Crumbl'd Cookie

"The two sets of parents together...this should be interesting," Izzy absentmindedly gripped onto Mimi's arm tightly.

"It should be fine. They've known us for so long, it shouldn't be a problem," Mimi pushed a door open and flashed Izzy a nervous smile.

"Maybe, before the...you know...," Izzy paused.

"Our moms probably know, but do you think our dads will?" Mimi bit her lip.

"Hi, welcome to Cœur Brise. The rest of your party is waiting for you," a hostess looked the couple up and down and smirked.

"Thanks...," Mimi forced a smile.

"Uh huh. Follow me," the hostess grabbed two menus and briskly led them to a table in the back of the restaurant.

"If this random person knows, I'm pretty sure our fathers might have a clue too," Izzy whispered into Mimi's ear.

"Great. That's what I'm afraid of," Mimi nervously giggled.

"Enjoy," the hostess smirked again and sauntered off.

"Hey, hopefully we didn't keep you waiting too long," Izzy blushed as he placed his coat behind his chair.

"Hopefully you weren't too busy with things," Mimi's dad curtly said as he swiftly flipped through a menu.

"Oh boy, he knows," Mimi squeezed Izzy's hand.

"So...how have things been lately?" Izzy's mom awkwardly scraped a piece of bread back and forth across her plate.

"Fine," Izzy fiddled with his napkin.

"I bet so," Mimi's mom teasingly giggled.

"Sara...," Mimi's dad cleared his throat.

"Am I missing anything? What's going on?" Izzy's dad frowned.

"Everyone, I'm not trying to be forward, but you all insisted on having dinner together. We didn't have to meet up," Izzy forced a smile.

"Of course we wanted to see you! I just feel like we've been missing out on so much lately," Izzy's mom reached across the table and placed her hand over his.

"It's like you kids don't tell us anything anymore. We have to find out from the television," Mimi's mom bellowed.

"Mom...," Mimi blushed.

"For shit's sake, Sara...," Mimi's dad sternly grumbled.

"Clint! Aren't you upset too?" Sara huffed.

"Don't even get me started. I guess you really can't trust anyone after all," Mimi's dad lowered his sunglasses and stared at Izzy.

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" Izzy's dad pounded his fist on the table.

"I can't believe you tried to gain our trust, pretending you're some nice innocent boy, when in reality, you're just like all the others," Mimi's dad frowned at Izzy.

"Mr. Tachikawa! I assure you, that wasn't at all my intention!" Izzy stammered.

"So you didn't mean to sleep with my daughter? What, you fell on each other that way?" Mimi's dad raised an eyebrow.

"Daddy...," Mimi pouted and wrapped her arm around Izzy's bicep.

"Um...I don't know what to say right now," Izzy rubbed the back of his neck.

"You apparently had a lot to say to my daughter the other night. What's the problem now?" Clint slid his sunglasses back up his nose.

"Okay, that's not fair! We were doing similar things at their age. For crying out loud, we had kids at a younger age than they are right now! Speaking of, when are we expecting grandchildren? I mean, I'd prefer you guys get married first, but-"

"Sara...," Clint shot her a stern look.

"Clint...come on. Aren't you happy about this? It's been such a long time coming," Sara put her elbows on the table and leaned forward.

"I know I am," Kate cooed.

"Huh?" Izzy and Mimi looked at each other.

"So you're finally out in the open. After all these years. Don't you guys feel so much better now that you're not holding such a silly secret- which I may add, you weren't that good at," Kate smiled.

"Huh?!" Izzy and Mimi repeated.

"Kate...," Marshall cleared his throat.

"Sara...," Clint raised an eyebrow.

"You thought you could throw everyone off with that...James Peter person, but I knew better. I hated that little jerk so bad," Sara wagged her finger, ignoring her husband.

"Sara...," Clint said in a warning tone.

"What? You didn't like him either. Be honest, Izzy is definitely the better choice and you know it. Stop being so stubborn," Sara lightly tapped Clint on the arm.

"Uh...," Mimi croaked.

"Thank you, but I think you're giving us too much credit. Way too much," Izzy slid his hand down his face.

"I see what's going on...are you women watching that trashy celebrity news again?" Mason groaned.

"How else are we going to get life updates on our kids nowadays? Mimi, understandably...she's a busy girl," Kate exclaimed.

"And I'm not?" Izzy scoffed.

"I didn't expect you to be on celebrity news. Speaking of, how dare I get updates of my son's love life through Good Morning Tokyo! Or FaceSpace! Or the Shelly and Bryan show! Or-"

"Okay, I get the point...sorry, Mom. We weren't expecting it either. All of this happened too fast," Izzy turned red.

"I guess I can forgive you for that. You didn't even have time to turn off your camera before you engaged in premarit-"

"MOM!" Izzy yelled. Mimi simply shrunk back in her seat.

"Kate!" Marshall slammed his hand on the table.

"Can we please move past that? Clearly it was an accident!" Izzy could feel his face turn red.

"I just have a couple of questions. Mimi, he's not being too rough on you, right? I didn't expect him to be so demanding, especially from the snippets I've heard. I just want to make sure he's treating you right. After all, I didn't raise him to be so-" Kate tilted her head to the side.

"Mom!" Izzy gasped.

"Kate...," Marshall groaned.

"He's perfectly perfect. Honestly," Mimi looked down at her lap.

"And are you guys using protect-"

"Mom!" Mimi gasped.

"We just want to make sure you're being safe, not that we wouldn't mind a couple of grandbabies," Kate hummed.

"Ohmygod, ohmygod, ohmygod...," Izzy looked down at the table, his face turning red.

"Hey, can I get you started on drinks?" a waiter smiled.

"Yes! I'm going to have a Long Island iced tea, please," Mimi heaved.

"Same. Make mine a double," Izzy pulled on his tie.

"I don't know if that's possible...," the waiter frowned.

"Put it in a pint glass if you have to. Just please make it a double," Izzy put his elbows on the table and rested his head on his hands.

"Okay...," the waiter whistled.

"The rest of us will share a bottle of your best Merlot," Mason shot Izzy a disapproving look.

"Very well. I'll be back," the waiter closed his notepad and walked off.

"Thanks for meeting up. I've got the tab," Izzy said.

"Thank you honey, that's so sweet of you," Sara smiled.

"No, I've got the tab. Don't forget, you're on my payroll, I know how much you make and I know it's not enough to even consider paying for this dinner," Clint crossed his arms.

"Uh...," Izzy was too stunned to speak.

"Wow, it was that bad?" Tai breathed in through a glass pipe and exhaled slowly.

"I think before this whole debacle, he liked me more than the rest of Mimi's friends, other than Sora. Now I'm public enemy number 1," Izzy leaned against his kitchen island.

"Reminder, that was before you defiled his daughter and uploaded it on the internet for everyone to see," Tai smirked.

"That was not what everyone thought it was! All of those sound bites were taken out of context!" Izzy jabbed his finger at Tai.

"But you still...didn't you?" Tai shrugged.

"Not the point. I'm glad the phone died before it picked up any of that audio- oh, imagine. Mimi's dad might hate me even more then," Izzy turned a deep red.

"Whoa, care to give more detail?" Tai raised his eyebrows.

"No!" Izzy crossed his arms.

"Geez, I thought getting laid would loosen you up a bit, but you're more tense than ever," Tai took another puff from the glass pipe and coughed. "Well, now what are you going to do?"

"I don't know. I'm not even sure of any of this is worth it. It just seems like the more I want to get invested, the more of a spectacle all of this becomes and...uh," Izzy brushed his fingers through his hair.

"What are you saying?" Tai paused and looked over at him.

"Maybe it would just be better for everyone if...you know?" Izzy shrugged.

"Nonononono, absolutely not! Are you kidding me? You're not thinking of doing what I think you're doing, are you?" Tai snapped.

"Mimi just lost a huge gig because of me! I can't let her lose anything else just because she wants to be associated with me. It's not worth it," Izzy shook his head.

"Well, shouldn't you let her decide that?" Tai put his hands on his hips.

"Yeah, here's the thing. I've basically let her take the driver's seat every time, and it's always steered me wrong. I think this time, I need to take some control," Izzy picked his keys up from the counter.

"Yeah, now's the time you decide to make a mo-hey, where the hell are you going?!" Tai coughed.

"If I have to do this, I guess the decent thing to do is to do it in person," Izzy tightened his grip around his keys.

"Nobody is forcing you to do this. You don't have to do this," Tai softly said.

"You and I both know deep down, I have to. She has always been above my league, and I'm just downgrading her life. You wouldn't understand. Stay as long as you want, just lock up when you're done," Izzy sighed and walked out of the apartment.

"Shit... what the hell do I do now?" Tai flapped his hands in the air.

"You're fucking kidding me!" Yolei clutched onto her phone. "Well, good thing she's not home yet so that will buy us some time, but he can't do this! She'll be devastated!"

"I know! Dude, he's acting like someone's got a gun to his head or something! It's kinda dramatic, to be honest with you...," Tai grumbled.

"Who knows, maybe someone is out to get him! Remember, he is dating a public figure," Yolei hummed.

"YOLEI!" Tai screamed.

"Okay, okay! I was just saying- it wouldn't be too far out of left field!" Yolei huffed.

"NONE OF THIS IS HELPING!" Tai yelled.

*knock knock*

"Shit, I think that's him!" Yolei hissed into the phone.

"Then go get the door!" Tai growled.

"And then what? What the hell am I supposed to do?!" Yolei squeaked.

"Uh, distract him! Get him out of the apartment or something before Mimi sees him. I'm hanging up before we stay on the phone for too long. He'll start getting suspicious!" Tai hung up the phone.

*knock knock*

"I'm coming!" Yolei sprinted toward the door and opened it. "Hey Izzy, it's a surprise seeing you here!"

"Sorry, I won't be too long. I just needed to see Mimi for a quick second. Is she here?" Izzy scanned his surroundings.

"Uh...," Yolei winced, nervously wringing her hands.

"Hey, is everything okay?" Izzy raised an eyebrow in concern.

"Fuck, I'm so sorry I have to do this, but I have no other choice... sorry," Yolei whined.

"Do what? What are you sor-"

*BAM*

"Again, I'm so sorry. I didn't want to do this, trust me!" Yolei rubbed her fist.

"Ohhhheeee! Whattahuck?! Ooouuu muhmee immuh huhhhh!" Izzy heaved, grabbing onto his jaw.

"Are you speaking Dutch right now? Cause if so, kinda a bad time... remember, I went to school in Ethpaniaaaa, not the Nether-"

"Ooohheee! Uhhhhh!" Izzy grunted, grabbing into his face harder.

"Oh... right. We should probably get you checked out, huh?" Yolei pursed her lips.

"Duhhhhh! Yuh dink?!" Izzy began to turn red.

"Maybe I should have punched you harder, smartass," Yolei grumbled under her breath.

"I guess that's one way to stop him from talking. Personally not what I would have done, but I guess it will buy you 4-6 weeks," Joe tapped his pen at a clipboard.

"Uhhh?!" Izzy heaved.

"Yeah. In the meantime, you'll have to be on a liquid diet and wear a special bandage to make sure your jaw stays in place," Joe grabbed Izzy by the face and started shifting it around.

"Uhhh...," Izzy groaned in pain. "Uckk ooo, ohheee."

"Hey! I did it for your own good!" Yolei jabbed her finger at him.

"Well, this is a turn of events. This isn't what I meant when I said to get him out of the apartment," Tai winced.

"Eyyye?!" Izzy grunted.

"Yeah, asshole. Guess who's still your emergency contact?" Tai shook his phone and smirked.

"Huh...," Izzy drearily huffed.

"Well, he better update it to mine! I'd rather find out with a phone call than by checking your location randomly! Izzy, what happened here?!" Mimi ran up to him and was about to touch his face when Joe swatted her away.

"I know you're worried about him right now, but the last thing he needs all you...people grabbing his face. His jaw was dislocated, so I've been trying to put it back in place," Joe explained.

"Dislocated? How?" Mimi gasped.

"Uh...a crazy person punched him in the face out of nowhere! I saw it happen with my own two eyes!" Yolei blurted out.

"The sad part is that she'd technically be able to pass a lie detector test with that statement," Joe said to no one in particular.

"Uhhh!" Izzy grunted.

"Oh my God! Yolei! What did the person look like? They should be in jail right now! Look what they did to my baby!" Mimi gasped.

"Baby?" Tai smirked.

"Guys, this is serious! Why would someone just punch you out of the blue?" Mimi looked at Izzy with sad eyes.

"I guess a lot of people have very strong opinions on your relationship, so it could drive them to do some insane things- right Izzy?" Yolei aggressively cleared her throat.

"Ugghhhh," Izzy groaned.

"Izzy...," Mimi sighed. "I don't want you to get hurt because of me."

"Uhhh...," Izzy tugged at the sleeve of Joe's lab coat and mimed writing in the air.

"Are you sure that's a good idea? If we give him a pen and paper, it would make the whole pulling him in the face kinda pointless...," Yolei hummed in Joe's ear.

"Grrr...," Izzy growled at Yolei.

"Huh, Yolei? What did you say?" Mimi tilted her head.

"Nothing!" Yolei forced a smile, reluctantly handing Izzy a pen and a notepad.

"Hmph...," Izzy snatched them and started scribbling away.

"What's he writing?" Tai stood on his tippy toes.

"Uhhh...," Izzy tapped his pen against the notepad.

"'I don't want to hurt you either'," Mimi read. "Well, what do you want to do? I'll do whatever you want me to do. If you want me to back off, I will. But if you want me to stay, I'd like that much more. I really don't want to lose you again."

"Huh...," Izzy stared blankly at her for a moment, then went back to writing on his notepad.

"'Are you sure?'" Mimi read his note out loud. "Yes, you big dummy! I'm completely sure!"

"Huh...," Izzy scribbled again on his paper.

"'Even if your dad hates me and your reputation is getting ruined by every second you're with me?'" Joe read Izzy's note and winced. "I'm not going to lie, but those are some pretty sticky situations. Personally, I don't know if I could put myself through that."

"Shut up, asshole!" Tai elbowed him in the gut.

"Whatever, everyone will have to get over it soon! I don't care about any of that! You're worth it to me. I just wish I was smart enough to realize that sooner," Mimi gushed.

"'You've always been worth it to me'. Aww, Izzy! Aren't you romantic?" Tai read the notepad and cooed.

"Hmph...," Izzy turned red and snarled in annoyance.

"Don't be shy! Tai's right, I love seeing this side of you," Mimi gently smiled at Izzy.

"Uhhh...," Izzy held up his finger and scribbled on his notepad again. Once he was done, he tapped at it.

"'Be mine. Forever.' Hold on, Izzy- is this a proposal?" Tai's jaw dropped.

"Izzy, is Tai right?" Mimi gingerly bit at her thumb.

"Ughhh...," Izzy turned red and huffed. He angrily started scribbling away.

"Holy shit, what is he writing? The next series of Twilight books?" Yolei whistled.

"Ugh...," Izzy impatiently tapped at his notepad, his cheeks still flushed.

"'Yes. Sorry I don't have a ring right now, but I'll have it to you in a couple of weeks, if you allow me to. So yes or no?'" Joe read.

"What kind of question is that? Yes! Yes! Yes, a thousand times yes! By the way, I'm an size 6 in rings and I really like an pear-shaped diamond, but I'm not opposed to an emerald cut either! Oh, and I like white gold, but I don't mind if there's yellow or rose gold detailing, as long as it's mostly white gold!" Mimi rambled.

"Uh...," Izzy looked up and squinted.

"I'll text Sora, she'll help you go ring shopping," Tai whispered to Izzy.

"Dank ooo," Izzy nodded and gave him a thumbs-up.

"Joe, can I touch my fiance now? I promise I'll be gentle!" Mimi pleaded.

"Fine! But be very gentle!" Joe stepped to the side.

"Yay!" Mimi climbed up on the hospital bed and gently kissed him on the lips. "Oh, and in a matter of time, I'll get to suck your whole face off!"

"For now, there's something else of his you could suck off. Right, Doctor Joe?" Tai nudged Joe and cackled.

"Eyyye!" Izzy huffed, blushing.

"Depends. How 'excited' does he get when he receives... 'special treatment'?" Joe asked.

"Ohh!" Izzy groaned.

"Oooh, he gets really excited. I would know, I hear them loud and clear. I don't even have to do the whole cup on the wall trick," Yolei winked.

"Yolei!" Mimi gasped, covering her hands over her mouth.

"Oheee!" Izzy felt his face flush a deeper red.

"Well, if that's the case- I would hold off until you heal a little longer. In the meantime, you want to limit the amount of movement in your jaw, which would include movement caused from 'talking', for the next couple of weeks," Joe said.

"Ohhhh!" Izzy heaved.

"Okay, that's probably off the table for a little bit then," Mimi pouted.

"But she'll be yours for the taking for rest of your life after that," Tai smirked.

"Uh...," Izzy grabbed his pen and paper again, only to write down two words: "Worth it."

Three Months Later...

"It's been a couple of weeks since RickRoll's darling cooking queen declared that she was taking an indefinite break from social media for personal reasons, but has it actually been even longer than that? Expert blind item influencer, Gossip Girl, has been doing some deep diving through some of Tachikawa's posts before her drastic announcement-"

"Mimi...," Izzy sighed, leaning back in his beach chair.

"Sorry, I just wanted to know if my sneaky little plan was successful," Mimi sheepishly smiled and shut her phone off.

"People were probably bound to find out eventually, but at least you threw them off your scent for a little," Izzy shrugged.

"I guess. I mean, I think they were going to notice eventually when I haven't done a live in weeks, but I was hoping the scheduled posts kept them distracted enough," Mimi grabbed her daiquiri and sipped it.

"I'm not even going to pretend to remotely understand any of what you said," Izzy looked at her incredulously.

"It's fine! I guess all that really matters is that I'm here spending my honeymoon with you in a secluded resort away from the rest of the world!" Mimi stretched her arms out.

"And I'm glad I can finally move my mouth again. It's nice to eat solid foods again," Izzy massaged his jaw.

"Yeah, I know that's not the only thing you like to eat with your mouth," Mimi climbed up on his lap and teasingly kissed him on the lips.

"Mimi...," Izzy blushed.

"I love how you still get worked up, even though I'm your wife now," Mimi whispered in his ear.

"I know, but I still can't believe it. I feel like at any moment, I'm just going to wake up from a dream," Izzy pulled her closer to him, gently sliding his fingertips up and down her back.

"Well, it's not a dream- see?" Mimi pinched him on the arm.

"Ow, okay! You didn't have to do that," Izzy winced.

"Sorry... but I think I know how I can make it up to you," Mimi coyly twirled a piece of hair around her finger.

"Oh yeah?" Izzy leaned in close to her face.

"Yeah...," Mimi gently nibbled his ear and whispered in it.

"Oh... that sounds good," Izzy's eyes widened.

"I thought it would," Mimi smirked seductively and hopped off of him. "I'll start getting ready and we can check that place out. They have so many different types of desserts, but their cookies are supposed to be the best."

"Let's just get a little of everything," Izzy got up from his beach chair.

"That's exactly what I was thinking! Come on!" Mimi grabbed his hand and pulled him inside their private beach house.