Chapter 8

The scheme or project code named: Cook a Goose, was on a grand scale and involved a good majority of LME denizens that were thoroughly fed up with Lory's meddling ways. He needed to be taught a lesson and his favorite toys were going to help do it. First was the staged argument in the lobby and the spiked Christmas drink accusation flung directly at Kuon in front of Lory as they took it to his office and with perfection, the actors had pulled a willing confession from their frantic and pale boss who had been thoroughly convinced they would break up over it. Kyoko was in Natsu mode and had actually pulled a dogeza from him as he apologized to the couple for essentially forcing them into a situation that would have probably happened a year later than he would have liked.

As punishment he was compelled to sign an agreement that he would no longer meddle in the love lives of Kyoko or, Kuon. The new contract included both Stage and Birth Names so that he couldn't use them as a loophole. They wanted to include the others, but the only thing they could get for them would be that he would no longer use the nefarious means that he had underhandedly sprung on the Hizuri couple.

Now that Kyoko, Kuon and their friends were safe from Mickey's and aphrodisiacs in their drinks, Kyoko could finally relax and enjoy her last trimester. Not that she would be enjoying it too terribly much due to the hot summer and autumn weather and what she would refer to as her beached whale body. Which was entirely untrue, she was actually quite small and barely showing for a little over seven months. Her tummy wasn't any bigger than the size of a volleyball. She was still exercising. Her libido was through the roof (much to Kuon's delight) and they both discovered that they enjoyed playing strip board games which, by the way, gave Kyoko the little ego boost she needed and gave Kuon something very pleasing to watch.

"I think maybe we need to change the rules." She told him as she shimmied out of her cheeky red lace panties, her final item.

"I don't know Love. I'm kind of enjoying this." The Emperor purred as he fiddled with his left sock, his final item.

Kyoko rolled her eyes and giggled, plopped gently into his lap and wiggled mischievously. Needless to say that was the end of game night. One would find Kyoko dressed in nothing but her apron later in the evening as she bustled around the kitchen, making dinner and Kuon would be watching appreciatively from the breakfast bar in his boxers. She had lost the game after all, and her penalty was sans clothing for the rest of the evening.

THUMP... ROLL...THUMP... THUMP...

Kuon awakened to the tiny rippling wave of Kyoko's belly against his side and felt the strong tiny feet of his son poking him sporadically. He looked at his sleeping angel, and his smile became even more brilliant as his hand rested where the activity had taken place. Hello Dad, it seemed to say to him, I'm here. Kuon chuckled silently, wide awake now. My son. He thought proudly as he caressed Kyoko's belly and placed a gentle kiss on her temple before resting his head near her heart after she had shifted in her sleep. "I love you Sweetheart." He murmured and slowly drifted back to sleep to the soothing rhythmic beat of her heart and her tiny body wrapped comfortably in his arms.

He awakened to the morning light and Kyoko's fingers gently sifting through his soft blond locks he had donned for the duration of her pregnancy. He sighed with contentment with his head resting on her perfectly sized bosom before green eyes met gold for the first time of the day.

"Good morning." She whispered with a smile.

He raised up and kissed her plump lips chastely. "Good morning Love."

"Do we have any plans for the day?" She asked quietly, not wanting to spoil the atmosphere.

He gave her a soft playful growl and lay his head back were it was when he awakened and enjoyed the melody of her heartbeat. "Can we just stay here all day?"

She giggled. "We still have things to we need to do before Nobu-chan gets here." She reminded him. "Besides, I don't think I could lay around and be lazy all day."

He hummed in agreement. "Hmm, we could go get the paint and stencils you wanted to get for his room. Then if we have time, we could start to clear everything out and put it in storage. You haven't picked the furniture you want yet either."

"You mean it?!" She asked excitedly.

He nodded and kissed between her cleavage with a soft lip-smack, then a chuckle when she started to list off all of the things she wanted to do to the spare guest room that would be the nursery. "Well... We won't be going anywhere if we can't get out of this bed." He chuckled.

She quickly rolled him off of her and attempted to escape the bed as his arms snaked around her to pull her back in. "Kuon!" She whined. "I have to take a shower." She giggled as he peppered her with more kisses during her half-hearted struggle.

He sighed defeatedly. "Alright, alright. You do that, and I'll make the tea."

She nodded as she stood. "I'll make breakfast while you take your shower." She gave him one last kiss before bouncing off to the bathroom to perform her morning routine.

He rolled to his back and stared at the ceiling with a bright smile then forced himself out of bed to begin his day.

He knew they would be in for a full day of shopping once they entered the first store. They both had an idea of what was wanted, they had agreed on it beforehand. The accommodating clerk had asked if it was their first. Mr and Mrs Kuon Hizuri nodded in assent in their disguises, that weren't really disguises, Kuon in his blond hair and green eyes and Kyoko in her long black hair and gold eyes. Amazingly enough, neither was recognized. She gave Kyoko a scanner and explained that all they needed to do was scan the bar-code of what they wanted and it would go to a list for them on a computer at the register where they could pay and have arrangements made to deliver to their home. Kuon was thankful for that little tidbit, he was certain that they couldn't fit even half of what they wanted for Nobuyuki's nursery into his car.

As they trekked through the store, Kuon noticed several things he hadn't thought of before. He noticed all of the safety measures that kept popping into his mind: outlet covers, corner protectors, first aid kits, baby monitors of all shapes and varieties, cabinet and drawer locks, electrical cord covers and night lights of all shapes and sizes, all of which he added to the list.

"Kyoko Baby? Do we have a carbon monoxide detector?" He called to her from the next aisle. "Hmm, I'll add one just in case. Can't be too cautious." He mumbled to himself as he added it to the growing list of safety items while in deep thought.

Meanwhile, Kyoko was considering the advantages of a 4-way convertible crib, finally deciding on the mission style in deep walnut, then coordinating the rest with it. In the end she added a changing table, rocking chair, dresser, nightstand, a storage cube organizer with 16 cubes and would that particular armoire fit with the rest in the room without crowding it? She decided the closet would do, no armoire needed.

"Oh... I like that set." He commented as he snuck up behind her and wrapped his arms around her with his hands resting on her belly.

"I do too. It goes from a crib, to toddler bed, to daybed and then you can use these two parts for the headboard and foot-board of a full sized bed when Nobu is older. Do you like the color I picked?" She was a little unsure about the dark color, but she really like the deep rich tones.

He nodded. "I think it will suit the room perfectly." He told her then his stomach growled.

She giggled. "Lunch?"

He chuckled. "Never thought I would say it, but yeah. I'm kinda hungry."

Lunch was eaten, and it was finally time for the trip to the hardware store. Kuon and Kyoko both decided that tools would be needed to assemble the many pieces of furniture they had purchased and her do-it-yourself personality went into a fit of ecstasy as they added screwdrivers, small wrenches and a variety of similar tools to a small toolbox he had picked. Finally toward the end of the day, they found themselves in the paint section making their final selection of colors for their son's room, a rich dark midnight blue would cover each wall, white outlines of trees and a fawn would cover an open wall and an array of glow in the dark stars would dot the expanse of the rest of the room. Kuon insisted that a new carpet, with extra padding underneath, would be installed to make the floor soft enough for Nobuyuki's little knees when he started crawling or, so he wouldn't hurt himself if he fell while learning to walk. All that was left to do was to empty the room and begin.