko didn't really care for outdoor weddings since that meant weather could change or bugs could come at her. She voiced these problems to Sakamoto, but he had said summer weddings were perfect for outdoor weddings. Momoko gave up as he asked the planners to finalize the location.

Another weekend came for them to see the florist she had picked out with Kukai. They picked it because it was such a small place, but always seemed to have interesting flowers that weren't often local. Sakamoto didn't enjoy being in here from at least what Momoko could tell, but she tried to ignore him as the florist showed off the flowers. A flower caught her eye that would match with the theme of sea foam with blue and white as the colors. But Sakamoto had asked to see the white roses and blue hydrangeas which made the florist head to the back. Momoko was going to ask him why until he delivered a heated kiss to her lips. Shocked filled her face where she didn't even response back. The gasp of the florist catching them made Momoko more flustered than ever that the lady quickly said she would place the order for the flowers Sakamoto said. He thanked her and pulled Momoko along into his car without another word. Momoko slowly felt herself getting sad because she really wanted to pick out the flowers, but again Sakamoto had gotten his way. When they got back to his hotel suite, Momoko was going to confront him, but his hands up her shirt and the merciless kiss had cut all talk.

The next day, despite the soreness in her legs, Momoko wanted to exercise and possibly stop by the Bric-a-Brac Bakery. Before she could even enter the bathroom to get dressed, the looming figure of Sakamoto nearly scared her to death. He asked where she was going, and she gave her usual excuse. This was normal for her, so he shouldn't be surprised. He was still staring at her though, so she added in she was going to check on the plans for the desserts. As if that was the answer he was waiting for, Sakamoto quickly picked her up as she tried to cover herself from his eyes. This was a first and Momoko didn't know how to react to it all. The brunette had gotten her back into bed as he ran a hand up her chest. Gasping, Momoko turned around feeling panic course through her being as Sakamoto pulled her closer to him. "I want you here with me more often." Sakamoto whispered into her hair as he ran his hands against her sensitive areas as she focused on his words. "Do you feel that entitled that you don't want to be around your fiancé?" Sakamoto asked as she shook her head and gripped onto the sheets while he easily got her legs open and pressed in. She didn't even want to go out once they were done.

After that time, Sakamoto seemed to want to take her everywhere that it felt like she couldn't walk without him knowing about it. He had started driving her to work claiming walking on the streets wasn't safe. Momoko couldn't believe it, but even her mother and mother-in-law were agreeing to Sakamoto's requests. So, she sucked it up as he also soon was picking her up from her job making them go straight to his place. She felt like she was suffocating. Her routine was turning upside down and no one seemed to want to take her side since it was a reasonable request. Shouldn't she want to spend as much time with him as possible? Shouldn't she love the attention he was giving her?

Momoko tried to reassure herself since Sakamoto was showing a side of himself that she was sure she had forgotten about. The one that made her friends wish they were her since he always "flirted" her. The one that touched her when she thought nobody wanted to. The one that kept her on her toes. Momoko felt herself frowning at that as she walked out of the work building with Najika on her tail. She was asking about the wedding plans and all Momoko could do was tell her what was happening so far. Najika looked at her for a moment and asked why she wasn't as excited. "I am, just a lot of things are happening." Momoko said seeing Sakamoto pull up in his fancy car where the gullwing door opened up for her to get in. Momoko quickly said goodbye and got in looking at Sakamoto. He was busy checking something on his phone before they drove off which made the frown return to her lips.

"No frowning in a photo." a photographer said as Momoko realized she was looking at a camera in the studio. It was another weekend, and they were checking out photographers at the wedding planners' demand. It seemed Momoko couldn't even hide her disappointment because Sakamoto had picked the photographer without her. He was extremely strict and wanted everything to be perfect that he wanted to take a practice photo with them. She squeaked feeling Sakamoto's hands on her waist as he whispered so she could only hear.

"Don't embarrass me, love…just show that pretty little smile I know you have, and we can move on to something more fun."

"I don't want to do that." Momoko mumbled actually wanting to rest from all the activity he put on her body. She was glad that her pills kept some of the unplan behaviors from getting to something serious. Momoko hadn't bought up the kids talk, but she could tell that wasn't apart of the plan right now. Sakamoto pulled her closer to him as it looked like he was placing a kiss on top of her head to everyone else.

"You can be so damn boring sometimes, love." Sakamoto whispered making Momoko look up at him as the photographer took a picture of a couple looking engaged in each other.

Momoko started just going with the flow at that point after hearing her fiancé say that. It became like clockwork and slowly it felt like she was going to break from it. It scared her but speaking up about it only caused her pain that she couldn't deal with. She felt so lonely. She felt broken. So, why didn't she ask Kukai for that support she knew he would give? Momoko had tried a few times especially since he was texting her, but Sakamoto would always pull her attention from the baker, and she could only say a few words. So, when she saw Sora walking up to her job apart of her wondered if Kukai could be with him.

"Hey brother!" Najika shouted wrapping the taller, dirty blond in a hug making her realize how stupid she was being. "Thanks for coming to pick me up, my car is in the shop."

"You know I'm always willing to. Boss was very understanding." Sora smiled then looked over to Momoko who tried to hide her face within her jacket. "Momoko, our favorite customer! How you been?"

"I…I have been ok." Momoko said trying to smile, but the siblings had known her for a while and knew that it was water down.

"You sure?"

"Yes." Momoko said but it was barely above a whisper.

"You know, Kukai really misses spending time with you. Seriously felt like he was finally relaxing." Sora said seeing the light in her pink eyes grow.

"Really? I miss him a lot too." Momoko said actually smiling this time and the siblings looked at each other. Before they could voice their concerns, the screeching of Sakamoto's car stopped the conversation. Momoko's face immediately fell as she said her goodbyes to them as she got into the car ready to repeat the pattern again.