Katsuki Tachibana's revenge plot against the Hongos was about to thicken. The cast of Tsukigomori met in the parking lot of a school building that they had rented out for the show. Today would be the day that Katsuki would meet Misao and Mio's cousin, Mizuki. Today would be the day that Katsuki Tachibana fell in love. Director Date went over how they would shoot everything once they got inside. They only had use of the building on weekends, and so they needed to be as precise as possible to get the scenes that they needed.

The actress who played Mizuki, Aine Yamada, was 17. As such, Kuu was shocked at the boldness with which she approached him. Several times she had tried to make him food, or invite him out with her friends. Director Date had even scolded her on several occasions to pull her skirt back down to an appropriate length. When it came to acting with her, they managed to do so very well, but after the scene was over…

Kuu sighed exasperatedly as Aine clung to his arm. "Please, Hozu-san!? You should have lunch with me! I made you a bento and everything!"

Kuu managed to shake her off with a smile. "I'm sorry, Yamada-san, but I'm already having lunch with someone else." A lie.

"But Hozu-san–!"

"There you are!"

Kuu turned and his mouth fell open as Julie made her approach. She was wearing light blue denim overalls with a pink crop top underneath. The hair at the crown of her head was brushed into a ponytail and held there with a big, fat neon pink scrunchie. She was carrying a plastic bag. He did his best to school his features as she walked up to him. "Julie-san. What a surprise."

She giggled. "Did you forget, silly? We're having lunch together today!"

Kuu blinked and then the lightbulb went off. Julie had heard Aine badgering him and was there to save him. "Ah, of course I haven't forgotten!" He turned to Aine and bowed. "Please excuse me, Yamada-san."

Aine stared after them, her mouth hanging open. Bitch!

When they were out of sight, Kuu relaxed. "Thank you, Julie-san."

She giggled. "It was my pleasure. Besides," she turned the most amazing shade of pink as she held up her bag, "I did bring you lunch, if you want it."

Kuu forgot to breathe. She brought me lunch? ME? He did his best to keep his voice from cracking from his excitement as he answered. "That is very kind of you. Thank you." He led the way to his trailer and she unloaded the contents of the bag onto the table.

It was just a simple meal of grilled chicken and vegetables, but his excitement was palpable. "I wanted to make you something as a thank you for the other night," she said. "I hope it tastes okay."

Kuu smiled. "I'm sure it will be fantastic, Julie-san. You didn't have to do this, really." He loaded his chopsticks and took a bite. Upon tasting Julie's chicken, he silently thanked every acting coach and mentor that he had ever had. She had used entirely too much salt, and he could barely swallow the mouthful he had taken. He took a breath and managed to swallow it as naturally as possible. He took a drink from his water bottle. "It's very good, thank you."

Julie ate her own chicken and winced. "I think I overdid it on the salt."

Kuu shook his head with the most genuine smile. "I think it's great just how it is."

She frowned down at her bento box. "You don't have to lie, Kuu-san. I know I'm not a great cook. I just didn't know how else to thank you for the other night."

He saw the sadness in her eyes and immediately shoveled another mouthful in. If it meant making this girl happy, he could eat an entire dumpster of trash and ask for seconds. He swallowed. "No, I really mean it, Julie-san. It's very good. Thank you." He put his chopsticks down. "But I told you that you didn't have to worry about thanking me. I'm just glad that you're safe."

She nodded. "I know, but you were so kind." And really cute, and I think you might like me, too, she thought, but couldn't work up the courage to say. She still wasn't totally sure if he had done what he had done because he had feelings for her, or if he was simply being nice. When she had gotten back to her hotel (after giving her statement at the police station and making sure that Nose Ring Guy would rot), she had collapsed on the bed and laid there for about an hour just thinking about how sweet Kuu had been. That was when she had decided to make him food, and also not to return his pajamas. They smelled like him, and he smelled nice.

She noticed that his right hand was in a splint as he ate. "Oh my goodness! Did you actually break your hand!?"

Kuu put his hand under the table sheepishly. He had, in fact, broken his hand and had the boxer's break splinted two days previously. "It's really not as bad as it looks–"

Julie gave him a watery look. "I'm so sorry, Kuu-san. Does it hurt?"

He reached over the table and put his good hand over hers. "No, and I don't want you worrying about it. I didn't have to punch that guy. It's my fault that I hurt myself, not yours."

"Why did you hit him?"

Kuu froze. He had not been anticipating that question. He couldn't possibly tell her that he felt like he was going mad thinking about her and that seeing another man treat her that way had infuriated him to the point of violence. "I didn't want him to get away before the police came."

"Oh." Was it Kuu's imagination, or did she look disappointed?

A knock came at the door of the trailer. "Come in!"

The door opened and Director Date stepped in. "Hozu-san," He saw Julie and bowed. "And Julie-san! I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

Julie shook her head and started packing up her things. "Not at all, Date-san. I was just leaving."

Kuu opened his mouth as if to say something, but then thought better of it. It had been less than a week since that night at the club, and he didn't want to come on too strong in case Julie was still upset about what had happened.

Julie got everything back into her bag and set her hand gently on Kuu's splint. "I hope your hand heals quickly, Kuu-san."

He smiled up at her. "It already feels better, Julie. Thank you."

She noted his lack of honorifics, and it only served to confuse her further. "Um… bye!" She raced out of the trailer, leaving Hirotaka Date to chuckle at Kuu, who had put his forehead down on the table.

"Girl problems, Hozu-san?"

Kuu sighed. "Something like that. What did you need, Director-san?"

"Actually," he said with a sly grin, "I was just making sure that Yamada-san hadn't found her way in here."

Kuu frowned. "You really think I'd sneak an underaged girl in here?"

Director Date laughed. "No, but I wouldn't put it past the underaged girl to sneak herself in here. I just want you to know, I see how she's been tailing you, and I'm sorry."

Kuu waved his hand at him. "It's not your fault."

The Director sat down in the chair that Julie had occupied. "So… Julie Duris, huh? Are you dating her, or what?"

Kuu rested his chin on his palm. "I'm trying, Hirotaka. But this girl is a lot harder to land than most."

Director Date laughed. "You're Shuuhei Hozu, and you're telling me you can't get a date?"

Kuu shook his head. "No. I'm telling you that Julie Duris is special, and that my normal bag of tricks aren't going to work."

Hirotaka raised his eyebrows. "Special, huh?" He got to his feet. "Well, I wish you luck, my friend. You're going to need it if you insist on pussy-footing around."

Kuu sighed heavily and followed him out of the trailer and back to set.

The following days were interesting. Julie kept making excuses to see Kuu. The second day, she appeared with burgers "To make up for the bad bento the day before," she had said. Kuu had eaten lunch with her once more, and they had talked about their families. Kuu had told her that his grandparents and mother had passed, and that he had no siblings. Julie, on the other hand, had both of her parents and a sister, Svetlana, who had apparently just gotten married and was expecting her first child.

"Are you excited about being an aunt?"

Julie had almost glowed. "I can't wait to meet the baby. I've always wanted one of my own. What about you?"

Kuu smiled. "I'd love to have kids once the time is right. I don't have any other family, so it would be nice to have one again."

Julie frowned and put her hand over his. "I'm really sorry, Kuu. I didn't mean to touch a sore spot."

His stomach flipped at her touch. "Oh, please don't apologize. I'm happy. I've been blessed with plenty of friends and a great job." When she smiled at him, he could feel the heat rising in his cheeks.

"Well," she said, "I hope you find the right person soon."

I already have, he thought miserably.

On the third day, Julie had "remembered" to bring Kuu's pajamas back to him… and had also brought him another lunch. They ate together, and Kuu had fought himself the entire time to not compliment her. She had been wearing a short black pinafore skirt that showed off her legs, with a white t-shirt underneath. Though she had brought the pajamas back to him, she seemed loath to give them up. Of course, that was because she had been. The pajamas were the only valid reason she could think of to see him again, and so they had to go.

On the fourth day, Kuu was sitting in his dressing room when there was a knock on the door. "It's open."

When Julie walked in, his heart leapt. After she had returned his pajamas the day before, he figured she wouldn't have a reason to see him anymore, and that he would have to start inventing his own reasons to see her. She closed the door behind her and put her back against it. "Kuu, do you like me?"

Kuu's mouth fell open as he searched his brain for the correct way to answer that question. Finally, he gave in and admitted the truth. "I… yes. I do like you, Julie."

Her bright green eyes met his. The intensity in them made his mouth go dry. "Then why haven't you asked me out yet?"

Kuu got up from his chair and came to stand before her. "After what happened at the club, I didn't want to do the wrong thing. I was trying to be polite."

She seized his tie and pulled him in for a kiss. His brain short-circuited for a moment, and then he wrapped his arms around her and pressed her back against the door. She broke their kiss and looked up at him. "You can stop being polite now."

He rested his forehead against hers and chuckled. "What a relief."

She raised her eyebrow. "Don't you have something you want to ask me, Kuu?"

He started. Ah! Shit! "Julie, do you want to go on a date with me?"

She giggled. "I thought you would never ask."

Kuu grinned. "I'm glad I did. So, where are we going?"

"Dayjowey Land!"

Kuu laughed and pulled back from her so he could look in her eyes. "Dayjowey Land? Not a candlelit dinner type of girl, huh?"

Julie blushed. "Is that a problem?" Previous dates had made fun of her for being a Dayjowey fan at her age. She hoped that Kuu wouldn't be like that.

Kuu shook his head. "Not at all. I'm looking forward to getting to know you better."

Julie pressed her body against his, and he felt all of his blood rush South. "Me too."

His lips met hers once more, and his good hand tangled in the hair at the back of her head.

Someone knocked at the door. "Hozu-san?"

He broke their kiss. "What!?"

"I–uh, sorry, sir. Director Date needs you back on set."

Julie hid her giggling face in Kuu's chest.

Kuu sighed in frustration and reined himself in. Shuuhei Hozu couldn't be rude, no matter how turned on he was. "I'll be there in five!" He looked down at Julie. "I'm so sorry."

She kissed his cheek. "Don't be. I'll see you Friday, okay?"

"Definitely. I'll pick you up in the morning. Is 10 okay?"

She nodded. "I'll see you then."

Julie disappeared out the door, and Kuu stood there, just soaking in the moment. And then he punched the air. Fuck yeah!

Kuu spent the next two days agonizing over the details of the date. Finally, Friday morning rolled around. He hadn't slept much because of the excitement, so he had an extra strong cup of coffee. As he ate his breakfast, he started to get nervous. If they were going to be together for most of the day, that meant he was going to have to eat in front of her. He ate an extra large breakfast in the hope that it would tide him over until dinner at least so he could try to eat normal-sized portions throughout the day.

Across town, Julie was doing the same. She shoveled an ungodly amount of toast, omelet, sausage, and fruit into her mouth as she mulled over what to wear. The weather report on TV said that it would be a warm day, which wasn't totally unsurprising for the first week of May. After she finished eating, she went over to the dresser in front of the bed and rifled through it. Finally, she decided on a pair of jean shorts with rolled up cuffs, a white tank top, and a light green and gray flannel to wrap around her waist. She fixed her hair into a ponytail on top of her head and put on a little plastic choker. After pronouncing herself cute enough, she checked the time, stuffed her room key, lipstick, and wallet into her back pocket, put her sunglasses on and headed downstairs.

Kuu was waiting in the Jag. When he saw her coming, he got out of the car and opened the passenger door for her. "Good morning," he said. "You look amazing."

Julie took in his gray and tan patterned short sleeve button-up, his shorts, and his baseball cap and sunglasses. Goddamn. Look at those muscles… She smiled and pulled her sunglasses down her nose to appreciate him further. "I was just thinking the same." She slipped past him and into the car, and he shut the door. He did his best to suppress the blush that was threatening to form over his cheeks from her compliment.

When he slid into the driver's seat, Julie looked around the inside of the car. "Bitchin' ride."

Kuu chuckled. "Thank you." The car had been one of his first purchases when he made it big. It meant the world to him. As they drove to the theme park, Julie was explaining very excitedly about everything she wanted to do when they got there. This included food.

"They have cotton candy and pretzels, and snow cones, and hot dogs, and mochi…" she went on and on, causing Kuu's stomach to grumble at him. He laughed good-naturedly.

"That's a lot to eat for one young lady."

Julie clammed up immediately. I forgot I'm not with my family, she thought. I'm on a date. And I can't do all of that in front of him. I'd gross him out for sure. She smiled demurely.

"Maybe, but a girl can dream."

They pulled into the parking lot and made their way to the entrance. Kuu paid for the tickets and Julie grabbed his hand and dragged him through the gates. "I hope you like rides!," she said, as she pulled him toward one that featured giant tea cups. They spent the afternoon hopping from ride to ride. First the tea cups, then a roller coaster, then another roller coaster. During their time waiting in line, they chatted about the park, and childhood memories. Kuu regaled her with the time that he had gone on a school trip to a farm as a child and a goat had butted him in the back of the legs and knocked him over. The way she had laughed had filled him with warmth. He wanted nothing more than to make her laugh like that for the rest of his life.

After their third time on the bumper cars, Julie started feeling hungry. She pointed out a pretzel stall, and Kuu bought them both pretzels and a drink. They ate their pretzels quickly, and both of them felt unsatisfied. As they walked away from the stall, Julie's stomach rumbled loud enough for Kuu to hear it. He stopped.

"Are you okay?," he asked, his brow creased with worry.

Julie blushed with embarrassment. "I–um…," she pulled her wallet out of her back pocket. "I'm still really hungry. I'll buy for myself. I can't ask you to buy me two meals."

He shook his head and put his hand over her wallet. "Nope. I won't hear of it. You get whatever you want."

"...Whatever I want?"

He nodded. "We're on a date, so please let me get it for you."

Julie swallowed nervously. Well, if he can't handle me at my worst, she thought, as she made her way over to another food stand. When she ordered two burgers, a large fry, a large drink, a piece of cake, cotton candy, a funnel cake, a bowl of curry, and two slices of pizza, Kuu stared at her in wonderment. He helped her carry all of the food over to a table, and she started eating it, apologizing through mouthfuls.

"I'm so sorry. I know this is a lot of food. I feel like such a pig. Please don't look."

Julie watched as Kuu walked silently back to the food stall and ordered everything she had ordered, plus some dumplings and mochi. He came back to the table with it and started eating along with her. When they finished, he smiled broadly at her.

"So, you were hiding too, huh?"

She looked down at her lap. "My mother says it's unladylike." A pleasant shiver ran the length of her arm when Kuu took her hand.

"Well, I think it's sexy as hell."

Julie blushed and slid over into the seat next to him to kiss his cheek. They threw away all of their trash and continued on with their fun around the park.

As the sun began to set, Julie pointed over toward the games section of the park. "I bet you can't win me something."

Kuu raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really?"

She smiled. "I bet that you can't win me a goldfish."

He smirked. "And what do I get if I do win you a goldfish?"

"Don't you want to find out?" She set off walking toward the goldfish game, and Kuu's heart picked up speed.

I gotta win a fucking goldfish.

It was a Japanese-style game, where the goldfish had to be scooped out of a small pond with a rice paper scooper and into a bowl to win. Julie giggled at him as he lined up next to half a dozen children to try his luck. Kuu gave the stall operator some money and set about trying to scoop the fish. He saw a cute white one with orange spots and went after it, but the fish was quick. It dodged his scoop quite artfully until the rice paper broke.

He handed over more money and got a fresh scoop. Finally, after several agonizing minutes, and several swear words uttered in his mind only lest the children should hear, Kuu caught the fish. The stall operator bagged it up for him and he presented it to Julie with a smile. "One goldfish, as the lady requested."

Julie took the bag from him with a smile. "Thank you, sir. Now he needs a name!"

Kuu laughed. "I've never named a goldfish before."

Julie shrugged. "It's simple. If you had a baby, what would you name it?"

Kuu shook his head. "Nope. I am not giving my son's name to a goldfish."

Julie's eyebrows shot up. "Your son?"

Kuu cleared his throat. "Hypothetically. I didn't lie to you when I said I didn't have children."

She smiled. "So, hypothetically, if you had a son, what would you call him?"

"I'll tell you, so long as you call the fish Bubbles or something."

Julie laughed. "Done. He's Bubbles."

"Kuon."

Julie thought about it for a moment. "I like it. Kuon Hizuri. It's catchy."

Kuu smiled. "It was my grandfather's name." He gestured at the goldfish. "So, what are you going to do with Bubbles?"

Julie walked over to the game stall and approached a child that had been trying unsuccessfully to get a fish. She handed the bag to the little boy, who ran away excitedly to show his parents. When she came back to Kuu, he was sulking.

"That took me forever to get, you know."

Julie stood on her tip toes and kissed him. The hair on the back of his neck stood up as, for the briefest of seconds, her tongue found its way into his mouth. She broke away and looked up at him, the lights from the game stalls dancing in her eyes. "Take me home, Kuu. We have a bet to settle."

They made their way back to the Jag, and Kuu did his level best to observe the speed limit on the way back to Julie's hotel. This was made doubly hard when Julie began stroking the inside of his thigh with her fingertips. When they got there, he gave his keys to the valet and he and Julie headed inside. Once they were in the elevator, alone, Julie pressed him against the wall and kissed him. They made out for a moment before the elevator stopped at the right floor, and then Julie took him by the hand and pulled him down the hallway.

She put the key card in the door and pulled him inside the room, kicking the door shut before grabbing him by the shirt and bringing him in for another kiss. She broke away from him and wiggled out of her tank top before disposing of it on the floor. Kuu picked her up and set her on the counter by the door and trailed love bites down the side of her neck as she ripped the buttons of his shirt open to reveal the hard planes of his chest. He unhooked her nude lace bra. She shrugged it off, and he took one of her petal pink nipples into his mouth. She leaned back against the mirror as he sucked on each of her nipples in turn. Kuu shrugged his ruined shirt off and pulled her off of the counter and over his shoulder.

"Kuu!," she squealed as he carried her over to the bed. He deposited her on the mattress and kissed down her chest to her belly.

"So," he asked between kisses, "What are the terms of our bet?"

Julie reached down and turned his chin up with her fingertips to look him in the eyes. "Fuck me."

He pulled her shorts and panties off with a sly smile. "Do you have protection?"

"Drawer next to the bed."

Kuu pulled the drawer open and took out a condom. He pulled his pants and underwear off and kicked them away. When Julie saw exactly what she was working with, she whined. "Hurry up!"

He tore the packaging open with his teeth and rolled the condom over his shaft. He pulled Julie to the side of the bed and flipped her over. When he leaned over her from behind and kissed her neck and shoulders, goosebumps appeared on her back. "Is this okay?," he asked.

She pressed her butt firmly against him, and he groaned. Fuck.

"Just do it!"

He pushed inside of her, and she gasped as her toes curled into the carpet. She had been fantasizing about him for a week, and now finally she was getting what she wanted. He grabbed her hips and started thrusting hard and slow. Julie grabbed two handfuls of the comforter as she relished the feel of him inside of her and the warmth of him on her back. He increased his speed, and she felt like she was going out of her mind. Pleasure coiled in her like a spring, and when it released, she cried out against the covers.

Kuu ran his fingertips down her spine as she lay there collecting herself. He found himself appreciating the velvety softness of her skin and the soft curves of her hips and back. He pressed into her once more, and found her ready again. This time, he grabbed a handful of her hair as he fucked her. Instead of moaning into the bed, she had no choice but to let her voice ring out around the room. His thrusts became harder and more savage as he got closer to his own climax, and every cell in her body responded wanting more. Her back arched as she came again, and Kuu kissed her over her shoulder. He moaned and his hips shuddered as he hit his peak.

He braced himself above her as he withdrew and kissed her shoulders. "Are you okay?"

She laughed breathlessly. "I'll be okay if you can keep up that pace all night."

He smirked and retrieved the box of condoms to put on a new one. "Be careful what you wish for."