The following morning, Kuu woke up with his arm draped over Julie's waist. He cuddled closer to her under the covers and kissed the back of her neck. "Are you awake?," he whispered.

Julie groaned and turned over so her face was against his chest. "No."

He chuckled silently and rested his chin on top of her head. "Me either."

She pulled away and looked up at him. "I'm kinda surprised you're still here."

He blinked. "Why is that surprising?"

"Well… you got what you wanted. So I figured you'd get up and go while I slept."

He frowned. "Did it occur to you that maybe I want more from you than just sex?"

She blushed. "I hoped. But I've hoped that before with other guys."

He put his forehead against hers. "Those other guys are morons."

"So," she started quietly, "What is this?"

Kuu smiled. "It's whatever you want it to be. If you want me to be your boyfriend, then that's what I am. If you only want to be friends with benefits and have sex a couple of times a week, then that's what I'll do. But," he added, "I would prefer to be your boyfriend and have sex a couple of times a week."

Julie hid her face in her hands and laughed. She peeked between her fingers at him. "So you're okay with my Dayjowey obsession?"

"Uh-huh."

"And you're okay with me eating as much as three people at every meal?"

"Only if you're okay with me doing the exact same."

"Okay then. Kuu Hizuri, you're my boyfriend."

They shared a kiss, and then Kuu sat up. He only had maybe four hours of sleep, but he had never been in a better mood. The words 'you're my boyfriend' set every cell in his body ablaze. He got up out of bed, pulled his pants on and crossed the room to his shirt which lay on the floor with half the buttons busted off. He smirked and held it up for Julie to see. "That was hot, but maybe don't do that all the time."

Her eyes sparkled with mischief. "I make no promises."

He put the ruined shirt on and checked the time. "Shit," he said, "I'm going to be late for filming." He caught a look at himself in the mirror over the counter and winced. And I look like I've been fucking a girl all night. He looked over at said girl and immediately felt like crawling back into bed with her. Julie was pulling her shorts back on, but her perfectly round, perky breasts were still on display. They were covered in hickeys. He picked her bra and tank top up off of the floor and walked them over to her.

She took them from him with a sheepish smile and put them on. "So… when do I get to see you again?"

He sat on the edge of the bed and pulled his shoes on. "If you want to come have lunch with me, you can." Every day, for the rest of our lives, he thought to himself.

Julie smiled. "Okay. Should I bring you something?"

He shook his head. "We can just eat the lunch they have there. They know how I eat." He stood up and pulled her into his arms. "Thank you for last night. That's the best date I've ever had."

"Same here." She kissed him.

After a moment, he disentangled himself from her and headed for the door. "I'll see you later, okay?"

"Yeah," she said. "See you!"

He got his Jag back from the valet and drove to the school set. He was about a half hour late. He had buttoned what buttons he could on his shirt, but it was still obvious that someone had ripped it off of him. Director Date saw him approach and his eyes went wide.

"Uh… Hozu-san," he said, scurrying over to him, "Are you aware that you're covered in hickeys? And your hair is a mess?" The Director looked like he might be sick.

Kuu had enough shame to blush. "Can hair and makeup take care of it?"

Director Date covered his eyes with his hand. Of all the days… "Yes, but please hurry. My son is on set today, and I don't want him to see you like that and ask questions." The director's son had been spending more time at work with his father. As he was a well-behaved child, Director Date brought him to set so he could spend time with him between scenes. He had figured that the set of Tsukigomori would be innocuous enough, but that had come back to bite him. The last thing he needed was for his son, who was just out of diapers, to ask what was on Hozu-san's neck.

Kuu hustled into hair and makeup, where the ladies were a mix of scandalized and giddy about his appearance. It was the first time he had come to work like that. Most times when he slept with a girl, he did not stay the night. He left, went home, got a shower and plenty of sleep… but those girls had not been Julie.

After they had applied a ton of makeup to hide all of the hickeys over his neck, and after coiffing his hair into its proper place, they sent him to wardrobe. Once he was dressed, he came out to find Lory leaning against the wall with a large fast food bag in one hand and a coffee in the other. He was wearing a shit-eating grin.

"So, I heard that the cat dragged you in this morning."

Kuu chuckled. "Maybe."

He handed the bag and the coffee to Kuu, who thanked him and then dug in while they were standing there.

"So," asked Lory, "Was it Julie? Please, please say it was Julie." His bottom lip was quivering.

Kuu shook his head. "I really shouldn't discuss this with you."

Lory clapped excitedly. "Ah, it was Julie! I'm so happy for you, my friend!"

Kuu inhaled the first breakfast sandwich and started on the next. "Thank you."

"So, are you exclusive now?"

Kuu smiled begrudgingly at his friend. "Yes."

Lory felt like taking a victory lap. "Oh, you have to tell me how it happened! I need details, Kuu!"

Kuu took another bite of the second breakfast sandwich and narrowed his eyes on Lory. "Pervert."

Lory laughed. "Not those details! Who asked who out!? Where was your first date!?"

Kuu rolled his eyes. "That's between myself and Julie." Those details weren't scandalous at all, but Lory was being entirely too nosy.

Lory pouted. I'm going to have to hire someone to follow people when I can't so I don't miss all the important developments… "You're mean." He snatched the fast food bag away from Kuu. "I'm leaving and taking my food with me."

Kuu's mouth popped open in dismay as he watched Lory leave with the food. After all the physical activity of the previous night, he was famished. That was where Director Date found him. The Director looked him over, and some of the color returned to his face.

"Thank god for hair and makeup. Come on, you're needed on set."

When they got to the gymnasium, Kuu frowned. He had forgotten that Katsuki and Mizuki had a scene where she was dressed in her gym clothes. Aine saw him coming and started doing stretches. She was wearing a blue leotard with a gray and blue sweater over it. Her brown hair was done up in a ponytail. Kuu did his best to ignore her, but she hailed him as she held onto her ankles, trying to provide him an excellent view of her ass.

"Good afternoon, Hozu-san! I'm excited to shoot our scenes today!"

He pasted a smile on and waved at her half-heartedly. "Yes, let's get them all done in one take!" God knows I don't want to do any more than that.

They took their places, and Kuu took a moment to melt away into Katsuki. When the Director called for action, he was ready. Katsuki was crossing through the gym to get to the teacher's lounge when a soccer ball sailed through the air toward him. He caught it in his hands and looked up to see Mizuki running toward him. "I'm so sorry, Tachibana-sensei! The ball got away from me!"

Katsuki swallowed hard. Misao was a spoiled brat, Mio was a monster, but Mizuki… Mizuki was sweet. Her brown eyes were big and kind, and he found himself lost in them for a moment. She stopped in front of him and tilted her head to the side. "Um… Tachibana-sensei, are you okay?"

He started and handed the ball to her. "Sorry, Hongo-san. My mind is elsewhere today."

She smiled prettily at him. "Your wedding is coming up so soon. It's not surprising that it's hard to concentrate."

He smiled, but his thoughts were anything but happy. He didn't want to marry Misao. Misao was just a tool to hurt her father, to cause him suffering that equaled Katsuki's. Katsuki cursed the patriarch of the Hongo family in his head. "You should get back to practice, Hongo-san."

Mizuki jumped. "Oh! Of course. Thank you for stopping my ball, Tachibana-sensei." She turned to run back to the group of students and Katsuki watched her go, admiring her legs as she ran. He shook his head and kept walking.

They shot several more scenes, and then broke for lunch. Kuu was waiting next to the craft services table for Julie when Aine approached him again.

She sidled up to the table and leaned over it toward him. She had taken the sweater off and was left in just the leotard. Kuu took a step back away from her cleavage. "Hozu-san," she purred, "I heard you came in covered in hickeys this morning! So naughty."

His jaw clenched and he dropped his friendly facade. "That is not something I'm going to discuss with a teenager, Yamada-san."

"You know," she said, ignoring his unfriendliness, "I'll be 18 in three weeks."

"Congratulations," said Kuu, wanting to be anywhere but there.

Aine winked at him, picked up a banana from the table, and peeled it. "Just in case you change your mind." She licked up the side of it and put most of it in her mouth. Kuu stared after her in shock as she walked away.

"Well, that was interesting." He turned around to find Julie giggling into her hand. "I guess I have competition."

Kuu went to her and took her by the hands. "I would have to be interested in her for her to be competition. How are you feeling?"

Julie kissed him. "I got a shower and took a nap before I came over, so I'm great."

Kuu smirked. "Lucky."

They grabbed plates from the craft services table and were on their way to sit and eat when Julie felt a tug on the hem of her shirt. She looked down into the eyes of a little boy with a runny nose. She looked him over, and blinked.

"Oh my goodness! You look like a tiny Director Date!" She cooed. The Director's son, Hiroaki, blushed and nodded. He was only four, but for as long as he could remember, everyone had always compared him to his father. He pointed up at the table.

"What do you want me to get for you, buddy?" Julie asked. He froze up. He had obviously inherited not only his father's looks, but his nerves as well. Julie handed her plate to Kuu and knelt down to be at the child's level. "You can tell me! You can whisper it if you want." The child smiled sheepishly and whispered in her ear. Julie patted him on the head and retrieved a cookie from a plate at the back of the table. She handed it to him. "There you go." He bowed to her and hurried away with his prize. She giggled watching him go. "So, did Date just clone himself, or what?"

Kuu laughed. "It certainly looks that way. I'm sure his mother is quite disappointed that he looks nothing like her."

Julie smiled. "It would probably be the same if we had one, you know."

A jarful of butterflies seemed to open inside of Kuu's stomach at the prospect of fathering a baby with Julie. The thought excited him, as he would love to have a family with her, but also terrified him. Fatherhood seemed eons away at that point in his career. He kept his cool and shook his head. "I certainly hope not. It would be a shame if they didn't at least get your eyes."

A soft pink blush settled over Julie's cheeks. "Smooth talker."

They ate their lunch together, and then a set assistant came to fetch Kuu for the next scene. Julie walked him to the set.

"So," she said, "I'm going to be busy this week. There's a fashion show that I'm walking in, and an ad campaign that I'm being photographed for. But I'm free on Wednesday if you are?"

Kuu smiled. "It's a date."

Julie looked over his shoulder to find Aine Yamada glowering at her. She smirked and pulled Kuu down by his tie to kiss him. Goosebumps seemed to settle on every inch of his skin; he hadn't expected such an open display of affection. When Julie pulled away from him, she winked. "See you Wednesday."

Kuu watched the sway of her hips as she made her exit and silently thanked the costumers for the baggy crotch of the pants he was wearing.

He turned his attention back to the scene. He took his place at the teacher's desk at the head of the room. He would be looking out the window as if watching Mizuki practice with her sports team in the school yard. He sat with his chin propped up on his palm when the Director called for action.

"See something you enjoy, Tachibana-sensei?"

Katsuki's startled reaction was almost imperceptible. Almost. He turned to face the door of the room. Mio stood with her back to the closed door, wearing her mangled smirk.

"Mio-san, why are you here? Aren't you supposed to be studying?"

Mio crossed the room slowly and looked out of the window. "I've completed my studying for the day, so I thought I might come and visit my future brother-in-law." Her dark eyes darted back and forth over the ground outside until she found her target. "Ah. Cousin Mizuki."

A chill crept up Katsuki's spine as Mio turned to face him. "Do you fancy her, sensei?"

That question was one that Katsuki was currently trying to answer for himself. Mizuki Hongo was beautiful, cheerful, and kind despite having lost her own family in a tragic accident. Katsuki had found himself warming to the girl. Mio didn't wait for an answer. "It would be a shame if my poor, beautiful, perfect sister were to find her husband-to-be in bed with our sweet cousin." Her tone made it seem like she would love to see the look on her sister's face if that scenario came to pass.

At that, Katsuki's cheeks colored. "Mio-san, watch your mouth. Mizuki-san is underage and my student. You could get me in trouble talking like that."

Then, Mio did laugh. "Apologies, Tachibana-sensei. Of course, I would never want to get you into trouble," she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"I think you should go home." He spoke with as much authority as he could muster in the moment. Katsuki hoped that the scary girl would listen to him, and leave quickly.

Mio smiled. "Oh, I seem to have touched a nerve. I'll leave." She made her way back to the door of the classroom and stopped. "Have a good night, Katsuki." She left out the door, and Katsuki released the breath he had been holding.

He looked back down into the yard and sighed in frustration. Shit. He hadn't been counting on all of the complications that currently faced him. Mio was on to him. He knew it, but he wasn't sure what she was planning to do, or what exactly she knew or suspected. She hated Misao, he was sure of it, though whether that hatred was born of jealousy or some other motive, he couldn't say. It was possible that she would just let his plot play out, as it appeared to favor her own machinations. But, Katsuki thought, she might still need to be removed.

While Mio made him uneasy, the more dangerous issue at hand was Mizuki. Beautiful, kind Mizuki with her smile that was like sunshine and her rosy cheeks and joyous demeanor. Katsuki stood up and pulled the shade down over the window. He would not let Mizuki sway his heart. His family would be avenged.

"Cut! Thank you both. Let's set up for the next scene!"

Kuu approached Hiroko Iizuka and bowed to her. "Iizuka-san, your Mio is a joy to act against. I appreciate that you're taking this so seriously. Thank you."

She arched an eyebrow at him. "I'm glad that at least one of us is taking this seriously, Hozu-san."

He blinked. "Excuse me?"

"The way you showed up to work today was entirely unprofessional. Everyone else is too afraid to say anything, because you're Shuuhei Hozu, but you should know that I personally find this behavior inappropriate for work."

Kuu felt like he had been slapped. He bowed to her, chastened. "I am very sorry for my behavior this morning, Iizuka-san. I will make sure that my personal life does not impact our work here."

The girl was only seventeen, but the look on her face caused Kuu great shame. "Good. See that it doesn't."

He winced as he watched her walk away. Damn.

That night when he got home, he picked up his phone and called Julie. The front desk transferred the call to her room, and she picked up after three rings. "Hello?"

"You got me in trouble today." He could almost hear her smirk.

"Did I? Did the Director yell at you?"

"No. A seventeen-year-old girl did."

Julie laughed, and Kuu smiled. "How bold of her! It wasn't the Banana Girl, was it?"

"No."

"Good. I don't like Banana Girl. She's a slut."

Kuu chuckled. "Do I detect some jealousy?"

"She deep-throated a banana in front of you. Some jealousy is an understatement."

"If it's any consolation, I find you to be the most gorgeous woman in the world."

Julie giggled. "That's a good start, Kuu. Tell me more."

"If I told you more, you'd run away from me screaming. I've been having terrible thoughts."

Julie smiled. "I've been having some of my own terrible thoughts. Care to hear the most heinous one?"

Kuu chuckled. "Absolutely."

She paused for just a moment. "I can see a future with you."

Kuu felt like he was glowing. "Those are the exact terrible thoughts I've been having."

Julie laughed and wiped her eyes. "What do we do now?"

"I say we date for six months. If you can still stand to be around me at the end of those six months, I'm going to have to marry you."

"What if you can't stand to be around me anymore?"

"Have you met you? You're beautiful, kind, caring, fun, can eat just as much as I can, and you're absolutely fucking phenomenal in bed. I would have to be insane to not marry you."

"...Phenomenal, huh?"

He laughed. "It took a Herculean effort for me to go to work this morning. If I had no prior obligations, I would have kept you in bed all day, ordered room service, and eaten all of my meals off of your body."

Her cheeks blazed. "Kuu!"

"Yes, you'd have yelled my name just like that, over and over again." Her laughter stopped him from embellishing further. She pulled herself together.

"I need to sleep. My fashion show is tomorrow."

"I need to shower. They had to cake makeup on me today."

She sighed wistfully. "A shame. I liked seeing you so unkempt."

"Trust me," he said with a sly grin, "You're going to be seeing a lot of that."

"Oh, you pervert. I need to sleep before this turns into phone sex."

"Or," he offered, "It could just turn into phone sex."

His heart fluttered at the sound of her laughter. "Goodnight, Kuu."

"Goodnight, beautiful."