Father and Son

Kuu looked up from the package in his hand and smiled a little as Kyoko brought out a large strawberry cake. Placing the DVD on the couch beside him, he cleared the table and let her sit the cake down. "Mmm." He grinned at the sight of the cake topped with large strawberries. "Looks great." He scooted over and offered her a seat. She smiled and sat next to him, placing a single plate, a fork, and a spatula in front of the cake. He looked at her questioningly as she carefully cut a piece of cake and placed it on a plate, wincing when it fell sideways on the plate. "Hey!" He cried. She giggled.

"No this is my piece. And this…" She held up the rest of the cake. "...is for you." He chuckled, but took her piece from her hands, cut a new one, and placed it on her plate, scooping the old one onto the cake plate.

"Thanks!" He began shoveling cake into his mouth, immediately realizing what the spatula was for, watching from the corner of his eye as she nibbled on her cake. "You really are a great cook." He said softy, smiling at her. "You'll make a great mother one day." He froze when she did, mentally cursing the words that he allowed out of his mouth. "Um…"

"A good mother?" She asked softly, her eyes cold. "I wouldn't know what that is." She picked up her fork again picking at her food. "I don't have the confidence to love a child…I don't want any children." His eyes widened and she picked at the food. Not sure what to say, he tugged a lock on her hair. She glanced over meeting his soft expression.

"Hey. You're just a child yourself. You have no idea how wonderful they can be." Her eyes softened a little but she only turned back to her food. "So…have you talked to Kuon?" It had been two days since Kuu's meeting with Ren Tsuruga and he was scheduled to leave the next day. She blushed and looked back down at her plate, shaking her head a little. "Why not?" He cried. "Are you still angry with him?" She shook her head a little,

"I've…um…just been busy." He frowned down at her, sitting the cake down and crossing his arms. "And…he's really busy and has a hectic schedule. And…" She trailed off when he continued starting down at her. "What?"

"Hmmm." He didn't say anything, but his eyes were suspicious as he picked up his cake and continued to eat. She sighed silently, not wanting to discuss the real reason.

'What if I've made Kuon mad? I was acting as him and being rude! What if he's angry and…and he hasn't called me because he doesn't want to talk to me?'


Ren bowed to the photographer and waved away the young woman's thanks. She had all but begged him to be in her photo shoot, and he had willingly agreed. She was an up and coming photographer and he was looking for more diverse jobs that just R Mandy. Approaching his manager who held out a bottle of water with a smile. "Good job."

"Thanks." Ren took the bottle and took a drink. "Um...do you have my phone?"

"Of course I have your phone." Yashiro continued writing in his book. "I always hold your phone when you're working." He said simply.

"Um…can I see it?"

"Of course." Almost painfully slowly, he shut his notebook, pulled out a latex glove, extracted it from his pocket, and handed it to his now irritated charge with an innocent smile. Rolling his eyes, Ren tried to subtly (desperately) check his phone without anyone becoming suspicious. Yashiro snickered for a second, but swallowed it hastily when Ren glared at him. "Any luck?" he asked quietly, this time in a serious voice. Sighing, Ren shook his head.

"It's been nearly 4 days. Just call her, Ren."

Ren shook his head. "I can't, Yashiro-san. She obviously doesn't want to speak to me." Yashiro sighed and shook his head.

"Ren, maybe she's waiting for you to call." Ren nearly shrugged, but kept the American gesture contained. The chicken hadn't reacted well, and he assumed it would irritate his manager as well.

"I don't know. What if she's still angry?"

"Well…why don't you go see her. Then you can talk to her about whatever it is she's mad about?" Yashiro had never gotten a clear answer about what exactly they were fighting about, but then again it wasn't really any of his business. Ren sighed and handed the phone back to his manager, hands in his pocket as he sullenly waited for the photographer to call him back. Suddenly the phone vibrated in Yashiro's gloved hand, and, without checking the number or thinking about the people watching, Ren snatched it back and opened it hurriedly.

"Hello?" He spoke hurriedly and Yahshiro smothered a laugh in his hand.

"Kuon?" Yashiro stopped laughing when Ren's eyes widened and he blanched for a minute.

"Dad?" He let the word slip in English, then blanched when he caught Yashiro's stunned gaze. No one else was paying attention but Ren swallowed at the implications. "Um…please excuse me, Yashiro-san." Yashiro nodded hesitantly as Ren hurried away, shutting the door firmly.

'Dad? As in…father?' Ren had never said anything about his family. 'So…he has a father.' He thought for a second. 'I sort of assumed his parents were dead…and that he was uncomfortable talking about it.'


"Kuon? Are you there?" His father's voice was worried and Ren sighed.

"Dad? What's wrong? Why are you calling me? Is Kyoko okay?" He rolled his eyes when his father chuckled loudly.

"She is fine. She's here, in the other room, if you want to talk to her, but I wanted to talk to you as well."

"Oh…okay."

"Don't sound so suspicious. I just wanted to tell you that I'm leaving tomorrow, and I was wondering if you wanted to come to the hotel tonight." His father's voice was hesitant and Ren smiled softly.

"I get done with work around 10. Will that be too late?"

"Nope. Come on over. Well, I'll let you get back to work. Kyoko is cleaning up and I wanted to help her out. Good luck. I'll see you tonight!"

"Wait, Dad!" All he could hear was the dial tone and he sighed. 'Is Kyoko going to be there?'

Ren walked back over to his manager, smiling a little at his attempts to look nonchalant. "Thank you." He said softly, handing the man his phone and heading back to the set.


Later after shoot was over, the two climbed into Ren's car to go to his next shoot. As Ren put the key in the ignition, Yashiro glanced over at him. As always, the taller man was silent. "Um…Ren?"

"Yes?" They were about to pull out of the parking lot and Ren hesitated, turning to his manager.

"Um…was…are you…um…" Ren lifted an eyebrow and crossed his arm, chuckling a little.

"Yes, Yashiro-san?" He asked encouragingly.

"Sorry." The manager chuckled nervously. "Um…was that your father on the phone?" Ren's eyes became guarded and Yashiro hurried to apologize, lifting a hand. "No, sorry. Um…it's none of my business! I'm sorry." Ren sighed with a smile.

"No, don't be sorry. Yes, it was my father on the phone."

"Oh." Yashiro didn't say anything else and Ren smiled a little, taking a deep breath.

"My parents live in America, so I don't see them much anymore." Yashiro's jaw dropped as Ren nonchalantly placed his foot on the gas pedal.

"Really!" Ren watched him carefully out of the corner of his eye.

"Yes."

"When did they move to America?"

"My father moved there years ago. My mother is from there."

"So…you're American?"

Ren smiled a little. Yashiro's voice was strictly curious, maybe a little awed, and this was encouraging. "Yes. I was born in California."

"Seriously? When did you move to Japan!"

"About five years ago."

"You…wait." Yashiro leaned over. "You lived in America for most of your life? How do you speak Japanese so well?" Ren chuckled.

"My father taught me at home. My mother doesn't speak it very well though."

"Hm. Never would have guessed." He pulled out his planner as they drove on. "So…what's your father's name?"

Ren grinned. "Kuu Hizuri." Yashiro chocked on his own saliva, turning to his client with wide eyes.


Kyoko looked up at Kuu who was flipping through the script of Box R. "Were you planning on turning this one down?"

"No…I already spoke to the director." He glanced up at her tone. "He told me to just act it like Mio." She said glumly. Kuu frowned, shifting on the sofa.

"What are you planning on doing?"

"I…I have no idea." She said honestly. "I don't want to just act Mio over and over again. I mean, I love acting as Mio…but this is Natsu. He nodded slowly.

"I agree…"

"But…I can't argue with the director!"

"No. That's never a good idea." He sighed, about to say something, then glanced up at the clock. "I'm hungry, Kyoko." He said suddenly, making the girl jump a little.

"Um…alright. You just ate a few minutes ago."

"I know…how about some sandwiches?" She laughed and stood, nodding. "Thank you!" He called as she walked into the kitchen. Grinning he placed her script on the table by her bag and checked his watch.

Thinking nothing of her father's strange behavior, Kyoko cut and chopped until she heard a muffled knock on the door. Frowning, she glanced into the living room as her father walked to the door and opened it with a smile, opening his arms. Kyoko froze when two familiar arms came into view and she dove to the ground, crouching behind the cabinet. 'What's Ren doing here?' She cried in her mind, trembling a little. 'Well….it is Kuon…..Kuu's son. But…Father didn't say anything! I'm not prepared! What if he's mad at…' She froze when someone cleared their throat. Opening her eyes, she found herself looking into the eyes of her father who was crouching in front of her with an amused expression.

"Kyoko?"

"Hmm?"

"What are you doing?"
"Um…" She glanced around and smiled nervously. "Hiding…?"
"Why?"

"Because…what if he's mad at me and doesn't want to see me!" She cried. Kuu chuckled.

"Why would he be angry with you?" He didn't mention the look of hope in his son's eyes when he saw Kyoko's bag on the table. "He loves you." She blushed brightly.

"But…I haven't called him!" She cried. "And I haven't seen him in days! What if he…" She trailed off and looked at the floor sadly.

Kuu didn't speak, just pulled the girl into his arms, kissing the top of her head. "Come on." He said after a second, pulling her to her feet and grabbing the tray of sandwiches. "Come say hello."

Ren glanced up when Kyoko emerged from the kitchen, partially hidden behind his father. Her eyes were on the ground, and she was obviously nervous. "Hello Kyoko." He said softly, smiling gently at the girl. She peeked up at him, smiling a little.

"Hello Ren." She mumbled. Kuu held up the plate of sandwiches.

"I'm just going to run to the bedroom and eat these." He said cheerfully, though neither of the younger people heard him or noticed the way he hurried away.

Ren stood and took a few steps toward her until he was only a foot away. "I'm sorry." He said softly. She looked up in surprise. "I should have told you…I'm really sorry." His eyes were sad, his arms limply at his sides, and she threw her arms around him, shaking her head.

"I'm sorry." She whimpered. Stunned, he managed to free his arms and hold her, feeling her sob against him.

"Kyoko? What happened? Why are you sorry?" He asked gently, stroking her hair.

"I thought…that you were mad at me…" She looked up at him with relived, tear filled eyes. "…because I didn't call you…and…I thought…" She shook her head, hugging him again in relief. Tilting her head toward him with a gentle smile, he pressed his lips against hers, stroking her back and holding her close.

"Shh. Don't cry sweetie." She blushed a little. "I love you. I'm not angry. I thought that you were angry and didn't want to talk to me." He shook his head, cupping her cheek. "It wasn't your fault." She nodded a little, sniffing, and he handed her a handkerchief. Blushing, she took it. After she had wiped her face, he pulled her back over and pressed his lips against hers again, stepping back and pulling her with him until the back of his knees hit the sofa, and he sat, pulling her with him.

'I haven't seen her in so long…well a couple of days. Still, I missed her so much.' He let his hands trail up her back, careful to leave his hands above the waist.

"Ahem. Kuon?" He pulled away quickly, Kyoko following suit. "What are you doing to my daughter?" Kyoko blushed and hid her red face in Ren's shoulder, making him chuckle and rub her back. Kuu smirked and sat next to them. "I'll take it you made up."

A/N: Reviews are nice. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed and who has been reading. I really appreciate it! Sorry if I don't catch all mistakes, I try to proofread. Let me know if I missed anything.