A/N: Welcome back loyal readers! I'm trying my best to be prompt and more regular about my posts with this story. I kind of want to get it done as soon as possible. LOL Which sounds kinda mean, but I really want start working on my UmedaxAkiha story that's burning a hole in my brain. There are still a few chapters left for this story though, so don't fear. I've got a few things still up my sleeve for this couple. :D Anyways, on to the next chapter!

Chapter Seven

Saturday morning came much to soon for Umeda and Shizuki. They had gone to bed really late after coming home and sneaking a shower together in the downstairs bathroom. There was no way they were going to bed smelling like sex, alcohol, and smoke. Shizuki was mortified to even think what would happen if either of his parents woke them up the next morning to smell them like that. They'd barely managed to snag a few hours of sleep when Mizuki had knocked on the door to wake them. Both had forgotten that they were all going to meet Gilbert over at the U.C. Botanical Garden. They rushed to get dressed (trying to ignore their hang overs) and eat breakfast so they could leave on time to get to U.C. Berkeley.

It was about 10am when they finally made it over to the garden and met up with Gilbert. The four young adults stood around chatting as they waited for Umeda and Shizuki to get what they wanted out of the car and lock up. Soon as they were ready the four kids (or at least kids in the two older adults eyes) began to walk towards the entrance of the Botanical Garden. Shizuki and Umeda followed at a much more sedate pace.

"Why do I feel like I'm babysitting a bunch of teens on a high school field trip again?" Umeda groaned as they walked into the garden with the younger adults ahead of them. He really wanted to just crawl under one of the trees and sleep until his headache went away. He didn't think he'd had that much to drink last night. Maybe it was lingering because his ears were still trying to recover from the loud music that had been playing at the club.

Rio glanced back and rolled her eyes. "It's not that bad, Hokuto. At least this time you can hang out at the back of the pack and play grab ass with your boyfriend," Rio smiled sweetly.

"No one's gonna wanna marry a girl with a perverted mind like that," Umeda shot back snidely.

Shizuki rolled his eyes at his boyfriend. Julia laughed at the semi-stunned look on Gilbert's face from the weird sibling interaction he'd just witnessed. Mizuki just grinned.

"Well, I think you guys are old enough to go off on your own without chaperons." Shizuki remarked. "We are going off by ourselves. Meet us back at the entrance at noon so we can go get lunch."

"Alright, we promise we'll be back on time, Shizuki," Mizuki assured him.

The four of them split off down a separate path through the gardens. Within moments they were out of sight.

"I bet you wish Rio would find a boyfriend already. " Shizuki grinned as he started to walk down the opposite path from the others. "Besides she did have a point."

Umeda reached over and squeezed his ass. "Yes, she did."

Shizuki smacked his hand away with a laugh. "Who's calling who a pervert now?"

The doctor chuckled.

"So what are you gonna do when Rio gets a serious boyfriend?" The blond asked curiously as he slipped his hand into his boyfriend's hand.

"Scope him out. If I think he's hot and meets my standards of worthiness for dating my sister then I'll allow it. If not, I'll get rid of him." Umeda answered airily.

"I don't think she'd appreciate you chasing off her boyfriend."

"No, but she'd thank me in the long run. I am a pretty good judge of character." Umeda said pompously.

Shizuki rolled his eyes. "True enough I guess."

"What about how you feel with Mizuki dating Sano? Do you approve?" The doctor asked.

"At first, I didn't like him at all. I thought he was a sullen, arrogant little prick. Now, I like him. He took good care of Mizuki while she was at Osaka. For that, I owe him a lot. I think if they've made it this far they are a sure bet. And I'm fine with that. She loves him and she's happy. That's all a big brother wants for his sister," Shizuki replied honestly.

"Yeah." Umeda said. "So who is this Gilbert guy? I can tell he has the hots for my sister."

The blond laughed. "Yeah, I noticed too. Don't worry. He's a good guy. He watched over Mizuki when she ran away from home. And he didn't lay a hand on her. He's a gentleman."

"Alright, I guess I'll trust your opinion," the doctor said casually.

"Jerk," Shizuki shoved him lightly.

Umeda grabbed him and pulled him in for a short, rough kiss. "I'm your jerk though."

"Yes, you are." Shizuki rubbed his hips against his boyfriend's lightly.

"If you start that now I'll drag you under the nearest bush to finish it," Umeda warned him with a glint in his eyes.

Shizuki laughed, backing off and beginning to walk again. "We'll finish it later somewhere more private."

"Sounds good to me." Umeda grinned.

"Hey, Mizuki and I are gonna go this way! There's some really pretty roses I want to show her," Julia grabbed Mizuki's wrist.

Mizuki looked baffled. "What? Julia?"

"Shuttup and c'mon," the blond haired girl hissed, dragging Mizuki with her.

"Why are we going over here? I wanted to hang out with Gilbert too," Mizuki complained after Julia had pulled her out of hearing range of the other two.

Julia stopped by a bench. She glanced back to see Gilbert leading Rio away with her hand in his hand. "You get to hang out with him all the time, which is a bad thing for him."

"But why?" Mizuki asked in confusion.

"You are so dense, Micky." Julia sighed heavily. "Beeeecause, he likes you and you like Sano. Gilbert knows it, but the more you hang around him the harder it is for him to give up on you."

"Oh, I didn't realize I was doing that," the other girl looked upset. "Is that why you brought me over here?"

"No, dummy. I think Gilbert likes Rio. I know she likes him. I'm giving Gil a chance to have some alone time with her. They are perfect for each other," Julia smiled proudly at her matchmaking talent.

"How do you know they like each other?" Mizuki asked, curiously.

Julia shook her head. "All the signs are there. You'd see them too if you watched. She gets all flustered around him. He can't take his eyes off her. Now, come on. Let's give the new lovebirds some time to themselves."

Mizuki sighed. "Kinda makes me feel left out. I miss Sano."

"Oh, don't start with that. I don't even have a boyfriend. How do you think I feel?" The blond rolled her eyes.

"Sorry, I forgot. You'll find someone, Julia," Mizuki reassured her as they began to walk again.

Julia smiled at her friend. "Yeah, I hope so."

Gilbert watched Julia and Mizuki walk away for a moment. He turned to look over at Rio, who blushed when their eyes met. "Come on. There's this really beautiful spot I wanna show you," Gilbert grinned. He'd have to thank Julia later. Thank God, that girl was so perceptive.

"What about them?" Rio asked uncertainly.

"They'll catch up later. It's fine," Gilbert assured her gently.

Rio looked a little uneasy.

"It's alright, Rio. I'll look after you, ok?" He held out his hand for her to take. He held his breath as he waited to see what she'd do. She looked between him and the other two girls, who had stopped by a bench not to far away. She stood there a moment before finally seeming to make up her mind. She reached out slowly and took his hand. She blushed a little redder as his fingers closed around hers. His skin felt warm against hers, settling the butterflies that had been dancing in her stomach. He squeezed her hand gently. Her heart beat a little faster when she looked up to see him smiling down at her.

"Follow me," he said warmly, leading her away.

She didn't trust herself to speak so she nodded and walked along beside him. He led her down the path past flowering bushes and trees. The place was tranquil this morning. Gilbert pointed out a few things that he thought she might find appealing. Mostly, she was more involved in stealing glances at him. He was so handsome. She really liked the color of his eyes; they were so green. His hair was like spun gold under the morning sun. He was different than the other boys who'd ever showed any interest in her. He led her into a little alcove under an arch. A stone bench had been placed beneath a tree at the back of the little alcove. White towers toad lilies, lily turf, and snowdrop anemone wreathed the tiny cul-de-sac. The tree added just enough shade to protect the flowers, and provide a comfortable place to sit and enjoy the scenario. It was quiet and secluded. It had a serene feel to it that she liked.

"I like to come here to study or think. It's pretty and peaceful. Mostly I like it, because once I never would have been able to enjoy the outdoors like this," Gilbert confessed quietly.

"Because of your lung problems?" She heard a lot about what had happened to Gilbert from Mizuki. She was amazed by the fierce determination and bravery he must have had in order to make it through so many hardships.

"Yeah. It was so hard to breathe sometimes. I hated it, because I couldn't do anything I enjoyed. I wanted to run and play outside like the other boys my age. I wanted to be free. My problems made me feel shackled," he told her. It had taken him a long time to be able to talk about this kind of stuff openly. He'd been so defensive about it when he was younger. He'd hated to appear weak or pathetic around other people. He didn't want their sympathy.

"That's terrible. I can't imagine that," Rio said softly. "I think I'd be really angry about it."

He looked over in surprise. It was like she'd read his thoughts. "I was. To be honest, there were days I wondered why I was fighting so hard to live," Gilbert admitted.

Rio looked surprised. "That's really hard to believe. You seem like a very strong willed person."

"Yeah, I always tried to be."

"What kept you motivated?" She asked curiously.

Gilbert smiled. "I want to climb Mt. Everest. I refuse to die before then."

"That's a big dream. I hope you can do it," Rio smiled back brightly.

"I'll make it happen," he said fiercely.

"I believe you can do it," she replied sincerely.

He squeezed her hand for a brief moment. "Thanks."

She glanced down at their clasped hands. She'd always thought such a little thing was kind of silly. She'd held hands before with a few guys. It'd never been anything special. This time it was different though. She liked the feel of Gilbert's hand in hers. It made her feel connected to him. She felt comfortable and safe sitting next to him.

"So what do you think about my quiet place?" he asked as nonchalantly as possible.

She could tell he really wanted to hear her opinion though. "I like it," she answered. "Thank you for showing it to me."

"You're welcome. I wanted to show it to you, because I like you," he admitted before he could back out of it.

She looked over at him in surprise. She blushed at the earnest look in his eyes. She wasn't quite sure what to say or do. She liked him too, but she wasn't sure she had the guts to say it so frankly like he had.

"It's ok," Gilbert said soothingly. "I just wanted you to know. You don't have to say anything," he assured her and squeezed her hand once more.

"Ok," she whispered, squeezing his hand back in return.

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Julia gave Gilbert half an hour before she decided they should track the couple down. Mizuki had seemed excited for Rio. Once she caught on to the idea she seemed to like the two of them being together more than Julia did. The blond shook her head in exasperation at her silly friend. They caught sight of Gilbert and Rio sitting on a bench under a tree. They were sitting close enough for their shoulders to touch. She could see that Gilbert was still holding Rio's hand.

"Oh my Gawd! That is so freaking cute! I almost hate to interrupt, but we promised Shizuki we'd all meet up for lunch." Julia sighed regretfully.

"Maybe we can leave them alone and go meet up with Shizuki without them," Mizuki suggested.

Julia snorted. "Yeah right. Umeda would kill us. He's been eyeballing Gilbert like he's a thief. We have to bring them back, because if he comes looking for them it would be embarrassing."

"Yeah, you're right," Mizuki giggled. "Umeda can be really over protective of his sister."

"Understatement." Julia rolled her eyes. Julia waited until they'd walked a little closer. "Hey, you two!" She called and waved her arm.

Rio looked up and waved back. Gilbert looked disappointed at being interrupted already. The two girls walked up to the couple sitting on the bench. Rio blushed when Julia looked down at their entwined hands. She looked like she was about to pull away, but Gilbert tightened his grip before she could. Julia shook her head.

"It's lunch time," Mizuki said. "We have to go meet Shizuki and Umeda."

Gilbert's stomach picked that moment to growl loudly. Rio snickered at the resigned look on his face. They stood up together and walked the short distance to the two girls.

"Didja have fun?" Julia asked Rio with a hint of mischief in her eyes.

Rio gave her an unimpressed look before smiling. "Yes, I did."

"Good," Gilbert answered before Julia or Mizuki could.

"Well, let's get going before Shizuki starts to worry," Mizuki grinned. "I'm glad you had fun, Rio." She and Rio swapped knowing smiles as the couple continued to hold hands. They didn't let go until they met up with Shizuki and Umeda. Not before Umeda had caught sight of it though. He narrowed his eyes suspiciously at Gilbert. He didn't say anything though. The glare Rio had sent him, kept his mouth shut. He actually did like the younger guy. He was glad to see Rio had finally found a guy to take some interest in. He just didn't want her to get her heart set on Gilbert only to have to go back to Japan and not be able to see him again. It wasn't his place to figure that stuff out for her though. He had to let her do that on her own. She was a big girl now.

Lunch went relatively quickly. Shizuki was eager to give Umeda a tour of the rest of the college. Gilbert was more than willing to show the girls around campus too. Shizuki agreed to let the younger man drive the girls back when they were ready to go home. Umeda didn't look entirely pleased with the prospect of letting Rio out of his sight around Gilbert again. He decided to take Shizuki's word on Gilbert being a good guy though. He did want some alone time with Shizuki. The two hadn't gotten much of it since they'd come to visit California. Shit, last night was the first time they'd gotten to really have a long sex session since the night before they'd left. Hand jobs and quickies in the shower were fun, but not as fulfilling as really being able to take one's time.

So they all parted ways once again after lunch. Shizuki walked Umeda around the vast campus of U.C. Berkeley. He was like an excited tour guide, divulging all kinds of facts about the campus and its history to his boyfriend. Umeda thought it was rather cute. He loved how Shizuki's face lighted up when he was talking about something he was really passionate about. Shizuki brought him to see The Campanile. Umeda was rather impressed by the old clock tower. He loved Doe Library even more. It was a lot bigger than he thought it would be. It was beautifully constructed and he could picture Shizuki coming there to study. What he loved the most was when Shizuki took him up to see the golden gate bridge from the Berkeley hills hall of science. Shizuki told him how he used to come up here with his friends to work on homework or projects.

For the first time, Umeda envied Shizuki for being to go to college at such a beautiful place. Not that his college had been awful, but the atmosphere was nothing like the beautiful, calm one that surrounded U.C. Berkeley. No wonder Shizuki loved this place and got homesick sometimes. Umeda suddenly wondered if he was selfish to want to keep Shizuki so far away from the place he loved and grew up in. Shizuki had never complained about it though. He figured the blond would have brought it up if he was really that unhappy. He put his worries aside and focused on the now. Worries could wait.

They didn't get back to the Ashiya house until almost 7pm. By then, both of them were starving. They weren't surprised to see that Gilbert had already driven the girls back home too. Dinner was a loud, boisterous affair as they talked about what they'd done during the day while Sandy ran around the table yapping. Umeda had to fight the urge to punt the annoying little dog across the room. He really wasn't a dog person at all. Shizuki could probably tell, because he eventually got up to shut Sandy in the kitchen.

After dinner and clean up, the girls and Gilbert took a few of the dogs staying overnight in the clinic outside for a little play time. Umeda sat smoking on the porch railing again as he watched them all play out in the yard. Mrs. Ashiya washed the dishes as she watched everyone from the window. Mr. Ashiya and Shizuki sat at the other end of the porch on the swing, talking quietly.

"He's not really what I expected," Mr. Ashiya remarked about Umeda.

"Yeah, I know," Shizuki said. "I can understand why. I didn't exactly give you a great impression of him."

"Well, you were really distraught at the time," his father smiled sadly. He'd never forget that day. He'd never be able to erase the memory of anguish on Shizuki's face when he'd asked if his father would hate him for loving another man. He'd hated the man who had made Shizuki fall in love without even having met him. Umeda had sounded like a man who had played with his son's heart. He knew that wasn't the case. Umeda had probably gotten hurt far worse than Shizuki before it had all been resolved. He just hadn't expected to like the man after everything that had happened. He was surprised to find he did indeed like Umeda. Mr. Ashiya was still somewhat uncertain of him though. Maybe he would be until he finally got to have a talk with Umeda alone. "He looks different in person. A little less severe, I guess. He has very intense eyes though."

"Yeah, everyone's always saying that. It feels like he can look right through you," Shizuki agreed.

"If he were a mutant he'd be telepathic." Mr. Ashiya joked.

Shizuki chuckled. "Yeah. He's definitely a mind hypnotizer."

"He didn't, uhhh, trick you into this whole…?"

"Relationship?" Shizuki finished for him.

"Yes, that," his father flushed.

"No, dad. He was pretty straight forward once he realized he wanted me." Shizuki smirked about that. "There were no tricks. I was just in denial for a very long time. It took the right person to help me realize that. Kind like how Mom helped you."

"Yeah, she really saved me. She was the best thing that ever happened to me after your mother's death," Mr. Ashiya admitted.

"It's the same for me. I would have been miserable with Alisha. Or I'd have gotten into another half hearted relationship. I don't feel like I'm missing something anymore like I did when I dated women." Shizuki confessed. "Umeda completes me."

"That's what's important, son." Mr. Ashiya said sincerely. "I'm glad you're happy. And he's not a bad man either."

"Thanks, Dad. So you approve of him?" Shizuki pressed.

There was silence between them for a moment.

"I suppose I do," Mr. Ashiya finally said.

"I'm glad," Shizuki hugged his dad. "That means a lot to me." He stood up and walked over to his boyfriend. He wrapped his arm around Umeda as he watched the sun go down with his lover. He smiled softly as his step-mom came out to sit down on the swing next Mr. Ashiya. The two couples sat in silence watching the sun sink behind the trees as the girls, Gilbert, and the dogs romped around the yard. It was a peaceful end to a great day.

Be a responsible reader and review!

Yeah, it was a bit of a filler chapter. I had fun playing around with Gilbert and Rio though. I couldn't resist. Hee :D Lily toad are the flowers that were on the cover of vol. 12 behind Gilbert. The other flowers mentioned are ones that compliment the lily toad flower when planted together. Anywho, thanks for the wonderful reviews last chapter! And I will see you all again for the next chapter!