30 November 2018: November is over, but I won NaNoWriMo for the first year ever. I've written the full 50,000 words of fiction this year, and most of that was on the next half of Sanctuary.

As always, a big thank you to Down for the edit on this chapter.

Content Note: No changes have been made to this chapter. It is the same as posted to AO3.

Chapter 18
In which Clef meets Umi's parents

A cold chill of fear ran through Umi's body as all the colour drained from Clef's face and he fell to his knees, clutching his chest. She ripped free from Hikaru and Fuu and threw herself over to him, any lingering irritation and annoyance melting under the weight of sheer dread that sat in her chest, making it difficult to catch her own breath.

"Clef! Don't be dead!"

For one long terrifying moment he wasn't breathing, and Umi clung to him, hating every terrible thing she had ever said to him. Then he took a loud shuddering gasp. "Ow," he muttered, just about audible - and just about understandable.

"I'm sorry. Stay with me, please." She wrapped her arms about him more securely, pulling him against her chest, closing her eyes.

"I'm still here," he rasped, trembling against her. "Did we make it?"

"Yeah. Are you okay? Do you need to go back?"

"Give me a few minutes? I think I'll be okay."

"You don't sound very sure," she snapped, holding tighter.

Clef huffed, the sound smaller than usual but reassuringly familiar. "I've never precisely done this before, how could I possible be sure? But it's not getting worse, so I'll probably be fine?"

"You have to be fine, or I'll - I'll kill you myself."

At that, he actually snorted. "You'll have to fight Aveo for the privilege, I'm afraid. She's already threatened to hunt me down and drag me back if things go wrong."

"Good."

Hikaru had dropped down in front of them, looking worried. She dug into her pocket and pulled out a hard candy, offering it to Clef. "If you suck on this, it might help?"

"Thank you." Clef took it, but his hands were shaking so much Hikaru had to take it back to open it for him - Umi's hands were full keeping him upright.

Meanwhile, Fuu was stood in front of them all, screening them slightly from the passers-by. They were tucked in behind one of the support struts at the centre of the deck, so mostly no one was looking their direction anyway, and it wasn't like the Tower didn't get visitors who suddenly discovered they weren't good with the heights. Now, she looked down at them, as Clef slowly managed to sit slightly more upright, a little colour coming back to his face. "Should I wait, or check on Cephiro?"

"Wait," Umi said - at the same moment as Clef said, "Check, please."

Umi glared at him. "If you need to go back -"

"I won't stop panicking until I know." Clef met her eyes steadily.

"Fine. Fuu, be quick?"

"I will be as swift as I can." Fuu promised, and light flared like a reflection hitting the building from outside, and she was gone.

Clef's eyes went a little wide as he saw the view for the first time. Even from a terrible angle and from between people's legs the tops of enough skyscrapers were visible to look startlingly different to Cephiro. "Girls from another world," he murmured, around the remnants of the sweet which he seemed to have tucked in his cheek like a hamster.

"Here, I think you're the one from another world," Hikaru said, with one of those infectious smiles that made Umi feel better even now. "Do you think you could stand? If we can get you downstairs, we can get a cup of tea. The lift's going to be crowded, but the cafes shouldn't be so bad right now, and we'll be with you."

"If someone would give me a hand up, we shall see?" Clef's voice only wobbled a little and he let them haul him to his feet, keeping tight hold of Umi's hand as more of Tokyo came into view - only to vanish again behind another short flare which ended with Fuu smiling at them.

"Cephiro is fine," she confirmed, and Umi felt the tension go out of Clef as he pressed against her shoulder - in fact, he nearly dropped to his knees again, but Hikaru caught his other arm and they stabilised him. "I will head back for the afternoon, just in case, but there is no trouble at all," Fuu continued. "That is, if you're staying?"

"I'm staying," Clef affirmed, holding Umi's hand tight and smiling at her. Most of the grey had faded from his skin to leave him just horribly pale. Umi didn't like it, but she wasn't going to win an argument, so she didn't start one.

Fuu jumped back to Cephiro, leaving Hikaru and Umi to tackle combining Clef and the lifts. Umi didn't like those lifts herself, and she knew how awful it was to ride in them when you felt miserable. Who actually thought glass lifts were a good idea? Clef practically hid against her hair, eyes tightly shut until they got off, and he was shaking still when Hikaru left Umi settling him into a chair to fetch them all a drink.

Umi was trying hard not to fret that the way he was rubbing his chest meant he was having a heart attack, not just feeling stretched by the distance. It wasn't working. "Maybe we should just take you back to Cephiro. You still look awful."

Clef threw a napkin at her. "I'm sure I look better than you have this past month. Today, even. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," she insisted. It was just the same awful headache, and the tightness in her chest had to be the added strain of bringing him across; she'd been short of breath after their practice session, too. "Anyway, I'll feel better after a drink and a snack."

"And so will I," Clef insisted, just as Hikaru returned with tea for all of them - and a plate of little sandwiches. She just smiled, when Umi raised an eyebrow.

"I'll eat them for lunch if neither of you want them, but I thought you might want something while the tea cools for a minute?"

"I can pay you back for them - the drinks, too-"

"You're always paying for us. Let me take a turn for once," Hikaru said, mildly but firmly enough Umi knew she wasn't going to give way. "Besides, when else will I have a chance to treat Clef? You might be dating, but I like to do things for all my friends."

Umi shook her head, but her lips were twitching - and then she saw the way Clef was poking curiously at the bread, and had to laugh - none of the bread in Cephiro was leavened. "I'll tell you how we make it do that later," she said with a grin, before he could ask.

The snack helped, and by the time they'd finished the tea - Umi with her eye on her watch but not daring to push - Clef was just trembling, not shaking. She still bundled the two of them into a taxi to the department store. It just felt cruel to try making Clef run when he looked worse again in the daylight, and nearly tripped over his own feet when they got outside, staring about.

He balked slightly when she pushed him toward the car, but her hiss of "I got in a flying saucer to visit your house!" got him in. She waved goodbye to Hikaru through the window, while Clef tried to figure out his seatbelt.

Clef's grip on her hand stayed tight enough to to make her fingers ache as they got out - he was so busy staring that he completely missed her paying the driver - then walked across the pavement and into the department store. She'd picked an upmarket kind of place that would have a good range of more boringly respectable clothing. Given what Clef was used to wearing, she didn't want him getting too many interesting choices.

The escalators startled Clef - it took three tries before he was able to step onto the first one - but they made it up to menswear without further incident.

Umi had to pull him away from the formal wear and two mannequins wearing tuxedos. "Not that," she said.

"You said formal," Clef argued, still not letting go of her. "That looks formal to me, especially given what people are wearing."

"Those are too formal. You'd look ridiculous. They're for weddings and fancy parties," she explained. "Celebrations, not meeting your fiancée's parents, at their home."

"Fiancée?"

"The person you've promised to marry," Umi told him. "Which you did, last night, so you are." She led him toward the normal suits, and flagged down an attendant who eyed Clef's borrowed clothing with enough horror he couldn't entirely hide it, and flung himself into helping with measurements and options.

He hustled Clef into the fitting room with a few different decent outfits to decide which he liked best out of the selection he'd given him - which meant Clef was getting a choice in colour and not much else, though they'd flung a couple of different jackets on him and he'd had a little say in style.

Umi had found a chair and was drifting off slightly when Clef appeared in front of her and asked, "Is this alright?"

He was smoothing the jacket of a navy three-piece suit. Umi had guessed he might go for a waistcoat, given his tendency to wear multiple layers on a daily basis. The cut made him look merely slender, and not nearly as skinny as he really was under there - even if you could cut things on his cheekbones, they were so sharp.

"Yeah." Umi nodded and hastily go to her feet so she could help Clef with the tie he'd chosen - one striped in shades of violet that toned nicely with the lavender shirt. Looping the tie around his neck, she stared at the ends wondering what was even appropriate in this situation. She needed to make him look as respectable and put together as possible, and - she couldn't remember how to tie anything backwards. She pulled it off, looped it around her own neck, and tied a full Windsor neat enough it survived transfer to Clef's neck without harm, to the attendant's approval.

"Great," Umi said. "He'll need to wear it out of the shop, if it's possible?"

"Certainly!" came the reply - anything to keep Kakeru's terrible clothes from coming back out, Umi suspected.

Decent clothes and well-fitting shoes seemed to perk Clef up a little. He was still looking a little grey around the edges and rubbing at his chest when he thought Umi wasn't watching him, but he was looking around with greater interest as they left. His hold on her hand was still firm, but not nearly as tight as it had been when they'd arrived.

When they made it back to Tokyo Tower, they barely had time for Umi to drop Clef off on one of the benches at the foot of the tower and grab a couple of snack crepes for a hasty approximation of lunch. Pulling a face at the amount of cheese on the menu, she asked for chicken mayonnaise and got the same for Clef - she wasn't giving him cheese, either, and having to sit next to it.

At least she got the fun of watching him work out how to eat it.

.*.*.*.

Clef was just finishing his last bites of the strange food-wrap thing Umi had bought for each of them when a large dark vehicle, a little larger than the one she'd previously shoved him in, pulled up. Umi tugged him to his feet.

A man in a black and white version of the style of clothing Clef was now in stepped out and held a door open. "Young miss," he said with a bow.

"Good afternoon, Matsuo," Umi greeted him, nodding, and Clef just about managed to nod too before Umi's hand was on his shoulder and shoving him into the seat in the back.

They rode much further than the large market building. Clef spent most of the ride staring out the window, marvelling at the sheer scale of things. This single city seemed to have more people in it than the entire population of Cephiro; there were more people on some of the street corners than he usually saw in a day. It was painfully big - and this was one city, in a country of hundreds?

It was too much to take in and left him no space to fret about the upcoming meeting with Umi's parents. He just kept quiet hold of Umi's hand and stared wordlessly out of the window.

But the large red things perched on the top of one of the towering buildings startled him into exclaiming, "Wait! What are those creatures? You didn't tell me you have giant insects here! I thought, from the way you spoke about some of our insects- Those are huge!"

"What?" Umi leaned across the car to peer up at the top of the building that had caught his attention, just before the car turned. "Clef, those are cranes."

"Are they dangerous?"

"They're machines," Umi explained, voice trembling with laughter. "They're used to construct buildings. They must be making that one taller."

Clef sank back into his seat feeling slightly foolish, glad there was a screen between them and the individual driving them - who was certainly a member of Umi's household, and quite possibly listening in on their conversation, but it gave Clef the illusion of retaining some dignity at least.

The towering edifices were interspersed with other kinds of buildings - some small and narrow, with washing hanging before the windows, crammed close together; and other elaborate wooden constructions with immaculately kept gardens.

They passed into an area where the buildings started to be lower and wider, with walled gardens splitting them from their neighbours - even he could tell that these were homes which spoke of wealth, and they grew bigger still as the vehicle turned into a slightly smaller street, and drew to a halt before one of the largest estates yet.

The gate opened by some unseen means, and another man stepped out wearing the same neat monochrome as their driver. Clef was starting to wonder if he shouldn't be wearing anything colourful, but Umi and the helpful person in the store hadn't seemed to object…

This individual came and opened the door to their vehicle, bowing to Umi as she glanced back at Clef then slipped out. "Good afternoon, Goto," Clef heard her say, as he froze in a quandary. Was he meant to follow through her door, or get himself out of the other? Hopefully not. He didn't know how to release it, for one thing.

A moment later, the door beside him clicked and swung open, and he found their driver smiling in at him - with lines about his eyes which meant he'd almost certainly been listening to the misunderstanding earlier and was still trying not to laugh. But he nodded politely, and Clef smiled back at him with a quiet "Thank you." He unfolded himself from the seat and was waved about the vehicle to join Umi just as she said, "And this is Clef. Have my parents finished lunch?"

"I believe so, young miss," this new man said, as Clef bowed in a greeting. They were led through the gate and into the grounds, as the driver maneuvered the car away - which seemed a little strange, as Umi would certainly know her way to her own door. But perhaps the formality was a form of politeness.

More likely it was intended to intimidate, but Clef didn't know enough about this land for that to work. He could, however, tell that the building they were headed to was ostentatiously large - it could have consumed whole at least three of the small housing blocks they'd passed so many of. He faltered slightly, trying to look up at it, but Umi caught his hand and pulled him on.

A woman stood by the open door to welcome them in, and he guessed by the black-and-white of the clothing she wore that this was not one of Umi's relations, even before she said, "Good afternoon, young miss. Your parents are awaiting you in the parlour."

"Thank you, Ando," Umi said, her hand getting a little tighter on Clef's before she dropped it.

Clef bowed to this woman too, and she guided them inside with a few steps and a wide gesture. The entrance was large and elegant, especially when you considered all the glass and crystal had been shaped without the aid of magic, but again, Umi didn't give him time to look around, leading him straight to a well-appointed sitting room where they were greeted by two people who must be Umi's parents this time.

"Mama, Papa, this is Clef," Umi said with no flourish at all, and he stood beside her and bowed respectfully.

Her parents nodded to him, standing from their settee. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you." Umi's mother gestured toward two armchairs opposite the settee. "Please, have a seat."

Clef waited for Umi to take a seat and settled himself onto the other. Umi's parents were smiling excessively politely, and he noted he'd got not much more of a nod than Umi had given the household staff.

Well, he'd not exactly done anything to earn their respect, had he.

The wave of Umi's mother's hand brought a different woman - in the same uniform again - carrying a tea tray. When she left, she shut the door firmly behind her, so it was only the four of them in the room.

Umi's mother moved gracefully to pour tea for them all, every movement studied and refined, giving absolutely nothing away as she began the conversation. "Umi has told us a little about you, though I am afraid she has neglected to tell us your full name."

And now he was going to fail the first test. "It is just Clef, I am afraid," he said.

Both of her parents looked at him with enough confusion some actually showed. "Do you not have a family name?" her father asked.

"My land does not - have that custom," Clef said, carefully. "I believe my birth record names me as 'Clef, child of Evora and Daf', but that was only used until I came of age. I do get named with my title in official situations-" which made up virtually the whole of his everyday life, he felt more like 'The Guru' than 'Clef' some days, "-and I could be called Clef of Mazda, for the part of the land I live in, if someone needed to distinguish me from another Clef, but - Cephiro is far smaller than your Tokyo. We do not have many repeated names to cause confusion; using vocational titles is normally enough to keep from any such confusion."

By his side, Umi said, "You told me that one of the guilds has got a list of every citizen currently registered in Cephiro somewhere and people check it when they're picking names to try and keep the confusion down." They'd had one of those late-night conversations about it, ages ago.

Clef was glad of the excuse to look at her, for a moment. "Yes, the Clerks do. They have copies of some family trees, too, to help people who would like to find a name that their family has used before - or they did. How many have survived, I'm not sure, but they will be rebuilding them."

He should ask Aveo if she had a copy of their family records to offer, actually - it might go back far enough to be quite far-reaching.

Though, as she still refused to tell him which of her great-grandparents was his actual sibling (They'd been so much older than him, he'd never known them apart.), she might just refuse to share until he gave in and guessed.

Belatedly, Clef realised their exchange had been met with silence by Umi's parents, and he rushed to work out what he had said that might have caused such a reaction.

"Your Clerks have lost a lot of paperwork, in recent years?" Umi's mother asked, handing him a cup of tea, the porcelain almost paper-thin and beautifully decorated - Clef took it, carefully not rocking it off its little plate, and took a breath. He wished he'd thought to ask Umi in detail what she'd told her parents about Cephiro - what she'd been through. She wouldn't have lied, that he was certain of, but glossing over the details? That she would do.

He wasn't going to start out by lying to her family and hoping they didn't catch him in it, even if it damaged all chances of their letting Umi continue to visit Cephiro. "I do not know if Umi had spoken to yourselves of the trouble Cephiro was in, when she was first summoned, but we lost - a number of people, many Clerks among them, and their Guildhall was lost. Many of the survivors took what documents they could with them, and most of the law books and historical chronicles were saved, but there are some significant gaps in what they have. Now Cephiro is at peace, and stable, we are working on rebuilding all we have lost. Your daughter has been a great help to us."

He'd faced her parents straight on as he spoke, both of them watching him carefully, and they nodded slightly - so hopefully he hadn't contradicted Umi, even though she burst out with "Clef!" as he finished talking.

"It's true. Umi, you have. Without you and your friends, we wouldn't even have this chance - but even then, you've insisted on helping out where you can. Who else could have explained floodplains so - forcefully?"

"Drink your tea," Umi scolded him, flushing.

"Umi," her mother said, tone teasing, and Umi grumbled and sat back in her chair, pulling a face at Clef that he couldn't help but smile at. "But my daughter is correct. Please, do take a drink. I understand the journey here may have been tiring."

"It was - interesting," he said, and obediently took a sip of his tea, then another, just for the comfort of it. It was close to what he was used to, but a very fine variety, the taste light but wonderfully rounded. "This tea is lovely," he added, meaning every word - and hoping it would let the conversation veer onto lighter topics for long enough his heart-rate might calm somewhat.

Umi's father took up the thread, thanking him - the tea had come from a colleague of his, apparently. Then he asked what Clef thought of Tokyo so far. Which should be an innocent question, unless they were trying to ascertain how likely it was he would be returning to spend time here with their daughter, rather than luring her away places they couldn't reach - and either way, 'overwhelming, crowded, and too loud' wasn't a good answer.

"It's rather busier than I am used to - the technology is very impressive. Cephiro has a long way to go to catch up there," he managed.

"Are you interested in technology?" Umi's mother asked, before he could decide whether that answer had come across well.

If Clef remembered correctly, the family company was a technological one. "I am interested in it, yes, though…" he hesitated, and Umi burst out laughing, pulling a sigh from him before he could help it.

"You might be interested, but you're completely clueless. Admit it."

"Mostly clueless, perhaps-"

"Doesn't Eagle have to hand off any technological gifts to someone else before you break them by touching them?" Umi grinned at him.

"Incompatibility with it does not mean I am uninterested," Clef told her, primly. He did feel grateful for the faint drop in tension, though - Umi's parents were shaking their heads at Umi fondly. "I would like to know more about technology, both from Cephiro and from here, but time is always an issue. I still hope I will be able to learn more, one day."

"Ah, yes, Umi mentioned you work in your country's government, and have another job as well, I believe?" Back to Umi's father with the questions. "Two jobs must keep you very busy indeed."

The subtext there was easy enough to read - how much support could he give Umi and their child if he was never around?

"I do," Clef agreed. "I am the head of my Guild, and Warden of a small area, so I hold a seat on the Council. Technically two seats, but for most issues I am only counted once, which simplifies matters. I have a very competent Seneschal for my ward, and she takes care of most of the everyday business - she has no taste for politics, so the partnership works well, as I have to attend those meetings anyway. But my working arrangements are very flexible."

"Yeah, you nearly always manage to find time to see me, even if I'm only there a few hours on a workday," Umi agreed.

"I also have a household of people who are more than willing to help out - Umi would have plenty of assistance with our child in Cephiro, even if I were caught at work - and they would assist with rearranging my workload so that does not happen when we can help it."

Umi's parents nodded. "Ah, yes," her mother said. If trading off on who was asking questions was meant to keep him on his toes, it was working. "Umi tells us you live with your family in a house in the country, and also keep an apartment near the centre of your government?"

"Yes," Clef said, and hoped that cultural norms here weren't so far removed from Cephiro's that his living situation was exceptionally strange. "My suite in the castle was my sole home before we built Mazda, so there is plenty of space, but in Mazda the house is shared with my Seneschal, Aveo, who is my niece - she and her youngest daughter have one wing of the house, while the central part is mine, and our local healer and his nephew have a third part. Aveo's elder daughter and her partner technically live in the village a short walk away-" (He ignored Umi's muttered 'town!') "-but they and their apprentices spend much of their time at the house as well. Aveo keeps rooms for them."

"Umi would be welcome in either of these places?"

"Of course," he said, nodding firmly. "The house is quieter, but the apartment is in the same building as the central Healers hall, and very close to the Academy. There is space for Umi to have a room, at least, in both." It didn't seem wise to mention she already had a room at his house. "And she would be welcome to use both - the journey is quite easy. It takes about as long as it did to get here from the tower we started at."

"The academy," Umi's mother echoed thoughtfully, turning to Umi. "Is this the university you spoke of?"

"Yes." Umi sat up straighter and nodded enthusiastically. "They teach magic - teach it properly, all the theory, and how to use it to help people without guessing. Fuu's planning to go after studying here in Tokyo, but Hikaru and I have been talking about going together after high school." Then her face fell, and she looked down at her hands. "But I don't know how that's supposed to work with the baby…"

Clef reached over and placed his hand over hers. "While you're still pregnant, attendance might be difficult, but we would still find you a tutor whenever you move," he assured her. "They can bring you up to speed on theory, and it shouldn't be long after the birth before you're cleared for practical experience - you should catch up on that swiftly enough. It will be a bit of work, but you don't even have to fall behind - or you can take things easier and do an extra term or two. This isn't ever going to be a disqualification."

Umi looked over at him. "But if I'm studying and you're working, who'll take care of the baby?"

"I can take the baby to most of my meetings. Many parents do that," Clef said.

He would have mentioned the Castle nursery and Aveo's general happiness to babysit any child as well, but Umi snapped at him. "What do you mean, you can take the baby to your meetings? You're not allowed to have a baby!"

Clef flushed. "I'm in the process of changing that!"

"Which you won't manage until after the baby is born, will you." Umi flailed her hand at him. "Until then, it's treason!"

"It's only a little treason," Clef shrugged, lips twitching in spite of himself. "I'll resign as Guru before they can take me to trial if it comes to that - and the third law is repealed, the second unenforceable. Only the first law remains a real issue - the ban on dependants. Until this child arrives, I am still not in breach of it. Once they are here, the repeal motion should hopefully be far enough advanced to persuade the Judges it would be nonsense to pursue any claim - and… a parent does not have to legally claim their child immediately. The paperwork can be stalled, for a time." He looked at the ground."I don't like the idea of even a - a legal fiction, but if it comes to it…"

Umi had gone silent on his threat to resign, wide-eyed, so it was her mother who said, "And if this window passes and the law remains? Umi herself came early, so you may not have this time you are planning for."

"Then I resign then, or I don't - either way, I will add my name to this child's registration whatever may happen." He winced. "But I must be honest. Living with my partner, who happens to be living with her new child, would likely be prosecutable itself should anyone decide to take it up, as so blatant an attempt to evade the law."

He met her eyes steadily, and she nodded. "Should you be prosecuted, what will likely happen?"

"My arrest and trial," Clef said, simply. "There are few records of convictions, but should it come to it - I should certainly be stripped of my post as Guru, possibly from any post within the guild, which would take the role of Warden as well. I could be expelled from the Guild entirely. If the charge is upheld as treason, even in the absence of a Pillar to commit treason against, punishment may include exile." He took a breath. "And possibly the stripping of my power."

That got a response from Umi - she grabbed at his hand, nearly dislodging his teacup from its plate. Clef held on, gratefully; the thought of having his magic torn from his soul was - nightmare fuel.

"The records I have found list exile without the removal of power," he added, quietly. "But it is one of the possible punishments for direct treason."

.*.*.*.

Umi clung to Clef's hand, feeling his fingers shake. Resigning was already too much, but exile? Losing his magic? "You can't lose your job because of me," she insisted, voice wobbling a bit more than she wanted. "I'd never hear the end of it from Ferio, for one thing-"

"Well, my life isn't Ferio's concern. It's mine, and now yours." Clef looked at her with his jaw set firmly, for all he was trembling. "I had already planned to retire, you realise? I didn't take on a Wardenship just for entertainment - or so my niece could be Warden in all but name. It would only be sooner than planned. And none of this would affect your choices, even if I were prosecuted; you and any child would be supported by the state, even in my absence, should you chose to stay wholly there. Aveo will always accept you as family, too; you will have a home, and people to support you, even outside of your friends in the castle."

Papa set his own cup down and folded his hands. "But to put it simply, it would be better for you, Clef, if this problem just - went away."

Umi stiffened and stared at her father.

Clef gave her hand a reassuring squeeze as he sat up straighter, taking a long slow breath, voice dangerously calm. "That is Umi's choice. It is not, nor shall it ever be, my decision to make - not this child's existence, nor Umi's presence in Cephiro. Umi says she wants to meet this child, and I will do everything in my power to support her and make certain that can happen."

"Even if it means your arrest?"

"Anything in my power," Clef insisted. "If someone were feeling particularly vindictive, I could be arrested and tried at this very moment. It is no secret that I care for Umi, which is currently banned under the second law binding my post; I could be taken to court and tried even though I believe they would find it unenforceable in practise. Considering the number of snide remarks I have received in Council meetings over the past few months, I believe it is on public record already as common knowledge."

"Clef…" Umi squeezed his hand and he held tightly onto it.

"If someone has the audacity to bring me before the Judges now, I would honestly welcome it. Perhaps then I could have the law denying me the right to my emotions stricken from the law books for being the most undefendable piece of legislation in existence." Clef shook his head and sat back in his chair. "But that is beyond the point. I wish to meet my child, and I would like the opportunity to raise that child together with Umi."

"How do you plan to do that if you are exiled?" Mama asked, reaching forward to pour more tea for herself and Papa. Umi was pretty sure the gesture was meant to hid how sharply she was paying attention, but Clef didn't relax.

He bowed his head, taking a slow shaky breath. "If that happened, I would like to come here, if I may. I could look after the child and your home, while Umi would be free to pursue whatever she wants to do. The Academy would still be an option for her - she wouldn't be exiled. I will ensure Umi gets every opportunity to get the education she deserves, no matter what happens to me."

"While I am happy to hear that you've given Umi's education considerable thought, we can worry about these university arrangements later," Mama said, sitting back, voice firm. "I must schedule a meeting with Umi's school before we make any further plans, for here or in your Cephiro."

"Oh, Mama, do you have to?" Umi said, voice coming out more shrill than she meant. "It's only a few more months until graduation. Can't I just hide it until then? It's not like my friends suspect anything."

"You could possibly keep it quiet until you finish classes, but by March, you'll be too far along to keep your belly hidden," Mama said calmly. "If you intend to graduate, you will need to have an agreement with the school before then."

Clef looked confused. "Why would you need to hide it? Does your education not accommodate for-"

Umi shot him an exasperated look. "High school students don't have babies. They either end it or drop out."

"Those surely can't be your only options," Clef said, frowning in confusion.

Umi shook her head at him, and thankfully he shut up. "I don't want to drop out of school. I'm so close to finishing - just another two and a half months. I'm practically done." Her eyes were burning, but she refused to cry. "I want to graduate with my friends. We've been together six years, and I want to finish with them."

"That is what I plan to arrange with your teachers next week," Mama said.

Umi tried not to worry. Mama was good at talking people around to her way of thinking. If anyone could make her teachers overlook a blatantly pregnant student accepting their graduation certificate, it would be her.

Without another word, Mama sat back and pressed the button on the table. Hara, one of the newer maids, came in to fetch the tea tray. After a few murmured words from Mama, she left, only to return a few moments later with a fresh pot and three pretty slices of cake plus a small bowl of crackers.

Umi let out a sigh of relief at the sight of the desserts. It meant Mama at least liked Clef, which was a start.

Mama started pouring tea again, and Papa changed the subject to something lighter by asking questions about where Clef lived - which swiftly morphed into a discussion of Cephiro's industry. There wasn't likely to be a better time, so Umi excused herself to the toilet. She gave Clef an apologetic pat on his hand as she left, and tried to be quick about it.

When she was hurrying back to the parlour, she found Peach sitting on the bottom step of the staircase staring firmly at the closed door. He let out a pitiful little sound, and Umi burst out laughing.

"Well, everyone else gets to meet Clef, so why shouldn't you?" She scooped him up and carried him back with her, walking through a discussion of Mazda's cloth-making economy to perch on the arm of Clef's chair. "This is Peach," she announced, interrupting without any guilt - her parents were not going to judge Clef based on the socio-economic foundations of his ward. Hopefully. "He's a brat."

Clef reached out so Peach could sniff his hand then stroked the cat's head. Peach started purring happily and scrambled out of Umi's lap into Clef's, head-butting his hands for more attention and nearly knocking his plate out of his hand.

"Piichi?" Clef asked, glancing up at her.

"I guess I could have called him Momo." Umi scratched the top of the cat's head. "That's the Japanese name for the fruit he's named after. But I was twelve, and we'd just moved back to Japan and…" She paused. "I guess I missed England a little. At least it didn't matter if our cat had an English name."

Japan had felt so different when they started living here permanently again, not just visiting Granny on holidays. She'd missed her friends and her school. It had been sad when they'd left the other places, but coming back to Japan had been different somehow - more permanent.

She scratched Peach between the ears, trying not to think about how moving to Cephiro was probably going to be even stranger.

.*.*.*.

Clef allowed himself to relax when Umi did. All remnants of her poised facade melted away as she slumped back into her own chair and pulled her feet up into the seat, curling around her teacup like it was a comfortable mug.

"Umi-dear," Umi's mother gave her a stern look.

With a dramatic sigh, Umi put her feet back down on the floor. "Clef already knows what I'm like. It's not like I'm the one trying to make a good impression."

Clef couldn't help the laugh that escaped him. He had a sudden memory of Umi upside down on his settee with a book held precariously above her head. "I also know that you're old enough to know how to behave," he told her when she pulled a face at him.

"Yeah, well, you're just old," Umi shot back, "and you still don't behave."

Umi's father set his teacup back into its saucer with a firm clack and set both down on the low table. "Just how old are you, Mr Clef? To be talking of retirement, I would assume you are somewhat older than you appear."

"Papa," Umi complained, but her father held up a hand to stop her and looked at Clef.

"I'll be seven hundred and fifty in the new year," Clef answered, unthinkingly, only realising his mistake once the last bite of his cake was in his mouth and he realised her parents were staring at him. The mouthful went down like a stone in his throat.

"Seven hundred… and fifty… years?" Umi's mother looked from Clef to Umi and back again.

"Age works differently in Cephiro," Umi said with an awkward shrug. "It's - flexible? I - it's hard to explain!"

Clef bowed his head, needing a break from the incredulous looks, heart sinking. He'd almost thought things were going - not well, but as well as they could. "I am afraid I am not a young man, even by my country's standards. By every reckoning, I am far too old to be courting your daughter," he said, voice low. "I'm sorry. For all that has happened."

With a decisive nod, Umi's mother stood, and Clef looked up at the motion, expecting to be shown out. Instead, she said, "Umi-dear, why don't you both go upstairs and watch the video of your play while dinner is being prepared?"

It was voiced as a suggestion but had the tone of an order. Umi certainly took it as one. "Okay." Umi's voice was flat as she stood, lifting the little creature out of Clef's lap and dropping him on the floor. "Come on, Clef."

Setting his plate back on the tray, Clef stood and bowed to Umi's parents once more before following Umi out of the room. She led him up some stairs to a little sitting room, one more intended for comfort than display, unlike the one downstairs.

Peach followed, letting out a shrill noise of indignation which vibrated with his motion as he ran up the stairs beside them.

Clef sat down on the settee, pulled the cloth knotted about his neck until it came loose, and unbuttoned the collar of his shirt. He pressed the heel of his hand firmly into his chest; on top of everything, the ache still wasn't easing.

In a movement as loud as it was swift, Peach vaulted into Clef's lap with a yell, then head-butted his chin. The vibrating purr when Clef gave in and scratched his head, the way he would a griffin's, was soothing.

Umi didn't sit. Instead, she paced across the floor. "They're down there making their decision, you know," she said, rubbing her hands over her face. "Deciding what they think about this, about you."

Swallowing, Clef nodded. "I know. I can hardly make an appealing partner for you in their eyes, less still as a parent to your child."

"But you're my choice." Umi kept walking the floor, oblivious to the warmth he felt at her declaration. "I guess Mama doesn't hate you, so that's good. But Papa - I don't know what Papa thinks of you."

"Umi," Clef said, carefully. "Whatever happens, I'm sure it'll be okay. Your parents only want what's best for you and the baby."

"But what if they think it's better if I don't see you anymore?"

"I would understand their decision."

"Don't you dare start that again." She turned and stalked away from him, arms crossed. "I want you. If they tell me I can't can't have you, then I'll just - I'll run away to Cephiro."

"Be reasonable," Clef insisted, reaching out to catch her hand as she passed.

"I am. I can get that student stipend, and if I can't live with you, then I'll just live near you, in my own rooms."

"Let's not get carried away when we don't even know what they're thinking." Pulling her down onto the settee with him, Clef said "How did your play go anyway? You promised to record it for me, is that what this video-thing is?"

His answer was nothing more than a loud noise of disgust as Umi flopped back into the cushions before getting up again fussing with two connected devices for a few moments. A picture appeared on the screen of the larger device and then began to move, sound coming out from the sides of it, and then a person recognisably Umi in a detailed costume appeared on it.

Umi dropped back beside him, arms crossed and sulking. Clef put an arm over her shoulders and held her close. Peach draped over both of them somehow and batted at Umi's hand until she sighed and started to pet him, relaxing against Clef's side while they watched her performance.

The story was interesting, if a bit too fast for him to follow in sections - it was clearly a well-known tale here. Umi was playing some sort of villain with a big hat, a hooked hand, and an overwhelming fear of large reptiles.

"You look cute in your costume," Clef said, grinning as she gestured elegantly with the hat on screen.

Umi groaned as theatrically as her character was orating. "Maybe, but I felt awful."

"It doesn't show," Clef assured her. "And you seemed to be alright by the time you made it to Cephiro last night."

"Only because I couldn't smell all that food anymore."

"And yet you brought those hamburger things with you."

She thumped him in the side. "You try feeling like I do and see how you like it."

.*.*.*.

Umi let Clef hold her throughout the whole of the video, trying not to look too relieved when he stopped trembling so much. It wasn't the longest play, so she wasn't surprised when no one had come to fetch them by the time it finished - though Peach got bored and abandoned them half-way through.

She fidgeted slightly and then got up to switch from the camera to the video cassette player, which had a tape she'd recorded off the tv already in it.

"What's this?" Clef asked as the tape started.

"Just a silly drama." Umi climbed back onto the sofa with him and pulling his arm around her again. "A recorded story they broadcast for people to watch - kind of a public performance like that storyteller you took me to see when we absolutely weren't dating."

"We weren't dating," Clef said, "and that cannot count as a kiss. They just ran into each other and their lips touched." He didn't look impressed with the start of the story. "It would be like you running into my outstretched hand and then deciding that I'd slapped you." Clef shook his head. "He's not even nice, why does she want to have kissed him?"

Umi poked Clef in the arm. "You claim you're not nice."

"But I treat you with respect. He doesn't even do that."

That was where he kept getting stuck on the story. He didn't worry too much about the protagonist ending up living in the same house as her love interest. "I've read so many versions of that, I would expect nothing else," he'd muttered. It was that the protagonist was fixated on someone who didn't treat her with the respect a stranger deserved.

"Oh! I see." Clef said suddenly when all three of the parents were on screen. "They're actually siblings. That's why he's not interested."

Umi just turned and stared at him. "No?"

"But their parents are in a relationship - and it doesn't seem to be a new one. That would make them siblings. Did her father not tell her before? I guess that would be awkward for the boy - but it's no excuse for being mean!"

"No. She has her father and he has his parents. They aren't related."

"Maybe not by lineage, but - tell me her father isn't in a relationship with his parents." He waved a hand at the television screen and Umi watched the interaction between the actors. She tilted her head as she caught the edge of what Clef was seeing.

"I don't - they can't have meant to do that," she uttered and rewound the last few minutes of the tape.

Later, Umi would wonder if it had been an attempt to further distract her, but she argued about it with him for the remainder of the episode before finally stopping it and going to fetch her copies of the manga it was based on.

"They're just friends," she argued, dropping the stack of books on the table. "All this evidence says so!"

Clef let out a huff of a laugh. "Publicly, we're still 'just friends'."

She lobbed a cushion at his head for that.

"In the books, their parents want them to get married so they'll all be family." She flipped to the right page for the wedding and held it up. "They do get married in the end, because they are not siblings; they're in love!"."

"Well, that's only because your country doesn't recognise relationships between more than two people, right?" He picked up the book from the top of the pile - the first - and unerringly managed to open it to a page with the three parents. "It's a strange way to make a family tie, but your land does do things differently." He turned another page and pulled a face. "She still shouldn't fall for him. He's terrible! He's not even that attractive. Why do you even have this? At least I'm better than him."

Umi snatched the book back from him, flushing, and grabbed the others to take them back. "That's not what the author meant, and - they grow up! Change!"

"If you say so," he said, pulling a dubious face.

The books went back on the shelves in her room, but Umi paused by her desk on the way out, slowly reaching down to pick up the ultrasound image.

.*.*.*.

When the small image was thrust at him, Clef couldn't understand what Umi was showing him until she sighed and said, "It's our child." He could only stare at the picture while Umi pointed out the face and little hands. Cephiro had spells that would let a healer check growth and development, but there was nothing that would give so permanent an impression as the little black and white paper in his hand.

As she stopped talking, Umi shifted beside him, her worried gaze going back to the door. Clef wasn't about to let her start fretting again - he would only join in. He turned the image sideways. "I don't know, it looks a bit like a little fish."

Umi thumped on the arm and snatched the picture out of his hands, pressing it protectively to her chest. "Clef!"

"I mean, you are a water mage." He teasingly poked her in the side. "Perhaps a little too much water got into that particular spell."

"There was no spell when - seriously. Do you really think your own baby looks like a fish?"

"I don't know. You took the picture away before I could get a good look." He smiled at the glare she gave him.

"Because you're being ridiculous!"

"Well, you have to admit there are some similarities."

"Like what?"

"They both currently live in a watery environment?" Clef shrugged, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

Umi sighed, flopping forwards and banging her head on his chest. "Really," she muttered darkly, but she curled into him again and let him see the image - even tucked it into his pocket. "I've another appointment soon, I can get another," she said and paused, hand flattening against his chest, as their eyes met. "Is it bad that really want to kiss you right now?" she asked, cheeks flushing.

"It probably isn't the best time," Clef said, tilting his head and sliding his hand up her back.

"That wasn't a no." Umi grinned at him, leaning closer.

His inability to say no to her was the reason they were in this situation to start with, but when Umi kissed him, he didn't hesitate to return it. Without the cool rush of her her magic overwhelming his touch, Clef could really feel the heat of her skin through the delicate material of her top and the way she trembled when he pulled her closer.

When she finally pulled back to catch her breath, their eyes met for a long heated moment. Then Umi choked back a laugh and dropped her head against his shoulder.

"Do I even want to know?" Clef asked.

Fighting back another laugh, Umi shook her head. "Probably not."

A moment later, Umi was kissing him again, her hands sliding up to press back against his shoulders as she climbed fully into his lap and pinned him down into the cushions.

Clef was struck by the sudden forceful memory of that night in his study and the aching need she'd awoken in him. A shiver ran through his body as she curled even closer to him, the heat of her body eclipsing all other awareness.

Finally, he had to push her back and put some space between them before they got even more carried away. This was neither the time nor the place for this.

"That's a bit-" was all he managed to say, words escaping him completely.

Umi grinned triumphantly down at him and leant in for another kiss, but Clef held her firmly back, shaking his head. Umi wrinkled her nose and sat back. Not a moment later, she glanced up at the doorway - behind Clef's head - and her eyes went wide.

Flailing away from him, Umi threw herself out of Clef's lap with a loud squawk, leaving him in absolutely no doubt who was stood in the doorway behind them.

And so ends chapter 18. I know I have this fic down as 36 chapters long on Archive of Our Own. That is still an estimate, it may be longer in the end, but let's call this the halfway point for now.

A big thank you to everyone who has commented, reviewed, given kudos, bookmarked, favorited, and followed. It is a pleasure to know who is enjoying reading this silly little epic. Each and every one of those email alerts has made me smile. Thank you for staying with me this long, there is still more to come. I am excited to take you on this journey with me!

I can more easily reply to signed reviews of people with FFN accounts, but thank you, Ceres Ryu and James Birdsong, for your kind words.