The Wake Up, Tokyo! show cast had no idea what news was about to be broken on their set that morning. They had spent the last week since finding out that Ren Tsuruga would be a guest wondering about his condition. It was no secret that his body looked… different.

A tearful young intern dabbed at her eyes with a tissue. "You don't think it's a tumor, do you!? It just can't be!"

A light tech shook her head. "He probably just gains weight weird. Maybe it's in preparation for a new role?"

A camera guy laughed heartily at the women talking. "I'd recognize that gut anywhere. That gut is what happens when you find a good woman who cooks. I'm telling you, he has a girlfriend and he's just fat and happy."

"Anything but THAT!," the intern wailed.

When Kuon arrived that morning, he received many strange looks, and he heard their whispers behind his back. It was late September, and though cool enough now for sweaters, at almost 18 weeks with triplets, Kuon was unable to hide his belly even if he wanted to. Yashiro guided him into the green room and pressed a bottle of green tea into his hand. "Pay them no mind. You just keep being a good dad."

Kuon nodded, popped the lid off of the bottle, and took a sip. He couldn't afford to let anyone make him feel badly about his situation. He was of the opinion that his babies were not mistakes, but happy accidents, and they meant more to him than anything. Well, except Kyoko, he thought. They're tied in first.

There was a knock at the door, and Yashiro opened it a crack to peek outside. "Oh, Kyoko-chan! What are you doing here?" He opened the door to admit Kyoko, who was in full LoveMe regalia. She bowed. "I'm Tsuruga-san's new personal assistant!" Yashiro closed the door behind her and she crossed the room and opened her backpack to give Kuon a bento box. "The President came up with the idea, so I can be close, but… inconspicuous."

Though he was glad to see her, Kuon eyed the pink of her uniform and winced as it burned itself into his retinas; inconspicuous was not the word he would use. However, he was not going to argue with a plan that would keep her close to him. He opened the bento box to find little octopus wieners and rice with vegetables. "Thank you, Kyoko-chan. These look delicious."

She nodded. "Are you ready for your interview?"

He ate an octopus and shrugged. "About as ready as I can be."

Yashiro saw the nervous looks being exchanged between the two of them and got an idea. "I'll be back in a few minutes. I need to use the restroom." He disappeared out of the room, leaving them alone.

Kuon sagged in his seat and put his head in his hands. "This is going to be a fucking nightmare."

Kyoko stood next to him and rubbed his back. "Once it's done, then it's done, and it's one less thing you have to worry about."

He shook his head. "It's going to be another 14 weeks or so until they're born. That's 14 weeks of dodging crazy fans and having weird interviews, and probably getting weird shit in the mail… though, I guess that's Yashiro's problem." He didn't even want to think about what would come after the birth. He couldn't bring himself to worry about the next 18 years quite yet.

Kyoko frowned. "Do you get… a lot of weird stuff in the mail?"

He rubbed his forehead. "Do used panties, nude photos, and vials of blood count?"

She flinched, her face contorting into a mask of disgust. "You're kidding!"

He saw the look on her face and let out a bark of wry laughter. "I wish I were. Those are the types of weirdos I'm going to have to dodge whilst heavily pregnant. Should be a great time."

Kyoko knelt down beside him and took his hand. "You don't have to do it alone. I'll protect you."

He looked down at her delicate pixie-shaped face and adorable large golden eyes. There was a new ferocity behind them, though it wasn't quite enough to make him take her seriously as a protector. He was still a 200 pound (thank you, baby weight) man. He smiled.

"Thank you, Kyoko-chan." A knock came at the door, and Kyoko jumped away from him. He sighed. "What?," he said, his voice losing some of its gentlemanly professionalism.

A smiling intern poked her head into the room. "You're on in five, Tsuruga-san!"

He nodded at her. "Thank you."

She giggled and tossed her long dark hair. "I'm such a big fan! I loved you on Dark Moon!"

He gave her his gentleman's smile, trying his best not to become too annoyed. "Thank you for your support."

She got suddenly shy. "I was wondering, are you doing anything after thi–" her voice died in her throat as the temperature in the room seemed to drop five degrees. Kuon's eyes found Kyoko, who was standing near the opposite wall, glaring daggers at the pretty young girl. The intern swallowed and backed out of the room, murmuring excuses, and shut the door behind her. Kuon got to his feet.

"Kyoko-chan… are you okay?"

She turned her nose up in a huff. "I'll be fine. It's just gross that she threw herself at you like that."

Kuon couldn't help but smirk. "She only asked if I was doing anything after this."

Kyoko's eyes narrowed on him, and she crossed her arms. "And are you doing anything after this, Tsuruga-san?" She did not appreciate him being so blase about someone hitting on him right in front of her. He's pregnant with my babies, she thought. And I lov– like him!

He came to stand in front of her, and she recoiled as The Emperor looked down into her eyes. He tilted her chin up, admiring the pink sheen of the gloss on her lips. He wondered if it was the same one she had worn the last time he kissed her, and if it wasn't, what it would taste like if he did so again. "That depends. Did you want to do something after this, Mogami-san?"

She looked at his lips and remembered Guam, and the kiss in his bedroom, and she blushed. She wanted to close the distance between them–

Another knock sounded at the door, and she startled, but didn't move away. The fake brown of his irises held her rapt attention. I wish they were green again, she thought.

"Ren," said Yashiro from outside, "They need you on set."

Kuon answered without taking his eyes off of her. "Be right there." He brushed the pad of his thumb over her bottom lip, and she let out a tiny gasp. He leaned forward and whispered in her ear. "You're very cute when you're jealous."

She came to her senses, her cheeks going from blush pink to fire engine red. "I-I'm not jealous!", and he pulled away, chuckling.

"Of course you're not," he said. "My mistake."

She saw the smirk on his face as he was leaving the room, and called after him. "I am not jealous!"

When Kuon came out of the green room, Yashiro saw the mischievous gleam in his eyes and the devilish grin on his lips and fanned himself. "What on earth were you up to in there? You look like you just had se–" his eyes bugged out of his head. "YOU DIDN'T–!" Kuon threw his hand over Yashiro's mouth and threw him a cheeky grin, unable to miss the chance to mess with his manager's head.

"What happens in the green room stays in the green room."

Yashiro watched him walk onto the set with a look of horror on his face. Kyoko came out of the green room a moment later, after tidying up their lunch mess, and Yashiro stared at her with his mouth open.

She raised a concerned eyebrow. "Yashiro-san, are you okay?"

He turned bright red and cleared his throat. He did not dare ask for any details."I–yes. Of course. Let's go watch Ren's interview."

They stood just behind the curtain and looked out onto the stage, where Ren sat in a blue armchair across from a female and male host team. The show was on a commercial break, and the audience were whispering excitedly amongst themselves. The producer called for applause as the break ended, and the camera centered in on the host team, Kairi Takanawa and Jun Toriyama.

"Welcome back to Wake Up, Tokyo! We are joined this morning by an entertainment industry powerhouse, Japan's number one actor, and," Kairi giggled, "also Japan's number one bachelor! Please help us welcome Ren Tsuruga! So good to have you, Tsuruga-san!"

The audience went wild for him, and he waved at them good-naturedly with a bashful smile. "Thank you for having me."

Jun smiled widely at him. "Thank you so much, Tsuruga-san, for agreeing to do our interview today. Everyone is curious about certain changes that seem to be um," he looked at Ren's growing expanse of belly with a raised eyebrow, "taking shape. Are you feeling well?"

Kuon let out a nervous chuckle. Ah, right to the chase. Okay. "Well, I have a lot to explain today. To answer your question, I am well. I'm not sick, I'm not dying, I'm okay."

Kairi breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank goodness for that! We were so worried!"

Kuon laughed. "I didn't mean to worry you, Takanawa-san." The audience laughed along with him. He sat up a little straighter. "I did a commercial a few weeks ago for a drug called MPREG. It's really a miraculous drug. It allows a person assigned male at birth to be able to grow a uterus and become pregnant with their own child."

A hush fell over the entire audience. Kairi's eyes became the size of saucers, and she lost the ability to speak. Jun pulled himself together first. "And… did you… use the drug, Tsuruga-san?"

Kuon adjusted his tie. "I was not told that the canister I received for the commercial contained the actual medication, and so I did, unknowingly, use it. Yes."

A chill ran up Jun Toriyama's spine. This is the highlight of my career, right here. We are going to get so many trophies come award season… "So," he started tentatively, "Are… congratulations… in order?"

Kuon nodded. "Yes. I am pregnant."

The audience erupted in shocked gasps. Kairi stared at him, her mouth agape, all sense of decorum lost. "Who is the father!?"

Jun whapped her on the head with his note cards, his visions of award season dissipating before his eyes. Though, he thought, getting Ren Tsuruga to come out of the closet on national television AND admitting to being pregnant might be enough to circumvent my partner's faux pas."You can't just ask that, Kairi-chan!"

Kuon smiled. "It's fine, Toriyama-san. I knew what I was getting into coming on the show." He cleared his throat. "There is no father. The thing about MPREG is that one can become pregnant from something as simple as an open-mouthed kiss, which was the case here."

Jun blinked. "So then… there is… a mother?"

Kuon nodded. "We are valuing her privacy at this time."

Kairi stared a hole through him. "Are you seeing someone then? Or was this pregnancy accidental?"

Kuon smiled a little sadly. "This pregnancy was accidental, but we're rolling with it. For right now, we're just trying our best to prepare for the babies."

There were several shocked cries from the audience, and one girl in the fifth row passed out on the floor.

Jun's mouth dropped open. "You said 'babies'. Are you having more than one!?"

Kuon hadn't meant to reveal that much detail; he had been too focused on the question of if they were together. He wasn't sure if they were or if they weren't. Kyoko had been so hot and cold on the subject, and the mixed signals she was sending were throwing him. In the end, he decided to just tell the truth. "Yes. We're expecting triplets."

Kairi groaned. "Are you really!? Oh, Tsuruga-san! How will you manage!?"

The audience were whipped up in a frenzy, rife with hysterical crying. Kuon chuckled.

"I think their mother and I will manage just fine. We're both workhorses." He flexed his arm, and a girl in the front row squealed at his bicep.

Kairi patted his shoulder. "You poor, poor man! Do you know what they will be yet?"

Kuon shook his head. "We haven't had the ultrasound to confirm the sexes yet."

"Do you have a preference?," asked Jun, hanging on his every word.

Kuon shook his head. "My only preference is that I hope they take after their mother."

Kairi awww'd. "That is so sweet. She must be something if LME's Gorgeous Star wants his babies to take after her!"

The Jacob's Ladder blinded the first five rows of the audience. Kyoko was doing her best to hold it together backstage. He had complimented her so much in this interview, and she wasn't sure how much more she could possibly take.

Kuon was aglow. "She's the most beautiful girl I've ever met."

Jun smiled. "Are you considering marriage?"

Kyoko almost passed out. M-marriage!?

Kuon's glow faded just a bit. "If she'll have me." He knew that Kyoko must be listening, and he couldn't give up the chance to let her know just how serious he was about her.

Kairi laughed, "Well, Tsuruga-san, if she won't, I can think of an audience full of ladies that would consent to being step-mother to your children. Isn't that right, ladies!?" The audience erupted in applause, and Kuon actually blushed.

"I appreciate that, Takanawa-san, but… she's the only one for me."

Jun bowed to Kuon. "I hope you manage to romance your girl, Tsuruga-san, and congratulations on your impending fatherhood."

Kuon bowed back. "Thank you for having me."

Jun looked into the camera. "You've heard it here, folks! Ren Tsuruga is pregnant with triplets, and in a situationship with a mystery woman that he is madly in love with! Stay tuned for our next segment where we visit a local cat cafe!"

The show went to commercial break and Kuon said his goodbyes to the hosts before heading back through the curtain, where he found Yashiro waiting. He looked around. "Where is Kyoko-chan?"

Yashiro pulled a lens cleaning cloth out of his pocket and wiped his glasses. "She heard what you said about marriage and disappeared," he whispered so none of the crew would hear him.

Kuon covered his eyes with a hand. "Shit."

Yashiro put his glasses back on. "Yep. You have all the subtlety of a brick to the head, Ren."

"Well, I didn't mean like right now! I meant in the future, maybe. If that's what she wanted!" he hiss-whispered. He sighed. "Fuck." He collapsed against the wall with his eyes shut. "How? How do I always manage to fuck everything up?"

"Um… Tsuruga-san?"

His eyes popped open and he breathed a sigh of relief. "Kyoko-chan. I thought you left."

Kyoko had, in fact, left. Upon hearing the marriage question, she had gone to the bathroom to panic. She had paced around the handicap stall, mussing her chestnut hair. What if he wants to be married right now!? How much commitment is he expecting of me!? She imagined how handsome he would be in a tuxedo, and imagined herself in a glamorous wedding gown, exchanging vows in front of all their friends and family. She realized that she wanted those things with him… just not yet. She had left the stall and washed her hands, and looked herself over in the mirror above the sink. She considered hiding again, but then she remembered what Kuon had said to her in Guam. I love you. She didn't want to hurt him again. If he really was in love with her, her constantly running away from him must have been terribly painful. She knew that the only way to confirm his thoughts was to talk to him, so she steeled herself and made her way back to the set.

"I did," she said, looking at her feet. "But… I came back."

He smiled at her, his heart in his eyes. He was so relieved to hear that she had come back of her own volition. He had hope that they might be able to have a productive conversation about their relationship and where it stood. "Do you want to get out of here?"

She gave him a shy nod. "Yes."

Yashiro gloved up and pulled his phone out. "Ren's schedule is cleared for the rest of the day. Would you two like to go somewhere to eat?"

Kuon nodded. "Can you book us somewhere private? We have a lot to discuss." He was purposely vague as the stagehands and crew moved around them.

Yashiro took care of the reservation and they headed out to the car. Studio security followed them out, and when they opened the door to the parking garage, they were accosted by a sea of rabid fans. The security team cleared a path for Kuon, Kyoko, and Yashiro to get to the car. Kuon gave the fans a smile, but kept a shaking hand on his belly. He hoped that none of them would try anything crazy.

Unfortunately, those hopes would prove futile. A young woman pushed her way past security and launched herself at him. "REEEEEEN!"

His eyes went wide, but before she could connect, a LoveMe pink leg shot out and blasted her back into the crowd with a powerful kick. The woman took three others down with her, and they collapsed in a heap on the concrete. A loud gasp went up from the crowd, and they all froze as Kyoko took her place in front of Kuon, her fists raised, ready for action. "Anyone else want to try anything like that!?" The crowd backed away a few paces, and Kyoko glared at them. "Didn't think so." She extended her hand to Kuon, who took it. She led him over to the car and settled him in the back seat and took her seat beside him. When the door was safely closed and locked, she turned to him. "Are you okay!?"

He expelled his held breath. "Yes, thanks to you." He settled his hands on his belly. "That was fucking terrifying."

Kyoko squeezed his hand. "I don't know what I would have done if she would have hurt you…"

Kuon squeezed her hand back. "I don't want you to think about it. It's done, and we're okay."

She nodded, but she knew that scene would replay in her head for the rest of her life.

Yashiro got into the driver's seat and shut the door. "Are you two alright? Kyoko-chan, that kick was amazing! You folded that chick in half! I would expect nothing less of a student of Kotetsu Uesugi!"

Kuon nodded. "We're okay. But… if there's a crowd like that at the restaurant, I'd be happier going home."

Yashiro nodded in the rearview mirror. "Of course."

He drove them away from the crowd, through the garage, and out onto the street.