The months flew by. The babies learned to sit up on their own, and began to crawl. They ran Kyoko and Kuon ragged, as well as the new nanny, by getting into all of the cupboards, trying to insert silverware into wall sockets, and eating random things off of the floor.

After baby-proofing everything, life became easier. The babies grew bigger and started showing real personalities. Kuzen was like his grandparents; fun-loving, active, and a voracious eater. Though he had gotten Kyoko's dark hair, he had Kuon's green hazel eyes. Jiro was like Kuon, laid-back and go-with-the-flow. He looked the most like Kyoko, having inherited both her dark hair and golden eyes.

Yukina was all golden hair and eyes. Kyoko thought she looked like a cherub. She was also, of course, the most dramatic of the three. It was now December 23rd, almost their birthday, and she had begun trying to stand on her own. She held the edge of the coffee table and worked her way around it, closer and closer to the TV. When she was almost there, she reached out for the entertainment center… and promptly fell on her butt.

Kyoko, who was of course watching her the whole time, scooped her up off of the floor. Kuon peeked his head out from the nursery, where he was changing Jiro's diaper, when he heard Yukina start to scream. "Is everything okay!?"

Kyoko patted her daughter's back and shushed her. "She's fine, she fell on her butt again."

Kuon shook his head. "You'd think someone was murdering her!"

Kyoko laughed. "She gets it from your mom."

"She really does," he chuckled. "Did Mom text you back about when their flight is getting in?"

Kyoko nodded. "Tomorrow night at 8:00. She shipped all their birthday/Christmas presents to Lory so we won't know what they're getting."

Kuon nodded and ducked back into the nursery to finish with Jiro. When he came back out to the living room, he set him in his bouncer and picked up Kuzen. "Your turn, dude. Then we'll get your sister next, then it's dinner time."

The following day was spent cooking, cleaning and decorating their condo. Kyoko helped the babies put some plastic ball ornaments on the artificial tree that they had bought, and put cute little Christmas stockings over their electric fireplace. Between cleaning and decorating, Kyoko was flitting in and out of the kitchen to check the hams in the oven. They had chosen to have an American-style Christmas for the babies, and for Kuu and Julie, so she was making traditional American Christmas food.

She had the babies in their playpen, watching her as she made mashed potatoes. She gave them each a spoonful as she worked to keep them happy. She stretched and yawned; she had been running around all day and was feeling very tired. She had just finished making the green bean casserole, the mashed potatoes, rolls, and deviled eggs when the front door opened and Kuon called out to her.

"I'm back, and I brought Grandma and Grandpa!"

"Where are they!? Where are my grandbabies!?" Julie hurried into the kitchen to pick each baby up in turn and kiss them all over their faces. When she finished, she turned to Kyoko and hugged her. "It smells so good in here!"

Kyoko laughed and hugged her back. "I'm so glad you guys could make it!"

Julie pulled a face. "You think we'd miss your first anniversary, their first birthday, and YOUR birthday? Puh-lease!" She went back to the playpen. "Ohhh I don't know who I want first!" Finally, she snatched up Kuzen and snuggled him.

Kuu entered the kitchen and made a beeline straight for Kyoko, and the food, but mostly Kyoko. He hugged her. "It's so good to see you. Is the food ready?"

She laughed and handed him a fresh baked roll. "The hams will be done in a few minutes."

He offered her a wide smile as he inhaled the roll and found it to be delicious. "Fantastic." He turned his attention to the playpen. "Is that my Jiro-kun and Yuki-chan!?" Jiro made grabby hands at him; they made sure to make several video calls a week, so the babies knew their grandparents well. He pulled him out to hug him and patted Yukina's head. He frowned. "They're getting so big. I feel like we've missed so much, Julie."

She pouted at him, squishing Kuzen's pudgy cheek against her own. "We need to move here, Kuu. I can't only see them a few times a year. It's not nearly enough."

He laughed. "We'll see."

Kuon came out of the spare bedroom, after dropping off Kuu and Julie's luggage, and picked Yukina up and kissed the top of Kyoko's head. "It looks so cute in here, Kyoko-chan."

She smiled up at him. "Thank you, Corn." She shooed them all out of the kitchen. "Go, sit. I'll bring the food over."

They each took a seat at the table, a baby on each of their laps. Kyoko brought the dishes and set them on the table. She carved up the first ham and put some on each plate. Once she finished, they took turns passing the dishes around and serving up the sides. Kyoko smiled as she watched her family eating the dinner that she had prepared. It was everything that she'd ever wanted.

They talked as they ate, discussing their new projects, plans for the upcoming year, and in Julie's case, if there were any empty condos in their building. Their doorbell rang, and Kuon handed Yukina to Kyoko. "That'll be the presents." He buzzed the delivery men in, and they brought in box after box of presents and arranged them artfully underneath the tree. Kyoko laughed.

"Did you guys get enough gifts!?"

Julie shook her head. "Not nearly enough. It's their birthday, and it's Christmas."

Kuu nodded. "We're not the type to stiff them on Christmas just because it's their birthday, too."

Once the presents had engulfed half of the tree, the delivery men cleared out. Kyoko cleared up the table with Julie's help. While they were rinsing and putting the dishes into the washer in the kitchen, Kyoko rubbed her stomach. Julie frowned. "Too much to eat?"

Kyoko nodded. "Just feeling kind of gassy." She had been feeling gassy for a few days. Not that she was concerned; not like she hadn't been gassy before.

Julie nodded knowingly. "American Christmas will do that. Make sure you take some antacids before bed."

By the time they had finished, Kuon and Kuu had gotten the babies changed for the night and put them to bed. Julie snuck in to kiss their foreheads and then went to the spare room with Kuu.

The following morning, Kuon turned over to kiss Kyoko good morning and found her curled up in a ball. He sat up and rubbed her back. "Kyoko-chan, are you okay?"

She shook her head. "Headache."

He got out of bed and went to the bathroom to get her some headache medicine and a glass of water. He brought it back to bed and helped her sit up to take it. "Are you going to be okay to do Christmas, or do you want to stay in bed?"

She frowned. "I don't want to miss their first Christmas, Corn!"

He rubbed her shoulders. "I'll give you a massage while we wait for the meds to kick in, then we'll do Christmas. Okay?"

She smiled. "Sounds like a plan."

A little over half an hour later, Kyoko was feeling a bit better. As they got dressed, Kuon snuck up behind her and put a necklace over her head. She gasped as her fingers met the fine golden chain. He fastened it behind her neck and kissed her cheek. "Happy birthday."

The pendant on it held a tanzanite, a blue topaz, a zircon, and an amethyst, free floating inside of a rose gold heart. Kyoko looked down at it and smiled. "It's all of your birthstones. I love it, Corn." She kissed him. "Thank you."

A knock came at their bedroom door. "Are you two awake yet!? We have three babies out here that wanna do Christmas!"

Kyoko laughed. "We'll be right there, Mom. Just getting dressed." When they went out to the living room, they found the babies sitting on the floor with Julie, dressed in matching flannel footie pajamas. Kuu was in the kitchen fussing with the stovetop, making a ridiculous amount of pancakes. Julie got to her feet and hugged Kyoko. "Happy birthday!"

"Thanks, Mom." They had decided that the morning would be dedicated to Christmas. For the evening, there would be a massive combined birthday for Kyoko, Kuzen, Jiro, and Yukina to be held at Lory's estate. She turned her attention to the babies, and felt herself get teary. They were officially an entire year old. She knelt down and group-hugged them. "And happy birthday to my babies!"

Kuon took a deep breath. He was glad that he wasn't pregnant anymore; the emotions would have overwhelmed him. Watching his dream girl-turned-wife hugging their three children on their birthday in front of a Christmas tree was too picturesque. Suddenly, he felt a pinch on his arm. He looked behind him to find Kuu smirking, a cup of coffee in hand. "Sorry," he said, "Looked like you needed a reality check."

Kuon chuckled. "Yeah, maybe."

They sat down to eat the breakfast that Kuu had prepared. The babies were big enough now to have some pancakes, which they enjoyed a great deal. Kuon, who was getting really REALLY tired of breastfeeding, was looking forward to the coming months when they would start eating solid food entirely.

When they finished, they finally sat down to start opening presents. The babies received many toys. There were trains, teddy bears, baby dolls, and blocks. Toys that played music and lit up and made loud noises. Kyoko made a mental note to go out and buy some ear plugs.

Julie passed a nicely-wrapped gift box to Kuon. "Merry Christmas, sweetheart."

He smiled. "Thanks, Mom." He opened the box to find a soft, warm charcoal gray cashmere sweater. "This is really nice, Mom. Thank you."

Kuu passed him a box. "I got this to go with it," he said with a wink. Kuon was immediately suspicious of the box. When he opened it, he rolled his eyes as he pulled out a light-up Christmas bra.

Kuu toasted him with his coffee. "For your moobs, son."

"Har har," Kuon said, as he laid the bra to the side. He could always see if it fit Kyoko later.

Kuu gifted Kyoko a new set of professional grade chefs knives, and Julie got her a warm dress coat with a fur-lined hood and skirt. She thanked them profusely, and then excused herself. "I'll be right back. I need to use the bathroom."

When she left the room, Julie poked Kuon. "Is Kyoko okay? She seems tired today."

Kuon frowned. "She woke up with a pretty bad headache. She took some medicine and is feeling better, but she's still not feeling great."

"Awwh. Poor thing! And on her birthday, too!," Julie cooed in sympathy.

Kyoko came back a few minutes later, and they finished opening gifts. Once they finished, Julie took her aside. "You go back to bed. Take a nap. We'll handle everything out here so you can be fresh for the party later."

Kyoko breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks, Mom." She went back to bed and laid down. Her head was still throbbing with a dull ache, and she had gotten sick after eating breakfast. She was worried that she might have the flu. At least Kuu and Julie are here to help Kuon, she thought, as she dozed off.

Out in the living room, Julie grabbed her phone and ordered some flu medicine for Kyoko online. As she was scrolling through the pharmacy page, her eyes fell upon a box of pregnancy tests. She chuckled to herself. It's been a while since I needed one of tho… her thoughts stopped. She remembered back to when she had been pregnant with Kuon. Headache? Check. Fatigue? Check. Kyoko didn't seem to be running a fever… but Kuon had a vasectomy, right? After debating for a few moments, she added one to the cart. What's the harm? She thought.

When the bag of medicine got there, she went to the bedroom and knocked on the door. "Kyoko, are you awake?"

"Yes, come in."

Julie entered the room and shut the door softly behind her. "I got you some medicine… and something else." She handed the bag to Kyoko, who took the bottles of medicine out and then stared at the box of 3 pregnancy tests. Her eyes widened.

"I– you don't think I could be…!?"

Julie laughed nervously. "It might be good to check. Just to make sure."

Kyoko blushed and cleared her throat. "I'll go check." She disappeared into the master bathroom with the box.

Julie paced outside the door. This was going to be the longest five minutes of her life.

That night, they got dressed up and loaded into the cars that Lory sent for them. When they reached his estate, Ruto showed them into the ballroom. It had been done up in a Dayjowey theme, mostly Windy the Poo, who was the babies' favorite. Windy the Poo and his friends, Piggy, Tiger, Woodchuck, Vulture, Walla, and B, were wandering through the guests, giving hugs and taking photos.

When they entered the party, there was a great cheer for them and the guests broke out into a chorus of 'Happy Birthday'. This was complicated, as there were four separate names to add to the song, but they made it work. They were led to an enormous sheet cake with 22 candles lit; 19 for Kyoko, and 1 for each baby. When the singing stopped, Kyoko blew out all of the candles. Afterward, Lory helped them get to the front of the room where he had set up chairs for them by the mountain of gifts.

Kanae appeared next to Kyoko and shoved her armful of gifts into Kyoko's arms. She wanted to make sure that her gifts were opened first. "Here, take these, they're heavy."

Kyoko smiled widely at her. "Thank you, Moko-san!" She and Kuon helped the babies open their gifts. "Awww," she cooed, "Auntie Moko got you guys really cute shoes! Thank you, Auntie Moko!"

Yukina smiled up at Kanae "Mogo!"

Kuon's eyes went wide. "DID SHE JUST–!?"

Kyoko burst into tears. "She said her first word!"

Kanae stared at Yukina in shock, fighting desperately to keep her eyes dry. She had babysat for Kyoko and Kuon on several occasions, but hadn't expected to have such an impact on the babies. She was touched. She cleared her throat. "Yes, very impressive." She managed to keep it together; she would be damned before she let some adorable baby crack her tsundere facade.

After several minutes of celebration, they moved on to the next gifts. Sho was unable to attend, as he was on tour, but he had sent drums, a baby xylophone, and a tiny piano. Kuon made a mental note to purchase ear plugs, and to also send Sho an entire box of used diapers.

Lory went entirely overboard and got each of the babies… a pony. Kuon's mouth dropped open as Ruto brought the three ponies into the room. "Uh… we don't have anywhere to put three ponies, Lory!"

Lory waved his hand at him. "Oh, not to worry. I'll keep them here with my personal collection."

Kuon almost laughed. It would be years before the kids would be able to enjoy the ponies. Whatever floats his boat, he thought.

The next gifts were from Saena. She approached Kyoko and Kuon timidly… until her new boyfriend, Todoh, took her hand and came with her. The last year had been a bit of a mess for Saena. She had been raked over the coals by MPREG's lawyers. Ultimately, her boss, Katagiri-san, had once more made some calls and bailed her out of trouble. He had seen the phenomenal change in her, and decided to throw his money around to help her start her life anew. She shifted on her feet. "I wasn't sure what to get…" She hadn't gotten a gift for Kyoko before, let alone Kyoko's children.

Kyoko opened the box and found several children's books. She smiled; it was a practical gift, very Saena. "Thank you, Mother. We'll read to them before bed."

It seemed to take forever to open gifts. When they finally finished, Lory turned everyone loose on the buffet. The babies were each given a tiny smash cake to dismantle. All three ended up with faces full of chocolate and icing. The larger cake had been cut during the present opening, so everyone got a slice of cake.

They got pictures with all of the Windy the Poo characters, and petted the ponies. When it was time to leave, they were followed home by a truck full of gifts. When they got home, Kuu and Julie set to work getting the babies ready for bed; they would have to return to the US the following day, so they were spending as much time as they possibly could with their grandchildren.

Kyoko and Kuon went to their bedroom to shower and get ready to turn in for the night. Kuon came out of the bathroom, toweling his hair. "This has been an insane day."

Kyoko flopped back onto the bed and stared at the ceiling. "Yeah…"

He raised an eyebrow at her. "You okay? You seem like you're thinking about something."

She took a breath. "Do you ever think about having another baby?"

An uncomfortable feeling prickled up Kuon's spine. He really did not want to be pregnant again. "I… if you really wanted one, I'd do it."

"I'm not asking you to be pregnant again, Kuon."

He tilted his head to the side. She got up and went to her sock drawer and pulled out a box. She handed it to him. "Merry Christmas. Your vasectomy failed."

He stared at the positive pregnancy test in his hands, his brain trying to catch up. "No… you… you're–!?"

She nodded, her eyes filling with tears. "I-is that okay?"

He dropped the test on the bed and pulled her into a hug. "Of course! Shit! I–I'm really sorry I forgot to do the follow-up appointment!"

She laughed into his shoulder. "It's okay."

He held her at arm's length and cupped her cheek in his hand. "Are you okay!? Are you feeling okay!?"

She nodded. "I'm fine. Mom figured it out and bought me a test this morning."

He sighed and then his eyes met hers. "Four. We're gonna have four kids."

"Hopefully only four," she said.

They stared at each other, the enormity of that situation hitting them.

"I'll get my tubes tied," Kyoko said simply.

"I'll get re-vasectomied, " Kuon added. "And I'll follow through on the check-up next time."

"I love you."

"I love you, too."