Chapter Text
December 19th
Kyoko went over her mental checklist for the fifth time since she reached the gate. It wasn't that she'd forgotten anything -- she was reasonably sure that she hadn't -- but she was nervous; she had no idea what to expect. Julie-san was so very excited that she was coming not only for CHRISTMAS (and the amount of emphasis she put on that word terrified Kyoko a little) but for her birthday as well.
Moko-san had not been pleased with these plans, but Kyoko had argued that she really wanted to see Kuu and his wife and they had invited her.
The downside was that she wasn't speaking to their son. Though he had thrown himself into his work the last six months, and she didn't see that slowing up soon, so really it was unlikely that Kuon would be in LA.
Besides, it was too late to worry about such a thing. She was already at the gate and her plane was about to board. When they called for First Class, she blanched but stood up and headed forward. She really should have argued with Otou-san about the cost of the ticket more, but he was having none of it. It was part of their Christmas/birthday present, he said. That it’d be rude to turn it down, and that he’d really, really, really (yes, he did use three ‘really’s) wanted her to just accept.
She found her seat in the middle of the plane and sat down. She pulled out her script and started reading. When she got back from LA, she had to jump right into shooting the new drama she had signed on with a few days ago. She was a late addition to the cast, but the previous leading lady had dropped out and she had a reputation for learning scripts fast -- though not as fast as Moko-san. She’d have plenty of time to learn the lines for the first scenes they'd be filming before she got back.
“Champagne?”
She looked up at the flight attendant. “Excuse me?”
The attendant smiled at her. “Would you like a glass of champagne before we take off?” She held out a tray.
“Yes, you would.”
Kyoko snapped her head to the left. The seat across the aisle from her was now occupied. By Kuon. Who gave her a cheeky smile and nodded his head.
“I’m sorry. I’m underage,” she replied.
The attendant nodded and offered orange juice instead, which she gladly took.
Kuon sighed at her, took the proffered glass of champagne and started fiddling with something, putting things in pockets and compartments that she didn’t even realise were there. He was obviously perfectly comfortable and knew exactly what was going on, and she suddenly felt incredibly self-conscious.
Shaking her head, she took the opportunity to look away and back to her script. She wasn’t interested in what he was doing, or saying, or thinking. She sighed. She really probably should have thought harder about taking this trip. Especially knowing now that he was going to be in LA as well. She sighed. The words in front of her weren’t actually making much sense, but she refused to give in.
“Hizuri-san, would you like to change now? The lavatory is free.”
Change?
“Ah, not at the moment. Thank you though.” There was a pause. “Kyoko-chan, what about you?”
She looked around the edge of her script at Kuon. Both he and a different flight attendant were looking at her. “What about me?” She directed the question to the attendant, but of course Kuon answered.
“The pyjamas.”
She just blinked at him and didn’t say a single word.
“Ask again after food service.”
The attendant went away. Kyoko’s fingers tightened on the script. She knew he was still looking at her, and it bothered her. He knew that they weren’t speaking, and yet he always pretended that he didn’t know that and just kept talking to her as he used to.
Back when his hair wasn’t blond with the sparkle of diamonds.
Back when his eyes weren’t the color of summer leaves.
Back when she believed in fairies and princes and happily ever afters.
Back before Corn shattered.
“You really should just relax and enjoy the flight. There will be time to read your script later.”
She didn’t answer. Couldn’t answer. She never knew what to say to this man that used to be Ren, but wasn’t, but... was. Instead, she shook her head and put the script to one side in favor of her headphones. If she watched something, then she’d have a reason to ignore him and pretend that she couldn’t hear his voice. So, that is what she’d do.
Except that the selection of dramas was really not in her favor. They had some recent ones and since they were the popular ones, he was in a fair few. Or she was, and she didn’t really feel comfortable watching her own work. Or they weren’t ones that she had much interest in.
Then there was the back catalog where, of course, there was Dark Moon and Purple Down I and II.
She sighed and went to look at the Western shows instead. Kuu’s latest was there, but that felt just as odd, and there were a couple of romantic comedies, and those could burn -- along with all feelings of love, ever. Then there was some fantasy movie that she thought about watching and almost clicked on before she thought better of it. Fantasy movies were for the Kyoko before six months ago.
She felt the plane start to move, wasn’t sure if she was glad or scared or tired or worried. All she knew is that this trip wasn’t going to be the relaxing holiday that her Otou-san and Julie-san promised.
*`*`*`*`*
It turned out that the airplane pyjamas -- which she eventually gave in and put on after seeing the other people flying had them on -- were surprisingly comfortable, even if she had to roll the sleeves and the legs just a little in order to properly fit into them.
She hadn’t expected them to take her clothes and hang them in a little hidden closet in a side panel of her seat, or that they’d turn her entire seat into a bed, complete with a comforter and two cozy pillows.
“You look cute, Kyoko-chan.”
Blushing, she quickly climbed into her former-seat-now-bed, got under the covers, and stuck her headphones over her ears. She’d eventually found a drama special that Moko-san had been in, and had just decided to watch that on repeat, but she couldn’t help but sneak a peek across the aisle where Kuon was leaning back in his little bunk with a leg bent up and his headphones on. He was now listening to something while he read a script of his own. Unlike hers, his pyjamas fit a bit more snugly across his shoulders, but he still looked incredibly comfortable. And good. Attractive. Even in airplane pyjamas. It was too much, and she flipped over to her side, squeezed her eyes shut and willed herself to sleep.
It happened incredibly quickly. When she woke up, it was to the sound of cutlery. She sat up and immediately looked around. Within a minute, there was an attendant asking if she’d like to freshen up and get dressed while they reset her seat and retrieved her breakfast, and would she like the Western set or Japanese set, and…
First Class was a very strange place on airplanes, and she wasn’t entirely sure she liked it. But freshen up she did, and when she sat down, a basic Japanese breakfast was delivered swiftly.
“We’ll be over California soon.”
Again, she was ignoring Kuon. It wasn’t like she had a window seat, so it didn’t really matter. Did it?
“I thought you might want to trade so you could see the cityscape. It’s really different from Japan.”
She glanced over and pressed her lips together in a tight line. She really did want to.
“It’s really clear too, I bet the visibility will be great.” He was cajoling her.
But agreeing meant that she would have to actually say something and acknowledge Kuon’s presence on the flight. She turned back to her rice, shovelling more into her mouth and thinking as she chewed. Why did he have to make not talking to him so difficult? He did things like this every time they were in the same place. He’d even tricked her into responding a couple of times, and looked absolutely pleased with himself every time.
She really didn’t like it.
She’d say that he looked smug, but he didn’t -- not really, just happy.
Suddenly, his face -- with his hair falling into his eyes and his gentle, happy smile that reminded her of when he was ten -- filled her line of sight. “You don’t have to say anything. Just, if you’re interested go over there, okay?”
She watched as he walked to the lavatory and then glanced longingly at his window. She took a deep breath, then practically jumped across the aisle into his seat and looked out the window. She could see bits of city between the clouds, but it was still mostly ocean. It really did look different from Tokyo from the sky, though.
She wished she had grabbed her phone so she could take a picture. She looked over at her seat. Kuon was back and smiling at her. She sighed.
He was being nice and letting her look out his window…
She took a deep breath. “Can you hand me my phone so I can take a picture?”
Oh, his heavenly smile still made her heart ache. “It would be my pleasure, Kyoko-chan.” He looked around and -- after spotting it in one of the many pockets -- handed it over across the aisle. Her fingers brushed against his as she took it, and again she felt that little zing of electricity that she used to.
“Thank you.” She clutched her phone in her hand, held it to her chest, and turned back to the window.
A flight attendant sighed dreamily. No doubt she’d made the mistake of looking at Kuon when he was smiling at her with that very dangerous smile. Always a mistake. It was like being hit with a full dose of fairytale drug, that smile. It was a good thing she was almost immune to it. Full immunity might take the rest of her life, but she was determined to acquire it.
Her breath caught as the city came into view and she held her smartphone close to the window to take a picture. It really was pretty how all the buildings looked like miniatures, and even the cars on the highway looked like little toys as they got a little closer.
She looked across the aisle at Kuon and smiled.
*`*`*`*`*
She found Kuon waiting for her at baggage claim. He’d actually already collected her suitcase. It wasn’t like he hadn’t seen it before. It was the exact same one she’d used in Guam when they’d been the Heel Siblings. That felt like ages ago.
A different lifetime.
Different people.
She sighed.
“I figured since we’re going to the same place, I would just grab your things. Customs wasn’t too bad? I would have gone with you, but different passport, so not really allowed.”
She nodded and reached for her suitcase, but he pushed the cart he had set it on out of her reach.
“Not happening.”
She sighed and glowered at him, but he just put his hand on her head as he used to and stroked the top of her head. She only paused a moment before ducking away, hoping that he hadn't noticed her hesitation to leave the warm comfort of his hand. She shook her head. He was being ridiculous.
A brief look of sadness crossed over Kuon’s face, but his smile swiftly returned as she glumly followed him through the doors reading that they had nothing to declare, out of the sterile environment that was passport control and customs, and into a bustling international terminal of a major metropolitan airport.
“Just follow the flashing lights,” Kuon sighed.
She looked over in the same direction that he was and immediately understood what he was talking about. His parents were surrounded by people, most of which had cameras out. Quite a few looked professional, even. Paparazzi?
“Are they…” She stopped. No talking. Talking to him was dangerous.
“Vultures? Yes.” He stopped, obviously debating if he wanted to wade into that mess, but the decision was taken out of his hands when his mother caught sight of him.
The mass of people parted like they were in a movie, and Julie-san, in her high heels and skinny jeans with her flowing top in red and silver, rushed over to where they were and flung her arms around Kuon’s neck. “You’re home!”
Kyoko couldn’t help but smile. It got a bit brighter when she caught the grimace on Kuon’s face. Served him right. He was always embarrassing her, after all.
“Yeah, I’m home, Mom. Or at least in LA.”
She stepped back and pinched his cheeks, pulling on them a little, and Kyoko’s eyes went wide. They went even wider at her next words. “Is that the mouth that is talking back to me?”
She saw Kuon glance at her with a mischievous look. “Nope,” he said, “my mouth is here.” And pointed at his lips.
“Well, then use it to give your mother a kiss. Hurry up. I haven’t said hello to Kyoko yet.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know. She’s everyone’s favourite.” He bent down a little and pressed his lips to his mother’s cheek.
She patted his cheek. “Well, she’s adorable. You are not.”
He sincerely sounded affronted. “Since when?”
Julie-san scoffed. “Since I decided that you need someone to keep your ego in check. All those women staring at you all the time must have gone to your head.” She turned away, but Kyoko still caught Kuon’s response.
“Not at all. The only pair of eyes I want looking at me avoid me.”
But she didn’t have time to give it much thought, because Kyoko was suddenly wrapped up in a tight hug. If she hadn’t been more familiar with the touchiness of Cain when she’d acted as Setsu, she would have frozen, but she was able to return the gesture, though she wasn’t sure that all the stiffness vanished.
“You are absolutely more adorable than Kuu said! I mean I’ve seen you on video chat, but this, having you here is just… it’s going to be the BEST CHRISTMAS !”
“Mom really loves Christmas.”
Kyoko took a step back and bowed properly. “I really appreciate your hospitality over the holiday. Thank you for having me, Julie-san.”
“Oh, no, no, no, this won’t do. Not at all. Call me Mom.”
Kyoko raised her head and looked at the woman in front of her. She had her hands on her hips and a serious look on her face. “I… I don’t…” She couldn’t possibly refer to Kuon’s mother as familiarly as he did; that would be insulting!
Julie pressed her lips together and gave a look that was eerily similar to her son’s disapproving look back when he’d been Ren. Just with Kuon’s bright green eyes instead.
“Mom.” The word came out of her mouth unbidden and Julie smiled. Oh, this whole family was dangerous with their smiles. Damn it.
“Son!” Kuu had finished signing autographs and taking pictures and was walking over to them. “No, not you. The cuter one.” He walked past Kuon and picked up Kyoko in a bear hug. “I’m so glad you came. I thought you might change your mind when you found out that the big idiot over there was coming home, too.”
“I… uh, I didn’t realise until he was on the plane sitting across from me.”
Kuu put her down and looked over at Kuon, who just sheepishly grinned at his father. “I forgot to mention it to her.” Though Kyoko could tell that he was lying. He knew that if he’d told her, she would have cancelled on his parents.
Kuu turned and wrapped his arms around his son and whispered something into Kuon’s ear in what she was pretty sure was Russian, and he replied in the same language.
Kyoko turned to look at Julie.
She shrugged. “Secret languages.” She sighed. “I gave up trying to learn Russian and Japanese. French was enough for me, but Kuon never seemed interested, and it wasn’t as important to me that he learn French as it was to Kuu for him to learn Japanese and Russian. After all, I learned it for work purposes, not because I was raised speaking it, as Kuu was.”
Kyoko nodded.
“But your English is very good. I’ve never asked why.”
Kyoko tilted her head to the side. “My foster mother taught me. The inn which I was raised in was very prominent in Kyoto and had many foreign clients, so English was a must. ” She paused and looked over at Kuon. “Though I know that my English is a bit too formal.”
Julie linked her arm with Kyoko. “Well, we can work on that while you’re here. I have all sorts of plans. Ice skating and shopping, and I thought we’d take a boat out, then see some of the Christmas lights along the Venice walking canals. There’s even an Ice Kingdom that has some amazing ice sculptures and tubing and ice slides. Have you ever done anything like that, Kyoko?”
Her eyes were wide and she shook her head.
“Mom, Kyoko-chan has never experienced Christmas outside of Japan, and really that’s just oneish day and not very… well, it’s not like here .” He paused. “Though I think some of the Tokyo winter illuminations would put a lot of the lights here to shame. Maybe. I haven’t seen them for years. But kitsch. I think LA will win for Christmas kitsch. Though I bet that Kyoko would really like a traditional Japanese Christmas dinner.”
Kyoko rolled her eyes skyward, but Julie wasn’t looking at her and instead had her head turned toward Kuon.
“There’s a traditional Japanese Christmas dinner?” She sounded so excited, Kyoko almost felt bad for her. “What is it? Can we do it here?”
Kuu snorted.
“Sure!” Kuon gave his mother a big grin. “It’s really easy to make, too.”
“Really?”
She had to stop this. “Kuon.” Just his name. For Julie's sake.
He looked over at her and gave his puppy dog eyes. She gave in and let him have his fun.
“Well?” Julie poked her son in his arm as they walked. “What do I need to get?”
“Kentucky Fried Chicken.”
Kuu lost his struggle and started laughing. His laugh only redoubled as Julie huffed and slapped her son on his arm.
“That wasn’t funny.”
“But it’s true!”
Julie looked at her. “Is it really?”
Kyoko nodded. “For decades. They even dress up the Colonel figures in Santa suits.” She paused. “Though I’ve never actually had it. The lines are very long on Christmas.”
They were at the car Kuu and Julie hired to take them home. Suitcases were stored and they all piled into the large SUV.
*`*`*`*`*
Kyoko got out of the car and just stopped. This was not… this couldn’t be… did they stop at a restaurant? But no, it didn’t look like one of those, either. The building was large, rectangular and two stories in a Spanish sort of style, with little bits of ivy clinging to parts of the walls. It was pretty and unexpected.
“Kyoko-chan, are you coming?” Kuon was rolling her suitcase and she rushed to take it from him, but he spun it into his other hand. Kuu had Kuon’s.
She glared.
“It’ll look even more amazing tonight when the lights turn on.”
She pressed her lips together.
He looked at her expectantly. He knew. She was sure that her question was written all over her face. She looked away from him, and saw Kuu and Julie looking at them. She braced herself. “Mom, what does Kuon mean by turn on the lights?”
She heard Kuon’s sigh next to her. He wasn’t going to trap her that easily.
Kuon’s parents looked at them with confused expressions, but Julie answered anyway. “The whole house is decorated with Christmas lights! It looks spectacular! You’ll love it!”
“This really is the house?”
Kuon nodded. His smile was back. She hadn’t directed the question at someone who wasn’t him. He grabbed her hand and tugged her toward the door that Kuu had opened. “Welcome home, Kyoko-chan.”
The living room was huge with high ceilings and large windows all along one wall, bathing the house in bright natural light. Each piece of furniture looked both beautiful and incredibly comfortable, as if she could just curl up at any second and take a nap and would be cushioned perfectly. Everywhere she looked, there were photos framed and hung on the walls. It was both like and unlike the pictures of celebrity homes she’d seen in magazines. The magazines always seemed so posed, with everything in their proper places and very little in the way of personal effects. But in addition to all the family pictures, there was a book open and turned upside down on the arm of the couch, and a lap blanket haphazardly thrown over the back. A side table had some fashion magazines haphazardly stacked.
The room smelled of cinnamon and cardamon and ginger, and she smiled.
“I gave Kyoko the room with the best view. Will you take her things there, honey?”
Kuon nodded. “Come on, Kyoko-chan.”
Kyoko just followed him down a hall. It too was lined with photos, but not all of these were family photos like in the living room. There were just lots and lots of nature landscapes. Many of them were gorgeous. She stopped at one that looked over a waterfall in a jungle and stared.
“I took that when I was eight or nine, I think. I used to be really into photography. Nature photography, specifically. I’m surprised they kept all those up.”
She glanced over at Kuon. “You took that photo?”
“Yeah, I did. A bunch of these, actually. I travelled a lot with my parents. A camera kept me out of trouble. For the most part.” He opened a door on their right. Kyoko’s breath caught with the view. One whole wall was just giant picture windows. The room overlooked the pool, but beyond the pool there was a clear view of the ocean.
“Like she said. The room with the best view.” He rolled her suitcase over to the bureau and grabbed her bag out of her fingers, which had gone pretty slack. It really was a breathtaking view.
“I feel like I can see for forever.”
She looked around, surprised that Kuon didn’t take advantage of her speaking to him. Instead, he was just looking at her, his expression soft and tender, but not smiling. Not frowning, either. Just looking. She blushed and looked down.
“I’ll let you get settled and rest for a while. If you want, I’ll show you around the house and the property a little later.”
She just nodded. When the door closed behind him, she collapsed into the large chaise by that giant picture window and stared at the view, letting her mind wander.
*`*`*`*`*
The rest of the first day passed in a blur. She was exhausted from travelling and overwhelmed being in the Hizuri home. Everything was larger than life, it seemed. And when it wasn’t, like the infinity pool, there still seemed to be some sort of optical illusion at play to make it seem bigger than anything she’d ever experienced.
She didn’t slip, and managed to not actually say anything else directly to Kuon throughout their outing out to one of Kuu’s favorite local eateries for dinner. But the conversation had been easy; Kuu and Julie seemed mostly interested in finding out all the things that they’d been working on lately, so there were no lags in the conversation at all.
She had excused herself to go to bed halfway through watching A Christmas Story with the Hizuris upstairs in Kuu’s study/TV room after she dozed off for the third time. She didn’t know if having a high definition projector set up so that the image would seem to be roughly half the size of a movie theater screen was just a “TV room”, but that’s what they called it.
Yes, ‘larger than life’ and ‘overwhelming’ seemed to be the words of the day.
She shut the curtains over the gorgeous view, crawled into bed and fell straight to sleep.
*`*`*`*`*