As it happened, there was no crowd around the restaurant. It was an upscale French place, Pantalon Fantaisie. Yashiro called ahead and let them know that they would like to come in through the back entrance, through the kitchen. They had done this before; it was not easy to eat in peace when one happened to be Ren Tsuruga.

They snuck in through the back alley entrance, and were met with a host at the back door. He bowed to them. "Welcome, Tsuruga-san and friends. We have prepared your private table." He led them through the kitchen, which was bustling with activity. Kyoko's eyes went wide as a pot went flying over her head and the chef, an angry British codger, started screaming about the chicken being FUCKING RAW. She shivered and thanked the heavens that the Taisho was not that bad.

They went out the double doors of the kitchen and into the dining room. Chandeliers hung overhead, glistening gold and crystal, casting light on the diners below. Kyoko marveled at the thick midnight blue carpet that covered the floor, and the well-dressed people that were dining. She felt frighteningly under-dressed in her LoveMe pinks.

The host led them to a table in the back corner, a booth that was built into the back wall and had soft champagne privacy curtains hanging to the side. They slid into the booth, and the host smiled. "I'll be the one taking your orders. Shall I get your drinks while you look over the menu?"

Kuon nodded. "Please. I'll have water with lemon." He turned to Kyoko. "What would you like?"

"Green tea, please."

The host nodded. "Very good, miss. And for you, Yashiro-san?"

Yashiro shook his head. "Nothing for me, thank you."

The host nodded and left the booth. Yashiro turned to his charges. "I have some work to catch up on, so I'm going to go back to the car. Please take your time." After seeing their conversation at the studio, he knew they needed to talk, and that he would only be getting in the way. He left the table, shut the curtain behind him, and went to coax a sandwich out of the kitchen staff.

Kuon and Kyoko stared at each other for a moment, unsure of what to say. Kuon looked around the booth for any inspiration at all. Should I talk about the food? Or maybe the atmosphere. Fuck, THINK, Kuon!

"Were you being serious in Guam?"

He blinked at her. "Huh?"

She swallowed her fear and looked him in the eye. "When you said you loved me."

He took a breath. "I would never say that if I didn't mean it, Kyoko." He half-expected her to get up and leave. He knew that was a lot to admit to her.

"...I love you, too."

His mouth popped open. She had stopped eye contact, and had made her confession to the empty plate in front of her. He wondered if he was hallucinating, only hearing what he wanted to hear. "Did you just–?" He watched her cheeks and the tips of her ears turn the same color as her jumpsuit. She looked up at him, her eyes full of fear and unshed tears.

"Yes."

He reached across the table to cup her cheek. "Please don't be upset. I know how scary this is for you. I'm not going anywhere, I promise."

"B-but what if you meet someone better? Prettier?" she sniffled. "Then I wouldn't just lose you. It's not just you and I anymore. It's so much bigger."

He wiped away a stray tear with his thumb. "There is no one better than you, Kyoko-chan. No one prettier. I want to grow old with you. I want us to raise our children together, and hopefully live to see our grandchildren. I will not leave you. Please, please believe me when I say that." He understood perfectly why she was so worried. Her own mother had chosen her career over her daughter, her father had never been in the picture, and the one person that she had gotten close to, and even loved, Sho Fuwa, had used her and thrown her away like trash. Knowing all of that, he had done his best to never make her feel that way, but he knew that he would need to redouble his efforts.

She swallowed and then nodded. "I believe you. I just can't help but feel insecure. I'm so far from being on your level."

He took her hands and squeezed them. "You're not far off from me, professionally. One breakout role, and you'll get just as many phone calls as I do. Probably more, even. The way you become your characters is amazing. That kind of talent is so rare, Kyoko. I know you think you're just another actress, but that isn't true. You are actually special."

Kyoko pulled a hand free and put it over her blushing cheek. "I think you're biased."

Kuon laughed at that. "Of course I am. But it's also true. Just because I'm biased doesn't make it a lie."

The curtain opened, and their hands jumped apart as the host set their glasses down in front of them, along with an appetizer plate of fruit, bread, and cheese. He smiled down at them. "Have you had enough time to look over the menu?" They both blushed; they had been so engrossed in their conversation that they had forgotten to even look at the menus in front of them. Kuon cleared his throat. "I'll have the Coq au vin."

The host nodded. "Very good, Sir." He turned to Kyoko. "And you, Miss?"

"I'll have the Coq au vin, too." She hoped it would be good. She didn't dare pick her menu up and look at it as though they hadn't had a full five minutes to look at it before.

He smiled and nodded once more as he committed their order to memory. "I'll have your meal out to you soon."

He shut the curtain once more, and when they heard his retreating footsteps, Kyoko breathed a huge sigh of relief. "That was close."

Kuon smoothed his hair back. He was disappointed that they were no longer holding hands. "I don't think he would have told anyone."

Kyoko nodded. "They seem discreet around here." Her hand found his on the table again, and he stared, wide-eyed, as she laced her fingers with his.

She saw the look on his face and hesitated for a moment. "I-is this not okay?"

He blinked. "What? Of course it's okay! I just… I thought the host spooked you too much and you wouldn't want to hold hands again."

She covered her face with her free hand. "I'm sorry I'm always so jumpy."

Kuon picked their hands up and kissed her knuckles. "You have nothing to apologize for. We're in a very precarious position. One wrong move…"

'One wrong move,' he says, while he digs our hole even deeper, she thought, as her heart did a tap dance in her chest. "About that," she said. "I want to go through with Yashiro-san's original plan."

He blinked. "To stack your schedule and then reveal our relationship publicly after your birthday?"

She sat up straighter. "Yes. I think that's what's best."

A warm tingle of excitement ran up and down his arms and filled his body. "So… are we… officially in a relationship?"

Kyoko gave him a nervous smile. "Y-yes… that is what you want, right?" She wasn't entirely sure after everything she'd put him through over the last few weeks.

He wanted to stand up, lean over the table, and kiss her until she couldn't breathe. He had wanted her to be officially his for over a year, had dreamed about it, had gone over every possible scenario of how to ask her properly, had planned fifteen million dates in his head. It was all so overwhelming.

"Kuon, are you crying!?," she whispered, shocked.

He felt his cheek with a hand and found it wet. "Oh, I–" he sniffled, "I'm just so happy." He unrolled the cloth that held his silverware and dabbed at his eyes. "Sorry! These are happy tears, I swear! I just… hormones…"

Kyoko stood up over the table and dabbed at his face with her own napkin. "Are you sure!? I know I've been awful lately, and I haven't been behaving in a mature wa–"

He gave into his desire, took her chin between his thumb and forefinger, and kissed her. When they broke apart, he rested his forehead against hers. "You have not been awful."

Kyoko felt as though she might float into the air. She badly wanted to keep kissing him, but she knew that it wasn't a great idea to do so in a crowded restaurant, even if they were concealed behind a curtain. She kissed his forehead. "I am really sorry for the last few weeks." She took her seat once more. "Are you okay?"

He opened his eyes. While they were glistening, the tears were no longer flowing. "Of course. You've just made my entire life."

She had approximately 30 seconds to collect herself after that statement before the host appeared with their food. They spent the next 20 minutes eating and giving each other shy glances across the table. When they finished, Kuon put some cash on the table and gestured toward the curtain. "Shall we?"

Kyoko followed him out, along the back wall of the dining room, and through the double doors into the kitchen. The angry British chef seemed to have calmed down as they made their way to the back door and out to the alleyway. They found Yashiro parked nearby. When they slid into the back seat, he peeked at them in the rearview mirror.

"Did you have a nice dinner?"

Kuon nodded. "I think so. We got to work some things out and I think we're in a better position than we have been." His hand closed on Kyoko's in the back seat and she blushed. Yashiro, upon seeing the looks on their faces, was filled with giddy excitement.

Kyoko cleared her throat. "Yashiro-san, I'd like to go through with the plan you proposed a few weeks ago. I'm ready to start accepting more challenging roles… and tell everyone that we're dating after my birthday."

Yashiro removed his glasses and put his forehead down on top of the steering wheel. Kuon set a hand on his shoulder. "Are you alright, Yashiro-san?"

Their manager sat up and wiped his eyes on the sleeve of his suit jacket. He turned around to look at them with a huge smile on his face. "I can feel my ulcer healing already."

He drove them back to Kuon's apartment, where they were greeted by a sea of fans milling about outside. Kuon sighed and put his hand over his face. "So it begins."

Yashiro drove into the private parking garage that was attached to the building. Once they were parked, he turned to face Kuon. "Do you feel safe here, or should we get you a hotel room for the night?"

Kuon considered that for a moment and then shook his head. "I think I'll be fine here. They can't get in, and even if they did, they don't know what floor I'm on."

Yashiro nodded. "Fair enough. But I want you to call me if you don't think it's safe to be here anymore. We still have about 12 weeks to deal with all of this, so it's all about what makes you feel most comfortable and safe from here on out."

Kyoko saw the look of insecurity on Kuon's face and put her hand on his shoulder. "Do you want me to stay with you?"

He sighed. "Of course I do. But I also recognize that you have a life, and people will question why exactly you're staying with a male celebrity. I'm pretty sure the Taichou at the Darumaya already wants to gut me, deep fry me, and serve me with eel sauce. I don't think he's going to be thrilled that you're staying with me, alone."

She gave him a reassuring smile. "None of their opinions matter anymore. All of this stress isn't good for our babies. If you need me, I'm here."

He mulled it over for a moment and then after fighting a losing battle with himself, nodded. "I would prefer it if you stayed with me, if only for tonight."

She nodded. "Of course." She turned to Yashiro. "Yashiro-san, could you get my bag out of the locker in the LoveMe room for me? It has a change of clothes in it."

He nodded. "I'll bring it tonight."

Kuon and Kyoko got out of the car and headed for the private elevator. He activated it with his key fob and once they were inside, he sagged against the back wall. "I'm sorry about all of this. I know I'm being a big baby."

Kyoko shook her head. "No, you aren't. You saw that crazy girl today that tried to glomp you. A lot of these people mean well, but they don't understand how scary it is to see all of them in one place at once." She took his hand. "I'm just as scared as you are, and I'm glad you're letting me stay. I would feel awful if something happened to you and I wasn't there to help."

He pulled her close to him and kissed the top of her head. "Kyoko-chan, you can stay as long as you want."

She looked up at him with a soft smile. "Thank you, Kuon."

When they got up to his apartment, Kyoko went to the guest room to fix up the bed. Kuon followed her in. "You should let me do that! You're my guest!"

Kyoko chuckled to herself as she prepped everything. "This is the least I can do after knocking you up."

He had not expected such a bold statement from her. Kuon collapsed against the door frame, laughing… and then he stopped suddenly and his eyes went wide.

Kyoko turned to face him, her eyebrows knitted together in concern. "Are you okay? What's going on?"

Kuon thanked every deity in existence for his jet black slacks that were currently hiding the piss stain that was spreading across the front of his crotch. "Uh, nothing. Just got a sudden urge to use the bathroom. Please excuse me." He hurried away down the hall, praying that the urine currently leaking down his leg wouldn't reach the carpet. When he was safely locked in the ensuite bathroom, he cleaned himself up, and then sat on the edge of the tub with his head in his hands. I can't believe I just pissed myself! WHO DOES THAT!? He had heard of this happening to pregnant women, but he had hoped that his anatomy would be different enough that he could avoid that one pitfall of pregnancy.

He sighed in frustration and opened the door to go grab a fresh pair of pants and underwear.

"AH! KUON!"

Kyoko had been sitting on his bed waiting for him, and when he came out of the bathroom, she saw way more than she had bargained for. Though she had agreed to be an official couple, she still was not ready for that. She hid her face in her hands.

Kuon ripped his towel off of the rack and wrapped it around his waist. "Shit! Kyoko, I'm sorry! I didn't mean t–"

"WHY WOULD YOU JUST COME OUT HERE NAKED!?"

He covered his eyes with his hand. "I… was dealing with something and didn't think you would be in here." It was actually pregnancy brain. Pregnancy brain was why he went out there naked.

She tossed a pillow at him, and it missed by several feet thanks to her still covering her eyes. "Why couldn't you just put your pants on!?"

He sighed and looked down at his feet, resigned to his fate. "I peed."

Kyoko peeked through her fingers at him. "You… you what?"

He couldn't stop the tears. "I laughed in the other room, and I accidentally peed my pants, okay?" The feelings of the day seemed to overwhelm him all at once. First the TV interview, then the mob in the parking garage, then the tense conversation with Kyoko, then the mob outside his apartment, and now he had, for the first time since he was probably seven, wet himself.

Kyoko saw the shame settling in on his face and she got up from the bed. "Oh, no! Kuon, please don't cry! It's okay! These things happen!"

The tears came thick and fast. "They're supposed to happen to women! I'm not a girl! I'm a dude! A masculine, sexy, fucking GUY! Why is this happening to meeeee!?"

Kyoko hugged him and he laid his forehead down on her shoulder, sobbing. She petted his hair. "There, there. I know. It's a lot. But for what it's worth, you've handled it extremely well, given the circumstances."

He sniffled and righted himself to look down at her. "Really?"

She looked into his red-rimmed eyes and petted his cheek. "You've taken an extremely unexpected circumstance and managed to maintain a level of normalcy that most people couldn't hope to. I'm surprised you haven't had more crying fits, to be honest. I would be a wreck." She looked down at his belly and settled her hands on either side of it. "You're growing three babies, Kuon. Three babies that really shouldn't even exist. They're miracles. What you're doing is miraculous."

He wiped at his eyes with his free hand that wasn't desperately clutching the towel around his body. "Thank you, Kyoko-chan."

She stood up on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. "Find some pants. I'm going to make us a snack"

Kuon watched her leave the room and then went to his dresser to find the comfiest pair of sweats that he owned, and a t-shirt to replace his button-up. He figured that this was, without a doubt, the roughest day of his pregnancy so far, and he owed it to himself to try to be comfortable.

After he got dressed, he made his way out to the kitchen, where Kyoko was busy making two ice cream sundaes. Since she had caught Kuon eating so much junk food early on, she had harped on him to keep the refrigerator and freezer stocked at all times, and had Yashiro escort him to the store to pick out groceries. She was grateful that there were now options. Before, it was either a monumental effort to make the scant ingredients that he had work, or a trip to the store to secure fresh ingredients to cook with.

When she saw him enter, she gave him a small smile. "Feeling any better?"

He nodded. "All thanks to you. I'm sorry I broke down like that. I don't know what came over me."

Kyoko patted his back and handed him a sundae. "You're allowed to have breakdowns, Kuon. Do you want to watch some TV?"

He followed her to the couch like a lost puppy and they sat down side by side to eat their ice cream and watch a variety show. When they finished eating, Kuon started to get up to take his bowl to the kitchen, and Kyoko grabbed it out of his hand. She set their bowls on the coffee table in front of them. "These can wait."

He blinked at her, and his cheeks colored as she cuddled into his side. She looked up at him, her own cheeks bright pink. "This is okay, right?"

He put his arm around her and pulled her closer. "Of course it is."