Chapter 18
It has been too long in coming but here it is. I have the next few chapters planned out and half of 20 written lol. Not 19 but part of 20 wanted to be done now. Enjoy...

After they had been seated, ordered, and caught up with some small talk, Mizu turned to smile at Momiji. "Momiji, Emiko told us about how her friend Kisa is actually a cousin of yours?"

Momiji smiled back and nodded. "There are actually a lot of Sohma's." He chuckled softly and looked up as he thought for moment. "With the various branches and cousins who stayed close to the compound, there are probably around 100 of us." He shrugged at the shocked look on their faces. "Alana told me that you only had a few first cousins. The Sohma's are first, second, third, and on. They just stayed in the area and followed the old tradition of having a 'Head' of the family."

"Wow, that is so different from our family!" Emiko shook her head in shock.

Momiji shrugged. "It's different from most people's families from what I gathered at school, but it's how it has always been for us." He frowned a little in memory. "A few people gave a lot of grief to Kisa, Hiro, and Rin. Kisa and Hiro are dating and Rin is dating another Sohma named Hatsuharu. Because they all had the same last name, people would assume they were more closely related and would say terrible things to them. They tried it once on Hatsuharu but…well he did not have a good temper when he was a child and they didn't try again a second time."

Chizue nodded. "Children can be very cruel. Alana was teased as well because of her non-Japanese name." She paused as the waiter returned with their various dishes and set them on the table. The restaurant that they had gone to was a new American restaurant and they had all gotten things they had not tried before.

"So…" Emiko started after they'd taken a few bites and given initial impressions of their food choices. "Any good stories about your family?"

Momiji laughed at the teasing tone in her voice. He took a moment to think and studied the family around him and went with one of his favorite stories. "Hmm…there are only a handful of cousins in the same age group. Yuki and Kyo are a year older than Hatsuharu and myself, and when we went to high school, we transferred to be in school with our older cousins. Hatsuharu and I were total opposites. He was tall, usually unflappable, but a bit of a bad boy. I was very short, very chipper, and childish. The student body president was a bit of a rule snob and tried to hassle me because I wore the girl style uniform, with shorts instead of skirts, because I thought it looked better." The others chuckled at Momiji's small rebellion and sly smile. "Hatsuharu came to my rescue. The president was a bit scared of him and so hadn't said anything to him about his style but did make a comment then about his hair. It's weird, grows in white and black naturally. Hatsuharu said, if he could prove that his hair was naturally the two colors, the president had to leave us alone about dress code. The president agreed. So Hatsuhary took him into the bathroom and proved it." The table laughed uproariously. Momiji was pleased his story was so well received, he'd been worried it was a bit…risqué but, having been exposed to their movie likes, he was sure he wouldn't offend them.

"That reminds me of a match I was in when I was young." Chizue laughed. "One of my teammates was very androgynous and a rival coach called her gender into question. Instead of getting offended and raising a big stink, she had him pick any player on his team to validate it." Everyone chuckled again and rolled their eyes at silly people.

"I got lucky. There was nothing odd about me." Emiko grinned, nudging Alana with her elbow. Alana retaliated by stealing a bite of her food. The rest of dinner was fun and lighthearted. Alana's family never let Momiji feel excluded, Alana loved him and wanted him to be a part of the family and they accepted him solely on her feelings. It was such a wonderful feeling; to be so wanted.

On their way out of dinner, Mizu turned to them. "The Gallery representative is due back with an answer soon right?"

Alana nodded, letting out a nervous breath. "I believe so." She reached out to grab Momiji's hand. "The waiting is so terrible! I almost wish I didn't know they were deliberating if we get in. so I wouldn't be worried about if we made it!"

"Understandable." Mizu leaned in and kissed Alana on her forehead. "I truly believe neither of you will have any difficulty getting into the Gallery. You both are talented and wonderful people." He gave Momiji's shoulder a squeeze in support and Momiji found it hard to take a breath for a moment. He was so overwhelmed by the support that Alana's family constantly gave him. They were so welcoming, so proud, and so loving to him. It was unreal. He knew his father loved him, his sister and his cousins as well. But this absolute belief in him was beyond anything he had experienced before.

They wandered their way home not much later, hand in hand and Momiji had never felt so content in his life. Whether he got into the Gallery or not…it didn't matter. Just the support and love that Alana had brought into his life was worth more than getting into any gallery.

Monday had Alana at her grandfather's studio. Sunday had been a lazy day for Alana and Momiji. They'd hung at the house, occasionally playing their instruments, doing chores, Alana sketching, it didn't matter; they were simply spending time together. Neither could express how wonderful they felt it was to simply be able to just be together. Neither felt pressured to do something or act a certain way, they were just content to be with each other. There was more dizzying kisses of course and hearts raced as they held each other close, but the day was simply perfect.

When she had come into work this morning, her grandfather told her to just wander and talk to customers. A few recognized her as the pianist who had played before and asked questions about her music rather than her art, but she enjoyed talking with them. She was just leaving the last group when she heard her grandfather call her name.

She turned with a smile to see him standing with Taka Hideki, the Galley representative. "Taka-san! How nice to see you again!" She asked him bowing politely.

"Hello! Is your other half available? I would like to talk to you both." He asked with a jovial wink.

"Of course! Let me give him a call to come down." Alana replied and quickly brought out her phone. When Momiji answered his phone and heard the representative was back, he agreed to come down to the studio immediately. "He is on his way." She told Hideki with a smile.

"Excellent!" Hideki exclaimed. "I'll just wander around until he gets here!" So saying he turned and walked away with Alana's grandfather.

Not long after, Momiji strolled into the studio, his hands slightly shaking in excitement. He came and dropped a kiss on Alana's lips as she smiled at him in encouragement. His eyes were light with nerces. Alana imagined it was pretty terrifying for him. He'd never played in public before she asked him to and now he was waiting to hear if he could play at a big name gallery.

Hideki came over when he saw Momiji had arrived. "Ah! So nice to see you!" He greeted Momiji and Alana led them to a set of backless benches where they could sit and talk. "Now, I have talked with my colleagues. And I have excellent new for you both!"

Alana felt Momiji clasp her hand tightly in anticipation. She hoped fervently that they were both accepted into the Gallery. To be a part of a large gallery was a dream of hers, but to be at a gallery with Momiji who she loved? That would definitely be a dream come true.

"At the start of every new year, we have a big show to introduce new artists and talents. You both will be featured and displayed then!" Hideki boomed, it was obvious that he was excited for the young couple. Alana let out a soft squeal in joy and threw her arms around Momiji who sat silent in shock. "Next month, we will have a few meetings to discuss the itinerary of the weekend show and what the Gallery would like to get from you Alana, and when we'd like you both to perform and what pieces you would like to do."

Momiji still sat in silence, totally thrown by the announcement that the Gallery, a well-known famous gallery, wanted him to perform for their shows. He let the scouts words wash over him as Alana finished the conversation and accepted the envelope with his official acceptance letter. It wasn't until Alana stood to big Hideki goodbye that he shook himself from his stupor. He thanked Hideki profusely and then drew Alana into his arms when it was just the two of them. "Thank you." He breathed before taking her lips in a kiss. His heart was pounding in his chest and he felt warm and full of love for this woman; this beautiful talented woman who had come into his life as a shock and guided him from his lonely life into this joyful place.

Alana returned his kiss with all the love she felt for Momiji. He'd given her back the passion she'd been missing with his music and she could never repay him.

Alana and Momiji left the gallery and headed to her parents' house to tell them the good news as soon as it was late enough that everyone would be home. Impulsively, Momiji asked them over for a celebratory dinner that weekend and they eagerly agreed, excited at being able to share in their success. Once they were home, they walked up to the main house to visit Akito and Shigure and invite them to dinner as well. When Akito learned about the reason behind the celebration, she demanded the right to throw the party and began to plan who to invite and what foods to have. When Alana mentioned her family, Akito waved her away saying she that had her grandfather's number and would ensure that her family knew of the change in plans.

When they finally arrived home to stay, Momiji pulled Alana down onto the couch to snuggle. "I don't know how to thank you for this."

Alana shook her head slightly from where it was tucked into his neck. "You don't need to thank me. You are talented Momiji. I don't know why your tutor never tried to get you scouted but I never doubted that you had the talent and ability to make it in."

Momiji stroked her arm with his hand as he considered her words. "I don't know why it was never brought up. It is possible that he had spoken with my father about it and my father said no. But he never asked me. I'm not sure I would have wanted to take the chance when I was much younger. I dreamed of playing on the stage, where those I loved could see me. But…I was scared as well. Probably afraid that it wouldn't meet up to my expectations."

Alana nodded in understanding. Reality didn't always match up to dreams. She squeezed him tighter and tilted her head back to look at Momiji's face. There was still a bit of shock in his eyes but they were soft with love as he looked down at her. "I believe in you Momiji." She whispered softly.

Momiji's eyes brightened with joy and he leaned down to kiss her gently. "Danke…" He whispered against her lips.

I hope this was worth the wait. Time keeps getting away from me but I am working hard at getting this story done. My muse is sickly but it isn't dead. Until next time...(which I promise, will not be another 6 months)