So here we go, sorry if the story isn't as good as the other one. I know it's dragging, but new characters mean having to figure out new ways of dealing with them and personalities so...let's have some fun. I'm trying to figure out how to keep them in and not make it feel like I'm just slapping in characters. Honestly, it will still be very Mei and Yuzu heavy, but again they're older, more friends and people in their lives so I'm trying to figure out how to work all this together. I built a universe, and I'm trying to make it work.

And I'm going to make A Fresh Coat into a novel soon and working on character bios so...that's fun.

Cut this chapter short as I'm tired, a bit stressed, and I didn't want to overwhelm you, and we're going to start seeing some different sides to Airi now.

Chapter 5

"Do you like it, Mommy? Mama?"

Mei's smile faltered a little when she heard the lack of confidence in their daughter's voice, but she recovered when she felt Airi's hand on hers.

"I do, Airi." Mei lowered herself and pressed her head against Airi's. "You and your brother must have worked very hard to keep this a secret from us."

"Well it was my idea," answered Airi somewhat pompously sticking her nose in the air, making Yuzu laugh and Mei roll her eyes.

"Oh it was, was it?" Yuzu grunted and joined Mei, steadying herself on her wife's shoulder as she felt a slights spasm in her back and poked Airi in the belly. "Are you sure you aren't fibbing?"

"No," giggled Airi, pulling away from Yuzu and moving toward Mei and wrapping her arm around her mother's. "I'm not fibbing. You believe me, right Mommy?"

"I do," said Mei softly as she nuzzled Airi's hair but couldn't resist giving her a poke similar to Yuzu's and tightened her grip, keeping her daughter from escaping. "But I am interested in hearing about this idea to turn your brother's goodbye party into an anniversary party for your Mama and me. So can you tell me?"

"Nope," giggled Airi trying to escape from her mother's hold. "I'm not telling! It's a secret!"

"I see," said Mei coldly, before removing Airi from her arm and moving her closer to Yuzu. "Well then, I'm just going to leave you here with your mama until you decide to be honest with me while I go and see what your cousin has prepared for us to eat."

"Mommy no," whined Airi as Yuzu slowly crept toward the child, her fingers and mouth curled in malicious delight.

"She can't save you Airi," laughed Yuzu maniacally as she crept toward Airi, making her daughter's eyes grow wide in fear while simultaneously suppressing a giggle, "the only way you can get out of this is to tell us the truth. So what's it gonna be?"

Airi's eyes darted between both of her mother's and then at the table, and as Yuzu lunged for her, she let out a squeal and bolted toward the table laughing as she nearly knocked over Ume who was carrying a large platter of tomato covered meat."

"Oh so that's how it's going to be," cackled Yuzu, climbing to her feet and chasing after her daughter.

"Yuzu, please don't encourage her," sighed Mei as she picked up a piece of cheese from the table, trying to hide a smirk.

"Relax Mei," chuckled Yuzu, taking a moment to kiss her wife's cheek, "I'm just trying to help her relax."

"I understand that," said Mei, adjusting her hair so that it covered up her ears, "but there's a lot of..."

"Airi," began Shou as Airi pulled Hina into a game of tag and began shouting at Yuzu to catch them, giggling as they ran around the table and shouted at the adults to pay attention to them, "Hina, if you're going to play take it away from the table!"

"What'd you say, Grandpa," asked Airi, coming to a stop a little too quickly, causing Hina to crash into her and sending both girls into one of the padded wooden armchairs that had been brought out for the party.

"Are you two okay?"

"Hina, what's the matter?"

"I hit my head," cried Hina holding her forehead while Airi sniffled and clutched her knee.

"Come here," said Udagawa walking over to his daughter and picking her up while the boys looked on worriedly as Yuzu got to her feet to check on Airi while Mei began scanning her daughter for any signs of blood. "Airi are you okay?"

"I hurt my knee again," she whimpered holding her leg tightly. "Mama, is it bleeding? Do I need stitches?"

"Let me see," said Yuzu softly, pulling her daughter's hands away from her knee and checking the bandage and smiling after a moment. "Well the bad news is it's bleeding a little, but the good news is we have everything we need to make you better in the bathroom, so let's go and get you fixed up and then we'll come back and have dinner, okay?"

Airi's lower lip disappeared into her mouth, but she nodded and slid off the chair and took Yuzu's hands, wiped her nose on the back of her hand and said, "Sorry, Hina. Sorry, Uncle."

"It was an accident," said Udagawa as he grabbed a towel that Ume had packed with ice and carefully placed it on Hina's forehead. "But next time try not to play around the table, promise?"

"Promise," said both girls before Udagawa returned to his seat with Hina while Airi followed Yuzu into the house.

"Yuzu," said Mei as the table returned to a state of cautious celebration, "do you need my help?"

"We'll be fine," answered the blonde, kissing her wife softly and rubbing their noses together. "It's just a scratch, and it'll only take a couple of minutes so try to relax and have some fun. Just not too much fun and save whatever that tomato covered meat Reo made, okay?"

"We'll wait until you get back," answered Mei, blushing when she noticed the flash from her step-mother's phone. "Don't be too long, please?"

"Yes ma'am," chuckled Yuzu before tugging gently on Airi's hand. "You ready Airi?"

"Yeah," whispered Airi, giving Mei an apologetic look. "I'm sorry I ruined the party."

"You didn't ruin anything Airi," said Mei with a reassuring smile and patting her daughter gently on the head. "Now go get cleaned up so we can have some fun."

Airi managed a sad but sincere smile beforre following her mother into the house, waving to Mei before disappearing inside.

"Rough day," asked her father as he sat down next to her and poured her a small glass of red wine.

"Tiring is more accurate," replied Mei as she watched Ume and Hideki laugh as they tried throwing bits of cheese into one another's mouths. "But after seeing all of this my mood has definitely improved."

"I can't begin to tell you how happy that makes me," chuckled her father as he poured himself a glass of wine as Hina wriggled free from her father's grasp, pressing the towel to her forehead and asking Ume and Hideki to join in the game while Reo finished a few last minute preparations.

"How are they holding up," asked Shou after a small sip of wine. "Hideki seems fine, but how's Airi? Is she okay? I mean she seems like it, but Hideki told me a bit of what happened, and I want to make sure they're both handling it okay."

"I think Hideki will be fine after a few talks," said Mei after taking a shallow sip of wine. "But I am worried about Airi. I feel like she's hiding something, that they both are, but I'm worried about pushing her too hard and I'm worried if I press her she'll begin to shut me out. Not just her but Hideki too."

Mei took another drink, this time a rather long one which caught the attention of her ex-husband and father along with her surrogate nephew. But she was so focused on her daughter that she didn't notice and when she finished she let out a heavy sigh and asked, "I thought it'd be easier with Airi, but it's proving to be just as difficult as it was with Hideki."

"I may not be the best person to say this," coughed her father before taking his own long drink, "but I have noticed throughout my career, and I'm sure you've noticed it too, that each kid presents their own unique challenges. Hideki was your first so everything was new to you and it prepared you for a lot of things that would happen with Airi and for the most part it seems that everything has been pretty par for the course.

Mei bit her tongue, knowing that despite his absence in her life, Shou's career as an educator did grant him a perspective that many parents didn't have and while Mei rarely asked him for advice, but in this case she was willing to listen and allowed him to continue.

When she didn't say anything, Mei noticed how he was being careful with his alcohol intake and watched as he barely drank any of his wine before slowly saying, "But I'm not going to lie and say that because of certain...aspects...of her biology she's going to have different experiences. Especially since you two decided to raise her here in Japan. Most of the experiences I'm sure you're very familiar with but some of them..."

Shou carefully tugged on the skin of his forearm and said, "Those kinds of problems are going to be a little more difficult to deal with. Am I making sense?"

"You are," answered Mei through slightly gritted teeth. She knew what her father was talking about and while she and Yuzu still dealt with certain prejudices, they rarely had anything to do with Airi.

Though it wasn't unheard of and the thought of what her father was suggesting as being a reason for Hideki getting into a fight had been sitting in the back of her mind ever since she saw how they're children avoided their questions and Mei wondered if Yuzu was having similar thoughts.

"I'm sorry," coughed Shou after seeing his daughter's face and finishing his glass before preparing to excuse himself, "I shouldn't have said anything."

"It's fine," said Mei, placing a trembling hand on top of her father's and trying to smile. She knew his intentions were pure and didn't doubt the love he had for Airi.

Even though Airi wasn't his granddaughter by blood, Shou loved her as if she were and Mei knew he was as protective of her as he was of Hideki.

With this knowledge, Mei managed to squeeze her father's hand and felt her hand begin to calm before saying, "I know you're worried and that you're trying to help me. I appreciate your concern and know you're simply trying to give me the best advice you can and I'm grateful.

"Thanks, Mei," answered Shou, a weak smile on his lips and Mei could see that he was struggling to figure out what to do next.

"Here," said Mei, making the decision for him by grabbing the bottle and began refilling both of their glasses.

"What's this for," asked Shou, giving his glass a wary look.

"I would like to share a drink with you," answered Mei, picking up her glass, "to thank you for being there for them and for us the past several years. Besides, you and I never had a proper drink on my 'Coming of Age Day' and as the saying goes, there's no time like the present."

"Words to live by," chuckled Shou, scratching the back of his head before taking a drink in unison with his daughter.

When they finished, Mei noticed a distressed look on her father's face and asked, "What's the matter? Did I do something wrong?"

"No," said Shou quietly before finishing his glass. "You did a lot of things right, but I feel you're putting me on a pedestal to make me feel better.

"What are you talking about?" Mei was confused by her father's words and was beginning to regret suggesting they share a drink. "I meant what I said, about wanting to share a drink with you and appreciating what you've done for the kids.

"I haven't done much, Mei," said Shou rubbing his temple in frustration. "All I did was what I should have done with you so I don't know if you should be thanking me since it doesn't make up for everything else."

"It doesn't," said Mei frankly, making her father wince and try to pull his hand away but Mei kept a firm grip on him, "but you've more than earned your forgiveness Father, so please, stop punishing yourself. Because honestly, I'm growing rather tired of telling you to."

Shou nearly dropped his glass when he heard Mei's words and before he could reply the sliding door opened as Airi bolted from the house, her knees freshly bandaged and a huge smile on her face as she ran toward Mei.

"Mommy! Look!" Airi skid to a halt in front of Mei and lifted her shorts to show off the fresh bandages Yuzu had applied to her knees. "They don't hurt no more."

"Anymore," corrected Mei, softly, patting her daughter's head and smiling. "They don't hurt anymore, Airi, and I'm happy that you're feeling better, just promise me that you won't run around recklessly for the rest of the night, do we have a deal?"

"Yep!" Airi nodded and turned her smile to Shou so she could show him how good of a job Yuzu had done fixing her knees but stopped when she saw him rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand. "Grandpa, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Airi," coughed Shou before finishing his wine and pulling Airi into his lap. "Mommy just said something that made me happy. So if you see tears, they're happy tears. You know what those are right?"

"Uh huh." Airi beamed at her grandfather and wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek. "Mama and Mommy told me that tears are good things cuz they can help you feel better. Do you feel better?"

"I do," chuckled Shou, hugging Airi tight against his chest, "and thanks for the kiss, it helped a lot."

"Easy Papa," laughed Yuzu taking her seat next to Mei. "She may be tough but she's still a little kid, so try not to hurt her."

"I'm not little, I'm the tallest kid in class," grunted Airi, breaking away from her grandfather before turning around and dropping into his lap, thankfully avoiding the sensitive portions of her grandfather's lap.

"That's true," smirked Yuzu accepting the rest of Mei's wine and sipping it. "If the doctor's right you're going to be almost as tall as Hideki and Uncle."

"That's tall," said Airi, her eyes wide as she tried to contemplate being that height. "If I got that tall would I have to wear Hideki's clothes?"

There was a clatter of china as Reo nearly dropped a plate of food he was handing to Ume after trying to hide his laughter.

"No," chuckled Yuzu, finishing her wine and pouring a glass for herself and Mei, "you wouldn't have to wear Hideki's clothes. They'd be too big on you."

"That sucks," snorted Airi, earning her a disapproving look from her mother, but ignoring it as Hideki handed her a plate with some salad and pasta. "I like Hideki's clothes. They're comfy."

"Is that why I'm missing a couple of tee-shirts," asked Hideki after swallowing a large bite of pizza. "Airi what'd I tell you about sneaking into my room?!"

"I didn't go in your room," said Airi with an impish smile after picking a piece of onion out of her salad. "Mama put them in my drawer by accident."

"You're lying." Hideki downed the last of his pizza and began to move around the table, but before he could reach her, Airi had slid off her chair and was running away from her brother. "Where're my shirts, Airi?!"

"Not telling," giggled Airi as she evaded a lunge from her brother.

When she dodged him, Hideki tripped and nearly collided with the ground, but it came to no surprise to anyone watching that he was able to right himself and continue his chase in spite of his injuries. It was clear to everyone at the table that Hideki was pulling his punches. He towered over his younger siblings, having almost a foot on his mothers, and they all knew that he could have caught Airi if he wanted to. But instead, he smiled and teased her as he chased his sister around the yard despite their parents telling them to come and eat, only giving up when Hina abandoned her plate to join in on the play even after Udagawa threatened her with no dessert.

"You know that never works," laughed Ume over her glass of beer and took a large bite of what looked like meat covered in tomato sauce and sighed happily at the taste while Hideki let out a loud growl as he stomped around the yard, chasing his sisters. "I don't know why you even bother trying."

"Thanks for the support, Ume-san," laughed Udagawa as he poured himself a glass of barley tea before turning his gaze on Reo. "You gonna join them, son?"

"Nope," grunted the younger Udagawa as he began tucking into a plate of cheese, bread, and meats after handing over plates of food to Mei and Yuzu. "I spent all day cooking since Mom wasn't here to help, so I'm going to relax as much as possible."

"I helped," pouted Ume, throwing a piece of crust at the twelve-year-old who, instead of dodging it, allowed it to bounce off of his perfectly combed hair. "I worked just as hard as you making some of this stuff, harder in some cases since I had no idea how to make any of it and you insisted on making a lot of it by hand."

"Sorry Grandma Ume," coughed Reo after swallowing a large chunk of bread and cheese and washing it down with a couple of sips of Ramune, his face burning from the embarrassment of almost choking and forgetting that Ume had helped him. "You know I appreciate all your help today, and if I didn't say it I'm..."

"You said it plenty sweetheart." Ume smiled and reached over and began messing her surrogate grandson's hair, making him pull away in annoyance much like Hideki used to do before poking his bicep "I was just teasing you, but I'll admit, I'm impressed."

"Impressed by what, Mama?" Yuzu had just finished a bit of pasta amazed at how smooth the sauce and pasta were and how Reo had managed to find a way to make the shrimp sweet and spicy without either flavor overpowering the other.

"How strong he is!" Ume pulled up the sleeve of Reo's tee-shirt and lifted his arm to show off a well-defined bicep hidden beneath his wiry frame. "My arms have been killing me since noon and I had to take a couple of breaks just to get my strength back, but he's been going at this since six this morning!"

"It's because I'm used to it," grunted Reo pulling his arm back and covering it up. "You and Auntie have been teaching how to cook since I was little and it would have been sooner, but once Hideki asked me if we could make it an anniversary party I had to change everything. He's lucky I didn't kick his a..."

"That was Hideki's idea," asked Mei pointing up at the banner before realizing she had cut Reo off mid-sentence though from the corner of her eye she could see the look on Udagawa's face and realized she'd done the teen a favor. "My apologies Reo, please continue."

"It's all right, Auntie," replied a frustrated Reo before standing up to allow Shou access to the food. "But yeah it was his idea, at least I think it was. When I asked him why he wanted the extra food, he said it was because one night Airi said that they should do something nice for you two since he was leaving and asked me to make a ton of extra stuff. Or at least that's what he told me, and it better be the truth because I had to put off studying and dip into my savings to plan and pay for everything."

"Excuse me," asked Mei, fuming at the prospect of Reo being forced to pay for something that was his brother's idea. "Are you telling me that Hideki didn't even offer to..."

"It's not his fault," explained Udagawa with an audible sigh and casting a disapproving glare at his middle child. "Hideki added in ten-thousand of his own money to help cover any extra costs. It was Reo who miscalculated by asking me to buy a couple of extra bottles of wine for some of the recipes he wanted to try out."

"I see." Mei felt relieved that Hideki had at least offered to pay for the extra food, but still felt she owed Reo and her step-mother something for working so hard on the dinner and couldn't resist taking a bite of what looked like a beef dish and risked a taste.

It was delicious and the herbs that Reo had chosen worked perfectly with the meat and the sauce was sweet but not so powerful that it overshadowed the meat. Mei was amazed at how tender it was and after a few moments began to wonder just what exactly it was that Reo had made.

"Reo, this is incredible," gasped Mei and seeing the same look flash across Yuzu's face. "What...what kind of dish is this?"

"It's called Osso Buco," explained Reo, spooning himself up some of the meat, bit into it, chewed and nodded pleased with himself. "It's got a lot of different preparations, but I went with one that required a tomato base and lamb shank instead of veal which I think works better and costs about the same amount."

"Yuzu," said Mei, going to take another bite only to discover her plate was now empty. "Can I…."

"Here." Yuzu smiled and skewered some onto her fork and offered the fork to her wife.

"Thank yo..," said Mei, reaching for the fork and looking agitated when Yuzu pulled it away and gave her the same smirk Airi had given to Hideki when he questioned her about his shirts. "Yuzu…."

"Open up," giggled Yuzu tantalizingly waving the fork in front of her wife's face.

"I'm not a child, Yuzu. I can feed myself." Mei's voice was low, and she felt her ears burning while her father snickered behind her and Ume took a couple of pictures on her phone as Reo and Udagawa did their best to ignore the scene playing out in front of them. "Yuzu, please, this is embarrassing."

"All right," pouted Yuzu and set the fork down on Mei's plate and gestured toward it, her lower lip sticking out slightly. "There, the fork and food are all yours."

"Yuzu, don't give me that look," whispered Mei, her ears burning while Yuzu picked up some stray bits of pasta sauce with a piece of garlic bread.

"What look," asked Yuzu, almost passing off a look of confusion, save for the slight twitch in the corner of her mouth.

"You know what I'm talking about." Mei cast a nervous glance around the table, aware that everybody save for Reo was listening in on their conversation despite their attempts to pass off their eavesdropping as attempts to listen to one another.

"No I don't," said Yuzu coyly while twirling some pasta onto a fork and taking a bite before sipping some more wine as Hideki returned to the table with Hina and Airi, all of them covered in grass stains. "Did you guys have fun?"

"Uh huh," gasped Airi, forcing her way past Ume and into Shou's lap so she could eat her dinner while Hideki sat next to Hina and began telling her about what happened at his dance class. "Mommy how come your ears are red? Did Mama do something weird?"

"Not yet," snorted Hideki through a bite of what had to be his fourth piece of pizza. "Give it time though AIri, they'll do something weird soon enough.

"Quiet you," laughed Yuzu, reaching over and flicking her son in the ear, making him jump and cover it. "Unless you want me to steal your dessert when it comes out."

"Don't," warned Hideki trying to sound tough but instead gave an awkward half-laugh. "You know I hate it when you do that!"

"I know." Yuzu cleared her plate of food and began spreading some fontina cheese onto a cracker. "Just thought I'd remind you in case you decide to pull something like what happened this afternoon again."

"I know," sighed Hideki spooning up some of the Osso Buco for himself and Hina. "When I get back, how long am I grounded for? Just so I know what to expect."

"We haven't discussed it yet," said Mei, ignoring the fork Yuzu had placed on her plate and focusing on the other dishes, "but you'll know as soon as we have a date, but you can be certain your social life will be mostly non-existent until it's over."

"But what about work or if I have to do a recital or something?" Hideki sounded annoyed at the prospect of a long punishment, but it was clear to his parents that he wasn't going to challenge them on their decision.

"We will take work and your recitals into consideration," said Udagawa after setting aside his plate and resting his hands on his stomach. "But outside of that any free time you have will be spent at home studying or taking care of your siblings. Which means no mixers or going out to eat with your friends after school, including Yui."

"But what if they want to come over and study," asked Hideki with an innocent smile that was fooling nobody.

"Not after what happened last year," came a familiar voice from behind Mei and Yuzu and while everyone else lit up at the sight of their latest arrival, Hideki's mood deflated.

"Mommy," gasped Hina excitedly, practically knocking over Hideki to get to her mother.

"Hi, Mom," answered Reo earnestly while giving Hideki a nudge with his elbow.

"Hey, Mama Rena," snorted Hideki punching his brother in the arm before groaning in pain as he felt a jolt in his bruised knuckles.

"Good evening, my love," said Udagawa standing up and kissing his wife before allowing a haggard-looking Rena to pick up an excited Hina and allowing her to sit and preparing her a plate. "I'm glad you were able to make it."

"So am I," said Rena happily and sitting down in her chair with Hina. "I'm sorry I missed the big reveal, you two."

"It's all right," said Yuzu happily after finishing her fourth glass of wine and kissing Mei on the cheek and eyeing the fork she'd left on Mei's plate. "You'll see plenty when Mama sends you all the pictures she's been taking, won't she Mama?!"

"You know it," laughed a rosy-cheeked Ume holding her phone up before downing another beer. "I got a bunch, not just of Mei and Yuzu, but also Reo and me cooking, Shou playing with the girls, Hideki trying to help out and things like that. I even got one of Udagawa almost falling off the ladder while he and Hideki put up the banner."

"Guess those are going in the photo album," chuckled Rena before taking a bite of the food and letting out a satisfied sigh when she tasted her son's cooking. "Reo, Ume, this is incredible. If this is how good dinner tastes I can't wait to see what you cooked up for dessert."

"I want dessert," said both Airi and Hina so loudly that Mei nearly dropped the glass of water she'd asked Yuzu to pour for her.

"After dinner is cleaned up," said Mei dabbing at her face and neck with a napkin and pointing at Airi's plate. "Which includes you finishing everything on your plate or else you won't get any of whatever it is that your grandmother and Reo made. If you do that and help with cleaning up you can have dessert; because if you don't, you'll have to wait until tomorrow."

"Since you have food on your plate do you get dessert Mommy," asked Airi pointing at her mother's plate.

"What are you talking about Airi?"

"You gotta finish your dinner," giggled Airi as she chewed on a piece of bread while Mei stared down at her plate. "So you gotta eat, or you don't get dessert."

"You're mistaken Airi," said Mei with a smirk. "I'm your mother, so I'm allowed to have my dessert even if I don't finish everything on my plate."

"I don't think so," came Yuzu's voice as she wrapped her arms around Mei's stomach. "If the kids have to eat all their dinner then so do you, unless your goal is to insult Mama and Reo."

"If it shuts you up; I'll finish it," sighed Mei removing Yuzu's arms and returning to her plate and finishing the last few pieces of her food.

"Mei." Yuzu took a deep breath and focused on how to talk to her wife while everyone else focused on beginning conversations to avoid listening in, though it was apparent that both Hideki and Airi were having a difficult time minding their own business. "It was a joke; you know you don't have to..."

"I want to," said Mei keeping control of her voice so that she didn't come off as upset with and risk ruining their meal. "I understand that you were teasing me, but you made a good point. Reo and Mother spent their day preparing this meal, and I don't want it to go to waste. Besides, there's still something you need to do for me."

"What's that?" Yuzu took a short sip of her wine and Mei could tell by the tinge on her cheeks and the way Yuzu's knee was rubbing against her that the blonde was going to be a handful once their company left.

"This." Mei lifted the fork off her plate and handed it to Yuzu, doing her best not to look amused at the blush that had overtaken her bride's face. "You wanted to feed me this, didn't you?"

There was a snort of laughter from behind them, and Mei couldn't help but notice Hideki covering his mouth and turning his head in an attempt to hide his laughter while Reo buried his face in his hands. Nobody else seemed to see, but Mei could feel a couple of extra eyes on them but decided to throw caution to the wind and adjust her hair and head in a way so that Ume could get the picture she knew her step-mother would want to add to her most recent photo album.

"Kinda," whispered Yuzu casting a glare at Hideki who was still snickering.

"Ignore me," he said before taking a drink of Ramune out of his glass. "I got something caught in my throat."

"Sure there is," said Reo, tearing off another piece of bread for himself along with some more cheese.

The table gave a short jump, rattling a couple of dishes and Reo winced before glaring at his brother followed by another jerk of the table.

"Watch it," grunted Hideki, biting down on his lower lip. "You almost hit my bandages."

"Then quit being a jackass," quipped back Reo with a snicker.

"That's enough," said Rena, turning away from the conversation she was having with Airi and Hina to stop her sons arguing. "I'm not in the mood for it, and after what happened this afternoon I thought you'd be tired of it as well Hideki. The same goes to you, Reo. You worked hard, and I'm sorry I had to go to work today, but that doesn't give you the right to tease your brother."

"Yes, Mom."

"Yes, Mama Rena."

"Good." Rena exhaled loudly and pulled off the jacket of her suit and removed the hair tie she was using to keep her hair up, shook it free, and tucked it behind her ears. After a sip of water, Rena a bite of cheese and turned her attention back to Airi and said, "So Airi, why don't you tell me and Uncle more about this piano lesson you had today and Hina, when Airi's done, you can tell Daddy and me about how class went, okay?"

While Hina and Airi began vying for the attention of Udagawa and Rena, Hideki started conversing with Shou about places to visit while he was in New York and Ume gave Reo most of her attention while she input some of the recipes he'd made into her phone.

When they were confident that they had some amount of privacy Mei nodded at the fork and asked, "So are you going to do fulfill your wish or am I going to have to do it for you?"

"Mei, I told you that it was a joke," sighed Yuzu gesturing for Mei to take the fork. "I know you don't like it when I do stuff like that so there's no reason to force yourself just to make me happy."

"I've never said I don't like it." Mei reached up and moved a few strands of hair out of Yuzu's eyes. "Just because I'm not always receptive to your advances doesn't mean I dislike it. My willingness is simply dependent on my mood, and right now I want to do that for you."

"All right." Yuzu giggled and held the fork up to Mei's mouth and nudged the fork toward her. "Open up."

Rolling her eyes, Mei opened her mouth and moved it toward the fork, her eyes locked on Yuzu's and the smile that spread across her wife's face as her mouth enveloped the fork. The meat was just as delicious cold as it was warm, but even with how good it tasted, Mei couldn't keep her eyes off Yuzu and as she pulled away winked at her wife just as a flash filled the corner of her eye.

"Really, Mama?" Yuzu managed to remain smiling, but Mei could see the annoyance fill Yuzu's green eyes. "Did you have to take a picture?"

"Oh relax, Yuzu dear," said Ume tapping something on her phone, most likely emailing it to herself to avoid accidentally deleting it. "This isn't even the most embarrassing picture I have of you or Mei for that matter."

"How embarrassing are we talking," asked Yuzu, her face still red but her voice uncharacteristically calm. "Like...awkward baby pictures or something weirder?"

"I'm not telling," replied Ume in a sing-song voice. "If you want to know, you'll have to come over and see the project I've been working on in my free time."

"Project we've been working on," said Shou with a grunt. "Don't forget you've been dragging me into it every chance you get."

"Think of it as penance for all the time you've spent traveling during our marriage," teased Ume before giving her husband a peck on the cheek. But to answer your question Yuzu it's nothing you or Mei have to worry about, isn't that right Shou?"

"She's telling the truth," answered Shou, his face looking almost exactly like Mei and Hideki's did when they got annoyed. "I can vouch for her innocence, even if it eats up my weekends which by the way you still owe me for spending most of last weekend in the apartment helping you."

"And you will be paid in full soon," giggled Ume resting her head on her shoulder while Shou downed his beer, "I promise."

"And I've lost my appetite," grunted Hideki, pushing his plate away. "What's for dessert?"

"Nothing," said Reo, smirking as he stood and began walking toward the house with a couple of plates. "I didn't have enough time..."

"That's bull, and you know it." Hideki got to his feet and pulled his brother into a cautious headlock and began messing up his hair. "I heard you and Grandma this morning in the kitchen, and you said something about needing to freeze something all day, and you only do that when you're making ice cream or gelato or something else like that."

"Will you get off of me," growled Reo elbowing his brother in the ribs, but only causing the taller boy to hold on tighter while continuing to steer him toward the kitchen.

Hideki gave a quiet moment of false contemplation before shaking his head.

"I think I'm gonna hold onto you for a bit longer," snickered Hideki as he used his free arm to open the sliding door. "We'll be back in a minute!"

There was a sound of muffled cursing from Reo and Hideki shouting at him to calm down and help him with everything before the door shut, leaving the adults and younger kids in peaceful silence.

"Mama," yawned Airi as she stepped away from Udagawa and Rena and began tugging on her mother's shorts. "Can Hina stay the night?"

"I'm afraid she can't sweetheart," said Yuzu as she took Rena's plate and with the help of Shou and Mei began making room for the dessert. "We have an early day tomorrow, and you need to sleep. Not to mention that whenever Hina stays the night, you two never go to sleep on time."

"Yes, we do," piped in Hina from her mother's lap, looking almost like a doll as she folded her hands gently in her lap and smiled in a vain attempt to look in innocent.

"Nice try," chuckled Yuzu while Mei began trying to clean a squirming Airi's face with a damp napkin while Ume took pictures and Shou begged his wife to stop. "Don't think Auntie Mei and I forgot about that mess you two made when you two snuck a carton of ice cream out of the freezer the last time you stayed over and what happened to the floor when you two fell asleep in the middle of eating it."

"We said sorry," whined Airi as Mei finally released her. "And I've been a good girl and haven't gotten in trouble at school."

"You've been better," confirmed Mei wiping off one last bit of sauce from Airi's face and chuckling when the girl whined, "and so has Hina, but we need to discuss this before you two are to be trusted to sleep alone in a room again."

"Fine," groaned Airi falling forward and practically slamming her head into Mei's lap while Hina failed to convince her parents as they agreed with Mei and Yuzu. "If Hina can't stay over can I sleep with you and Mama tonight?"

"We'll discuss it after dinner," said Mei, patting her daughter's soft, bushy hair, "and after you've had your bath."

"I don't want a bath," cried Airi stamping her feet. "I had one yesterday."

"We know," said Yuzu rolling her eyes at her daughter's false tantrum and smirking at Mei. "But you were rolling around in the dirt, so you and Hideki are going to bathe and then it's bed right after that."

"I wanna sleep with you and Mama." Airi's voice was beginning to grow louder, and all the adults were starting to wonder if she was faking her tantrum.

Mei felt Airi's nails on her thigh through her skirt and rested her hand on her daughter's hand and gave a worried look to Yuzu.

"Airi," said Yuzu, carefully placing a hand on Airi's back. "You need to listen. Mommy and I know you're tired, but you have to..."

"I WANNA SLEEP WITH YOU AND MOMMY!"

Airi's voice echoed throughout the backyard, silencing all conversation and catching the attention of a couple of neighbors, some of whom stepped outside to ask if everything was all right. While Udagawa, Rena, and Shou began explaining what was going on, Airi managed to pull away from Mei and barely escaped Yuzu's grasp to run to the door, nearly knocking over Reo who was carrying a large cake dusted in powdered sugar while Hideki ate a spoonful of something out of a plastic tub.

"Is...everything all right," asked Hideki as Yuzu approached, pulling Mei along behind her. "Do you guys need my help?"

"We might," said Mei before pointing at the table. "But for now you two get everyone started on dessert while we handle this. Thank you, Reo, for all your hard work and Hideki..."

"Yeah, Mom?"

As much as she wanted to embrace her son and thank him for including them in the festivities, the anguished look on Airi's face was still fresh in her mind.

"Mei, we gotta go." Yuzu's voice was quiet, and it was easy for Mei to tell that Yuzu regretted saying it but knew she had to.

"Take care of things down here for us, please?"

Hideki nodded in understanding and smiled at them and said, "You can count on me."