"...That's it?"

Kuu laughed at the look on Julie's face as they left the municipal building. After turning in the appropriate paperwork, without much fanfare, they were legally married. He took her hands on the sidewalk.

"That's not it. That's the legal part. After the baby gets here, I'm going to give you a proper wedding, my love. With a beautiful dress, whatever venue you want, flowers, and the absolute best food you've ever eaten. And then I'm going to drag you on honeymoon and we can make baby number two."

She giggled and swatted him. "How can you already plan for number two!? Are you nuts!?"

He caught her hand and kissed it. "I'm certainly crazy about you, Mrs. Hizuri."

Her free hand went to her bright red cheek. "How is it that you always know the right thing to say?"

Kuu kissed her forehead. "Because everything about us is just right." He checked his watch and sighed. "I hate to cut this short, but they need me on set."

She nodded. "I understand."

He hailed a cab for her and held the door open. "I'll see you at home tonight, okay? Don't worry about making anything. I'm going to order dinner and have it delivered for us."

She kissed him. "Have fun at work, Mr. Hizuri."

His cheeks went pink and he grinned. "I will certainly try, Mrs. Hizuri."

She got into the back of the cab and he shut the door for her. He blew her a kiss and waved as the cab drove away, his heart pounding inside his chest. Holy shit, I did it. I married the most perfect woman in the world. He was practically skipping as he made his way back to the Jag. He and Julie had come to the municipal building separately so as not to draw suspicion. He had also worn his disguise. They still hadn't made their relationship public. Though Julie was fine with it, Kuu was terrified of the repercussions for his wife and unborn child. Imagining a heavily pregnant Julie being hounded by paparazzi made Kuu's stomach turn. He was also scared of the reaction of the crazy fangirls. He had received dirty panties in his fan mail, nude pictures, and even a house key once with a letter that said he should move in with the woman in question because she wanted to marry him. He was terrified of what a nutcase like that could do to his wife.

He reached the Jag and got inside. He drove to the studio, parked in the lot, tossed his wig, hat, and sunglasses in the glove compartment, and made his way to the building.

"Hozu-san!"

He sighed in annoyance and walked a bit faster. Dealing with Aine Yamada first thing was not something he felt like doing that day. Unfortunately, she caught up with him and put her arm through his.

"Hozu-san, are you trying to ignore me?," she whined.

He stopped. The hair on his neck was prickling under his shirt collar. He turned toward her. "Yamada-san, I have told you a countless number of times that I–"

She pulled him down and kissed him. His eyes went wide with shock. He was going to push her away when multiple flashes went off at once. He froze. This little bitch brought the fucking press! She set me up! His stomach roiled as she pressed her body into his, her tongue invading his mouth. What the fuck do I do!?

She pulled away and looked up at him through her lashes. "See? That was nice, wasn't it?"

Kuu felt like he had just brushed his teeth and then drunk a glass of orange juice. He wanted to projectile vomit. Instead, he summoned up Katsuki Tachibana as the paparazzos encircled them.

"Hozu-san! How long have you been seeing Yamada-san!? Is this a serious relationship!?"

He took her hand and interlaced their fingers. He smiled at the cameras. "No comment." He looked down at her blushing face and gestured toward the door of the studio. "Shall we?"

She followed him into the building as if she were in a dream. Once they rounded the corner and Kuu knew they were away from the cameras, he ripped his hand away from hers and wheeled on her.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU THINKING?"

She jumped. "Wha-? Hozu-san, I–"

"NO. YOU SHUT UP AND LISTEN. I DO NOT WANT YOU. I HAVE NEVER WANTED YOU. IF YOU DO NOT STOP THIS RIDICULOUS BEHAVIOR, MY LAWYER WILL CONTACT YOU. DO NOT TALK TO ME UNLESS IT IS FOR WORK. STAY AWAY FROM ME!"

She stared at him with her mouth open. "B-but I thought that if I… that you might…"

"NO! NO MEANS NO."

Aine's hand went over her mouth and her eyes filled with tears.

He turned on his heel to find a group of crew members watching them with their mouths open. UGH. GODDAMNIT! He took a breath, composed himself, and then looked at the closest one. "Where is Director Date? I need to speak with him. Now."

The crew member pointed a shaking finger down another hallway and Kuu bowed to her. "Thank you." He went down that hall and found the Director sitting on a bench with headphones on, listening to a CD player and going over some paperwork. Kuu tapped him on the shoulder, and the Director pulled his headphones off.

"Hozu-san. You look… red today."

Kuu huffed and ran his hand through his hair. "That might be because I was just yelling at Yamada-san."

The Director sat up a little straighter. "What happened?"

"She kissed me outside and made sure the paparazzi were there for it."

The Director sighed and shut off his CD player. "Is it really such a big deal, Hozu-san? You're photographed with a different woman every other week, aren't you?"

Kuu leaned forward and whispered into the man's ear. "I married Julie this morning. She's pregnant with our first child, Hirotaka."

The Director froze. "Okay, that is a problem." He put his CD player in his bag and turned back to Kuu. "As unfortunate as this is, we are almost done shooting Tsukigomori. We have just a few more episodes. I know that this is not an easy ask, Shuuhei, but I really need you to put up with her until this is done."

Kuu fixed him with a glare. "Then I'm going to need you to tell her to keep her hands to herself and to stay away from me outside of our scenes. I don't want to walk away from this project, Hirotaka, but I'm not going to be accused of being unfaithful to my wife."

The Director looked Kuu in his eye. "Neither one of us can afford for you to walk away from this project right now. I'm going to do what I can."

Kuu exhaled, his anger abating only slightly. "Thank you."

He went to get his hair and makeup done. The rest of the day was a blur. The news of his fight with Aine had spread throughout the crew, and everyone was keeping their distance. Kuu wanted to pull his hair out. He had yelled at the young woman, had reduced her to tears, and everyone around him thought he was a piece of shit for it. But they didn't know what was going on behind closed doors. They didn't know about the panties she had left in his trailer, or the banana she had deep throated in front of him, or all the unwanted hugs and passes made at him. He had wanted to spend that day glowing over the fact that he had married the most beautiful, perfect woman in the entire world, not fighting a headache from the stress of having been set up by his co-star.

By the time he finished his last scene for the day, Kuu felt like his brain was going to explode. He could feel his pulse behind his eyeballs as he undressed to go home. He was not looking forward to having to explain the day's events to Julie. He was dreading her response to it. Once his clothes were back on, he headed back out to the parking lot, only to be accosted by several news cameras.

"Hozu-san! Is it true that you've asked Aine Yamada to marry you!?"

"Can you comment about your kiss this afternoon!?"

"How long have you had a relationship with Yamada-san!?"

He pushed his way through them to his car, keeping his head down. How the hell did it come to this?

He managed to make it to the Jag. Thankfully, the press backed away as he pulled out of the lot. He stopped at a red light a few minutes later and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Fuck me sideways," he murmured under his breath. He had attempted to call Julie during his lunch break but had been unable to get ahold of her. He imagined that she had gone to lunch with her mother; Tora and Tatiana were only in town for another week. He could only hope that she hadn't seen any of this mess on television.

When he arrived at their apartment, he parked the car in the parking garage and entered the building through the private elevator. He trudged down the hall, but as soon as he saw their door, a little bit of the stress faded. He smiled. Seeing Julie will make this better.

He opened the door, and a styrofoam container of soup exploded on the wall next to his head. He jumped and ducked as the next container of sushi whizzed over him.

"Whoa, Julie! Wait!"

She stood there, her fists clenched at her sides, her eyes puffy from crying. "For WHAT? Did you invite that slut to dinner, too!?" She had seen the media coverage on TV when she got home from lunch with her parents. She had sat down on their new sofa to watch an afternoon talk show and perhaps take a nap, and when she had seen Aine Yamada's lips close on those of her husband, her heart had fallen into her stomach. She kissed him, she thought, he didn't want this. And then Kuu had grabbed Aine's hand and smiled for the cameras. Julie had stared at the screen in complete and utter shock. She had spent the time between then and now catastrophizing and spiraling into a world of anger and hurt that she had never been in before.

"Julie, it's not like that!"

"THEN WHAT THE FUCK IS IT LIKE, KUU?"

He shut the front door behind him so the neighbors wouldn't hear, and Julie stomped down the hall to lock herself in their bedroom. He followed after her and rested his forehead against the door.

"Julienna, you know I would never do that to you."

"I don't think I know you very well at all, Kuu. I'm starting to think that Lana was right. This was a mistake!" Kuu winced. Lana, right? Since when?

"Julie, she kissed me! I didn't want to kiss her! The only reason I grabbed her hand and kept my cool was for the cameras. I never ever meant to hurt you. Please, can we talk about this?" He heard her sobbing through the door and his heart throbbed in his chest. "Fuck. Please, Julie, don't cry. I swear to you that this wasn't my idea. I went to Date and told him I'll fucking quit if she keeps this up."

She sniffled. "How am I supposed to trust you?"

"Julienna, I will do whatever it takes to fix this. I can't lose you. I don't want to lose our baby. Please, Julie, open the door."

She was silent for a moment, and then the lock clicked and she opened the door. Kuu felt like he might be sick when he saw the tears on her face. She went to the bed and sat down on the edge. He came to sit on his knees before her.

"You tell me what you want done, and I will do it. If you want me to quit Tsukigomori, consider it done. This stress isn't good for you or the baby, and you both mean more to me than any fucking project."

Julie sniffled and wiped her eyes on the back of her hoodie sleeve. "I can't stand it, Kuu. I hate sneaking around. I feel like your dirty little secret that you're ashamed of."

Kuu stared up at her, wide-eyed. "Julie, you know that's not why I want to keep this a secret. I don't want the media to mob you in your condition." He took her hand. "I'm scared that a fan would hurt you, that you couldn't defend yourself because of the baby. I am not ashamed of you, my love. I wouldn't marry a woman that I'm ashamed of."

She frowned at her lap. "Unless you knocked her up on accident and felt like you had to take responsibility for it."

He shook his head. "I married you because I can laugh with you. I enjoy the time we spend together more than anything else, and I'm completely head over heels in fucking love with you. While it's true that I would have liked to have planned when to have our baby, our baby has little to do with our marriage. It's true that the kid sped things up, but marrying you was inevitable." He kissed her knuckles. "What do you need me to do? How can I fix this?"

Julie cleared her throat. "I want you to go public about us. I can't live in the shadows for the next five months watching while Banana Slut and every other woman in Japan tries to fuck you."

Kuu considered that for a moment. "On one condition."

Julie glared at him. "You're putting conditions on this after what's gone on?"

"My condition is that after I do this, you don't go out alone. I want a bodyguard with you at all times."

"Kuu, you're being paranoid."

"Julie, I have had nightmares about this since we found out you were pregnant. If someone were to hurt you or the baby," he choked up, "I would never forgive myself."

Julie saw the fear in his eyes and finally gave him a small nod. "Okay. I'll ask Daddy if he can get me one."

Kuu let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you. Now," he stood up and held his arms open "Can I hug you? It's been a really shitty day."

She stood up and hugged him. The arm of his suit jacket was covered in soup. "I'm really sorry I threw your dinner at your head. I don't know what came over me."

He laughed. "You thought I was fucking Banana Girl behind your back. I'm lucky it was styrofoam and not the new dishes."

"Still, I shouldn't have thrown things at you. I'm sorry. I'll go clean it up."

He pulled away from her and shrugged off his jacket. "You will do no such thing. All of this stress isn't good for Kuon. I want you to relax and finish your dinner. I'll take care of the mess."

She shook her head with a small smile. "There you go, assuming the baby's a boy again."

Kuu rolled up his sleeves and patted her belly. "You hear that, buddy? Your mom's losing it. We'll show her tomorrow, won't we?" Their 16 week appointment was set for the following day. Assuming all went as planned, they would be learning the sex of their baby.

Julie laughed. "If it turns out to be a girl, I don't want to hear any whining out of you."

He smirked. "You won't, because it's a boy."

She swatted him playfully as he went out to the living room to clean up the soup and sushi mess.

The next day, they arrived at the clinic early. They took the Jag instead of a cab this time. If they were spotted, it wouldn't make much difference. Kuu had called Lory that morning to set up an interview with Channel 8 for the following day. For better or worse, he would be disclosing his relationship with Julie, and their pregnancy, to the public.

As they waited in the waiting room, he still had his cap and sunglasses on; though they were going public, he didn't want anyone recognizing him and pestering them while they waited to find out the sex of their baby.

A nurse called them back to the examination room. They went back, and the nurse took Julie's vitals, asked her a few questions, and then the doctor came in. After shaking their hands, he washed his hands in the sink. "So, will you two want to know the sex today, or do you want to be surprised?"

Kuu chuckled. "I have to prove to my wife that she's carrying my son, so the sooner we find out, the better."

Julie rolled her eyes. "Don't make me hold off on finding out the sex just to spite you."

The doctor laughed at them. "So, assuming the baby isn't being shy, we're finding out?"

Julie nodded. "Yes, and if it's a girl, my husband owes me a massage."

Kuu smiled and leaned back in his chair, glowing after being called her husband. He didn't think he'd ever get used to that. "I'll take that bet."

Julie lay back on the examination table and lifted her shirt. The doctor applied some jelly to her small bump and moved the ultrasound wand over her skin. He looked over the screen.

"Development looks good. Baby's the size it should be. Everything looks normal." He moved the wand over a bit and chuckled. He turned the screen so they could see. "And if you look right here, you will see that Mr. Hizuri has won the bet."

Julie clapped a hand over her eyes. "Oh, I'm never going to hear the end of this!"

Kuu laughed and kissed her cheek, elated that he had been right.

The doctor passed a towel to Julie to clean the gel off of her belly. "Congratulations to the both of you. I'll see you again in a month!" He left the room, and as soon as the door shut, Kuu smiled at Julie.

"I'm sorry if I've been a pain in the ass about this. You know I would have been excited if we were having a girl, too, right?"

Julie giggled as she finished cleaning the gel off of her belly and sat up. "I know."

Kuu took her hand and helped her down off the examination table. "Are you excited? Or would you have preferred a girl?"

Julie shook her head. "I never had a preference. I just want our baby to be healthy and happy and loved."

He hugged her. "And he will be." He paused. "You know, we never established what I would get if I won the bet…"

Julie looked up at him through her lashes. "And what prize do you have in mind?"

What he had in mind was taking his wife home, stripping her naked, and having his way with her in every way that he could think to possibly have his way with her. But his thoughts turned to the baby. Shit… I don't want to hurt Kuon. He smiled. "You have to let me give you a massage."

Julie giggled and kissed him. "I love you."

He looked deep into her eyes. "I love you, too." He checked his watch. "I have an hour before work. Shall I take you for ice cream?"

Julie's appetite still had not returned properly, so when Kuu offered to feed her, she went along with it just to make him feel better. "Sure."

They walked to a nearby park where he knew there was an ice cream stand. They got their cups of ice cream and sat on a bench. The leaves had just begun to change from green to red and orange and gold, but it was still warm outside.

As they ate, Kuu looked over at Julie. The breeze was blowing her hair away from her shoulders, and the sun was filtering through it, turning it to a fiery golden cascade down the back of the bench. Julie caught him looking and smiled.

"What?"

He smiled. "You're just beautiful, that's all." They finished their ice cream and walked back to the Jag hand-in-hand. Maybe, he thought, telling everyone won't be so bad.