Chapter Twenty: The Newly Weds

 

            *“Sure Mom. Uh, can I just speak to Hiiro real quickly?” She silently pleaded with her mother to say yes.

            “Why of course dear. Take all the…” Ilene began.

            “Now wait just a minute here Ilene. Who said they were married? Just because he comes into this house with my daughter and a kid doesn’t mean…” Kenji started.

            “No Ken dear, give the boy a chance. After all, he is our son now too.” Ilene quipped, trying to stop an argument before it became a heated debate.

            “No Ilene, we know nothing about this boy yet. How do we know we can trust him? After all, he only just came into our home today. I want to at least learn more than his name before I accept him as my son.”

            “Ken!” Ilene gasped at the rude tone of her husband’s voice. But she was helpless to stop him from ultimately having his way.

            “Now Serena, Mr.- Yui, did you say? Please, come in and take a seat. Let’s go over the facts.” Helpless, Serena was pulled by her wrist into the next room over by her father. Hiiro, now more adjusted to the new nature of his ‘mission’, had adapted quickly. He was going to have to be quick on his toes tonight. Serena let Ben ran off to explore the house while her parents sat down on the couch, her brother in the giant armchair next to the fireplace on one side, and herself and Hiiro on the loveseat on the other side.

            “Tell me young man. You are married to my daughter?” Kenji began. Sammy settled in and slightly smiled. This was going to be one hell of an unusual Christmas.

            “Yes sir, I am.” Serena’s drooped head shot up from hanging on her chest and she looked Hiiro in the eyes. He would do this for her? Pretend to be married to her and be the father of her son? Why? Well, whatever the reason, she couldn’t deny how right it felt in her heart to hear him say they were married.

Hiiro took a brief moment to return Serena’s stare. Her eyes shone with the warmth of thanks and another, deeper emotion he had yet to place. She was happy he had played along. He had been worried at first, but now he knew he had done the right thing. And besides. Was it so bad to pretend they, Serena, Ben, and he, were a real family? No. It felt almost normal, almost natural. And her eyes… when they shimmered like they were now… it made him feel so happy himself that he nearly burst. He would just have to remind himself this was only pretend. Only a hoax to fix the relationships between Serena and her family. Only fake.

“So, it’s true then. My daughter is married. Well then, Mr. Yui, I believe I would care to hear a bit more about what possessed you, and my daughter, to do such a life altering thing so rashly at such a young age?” Kenji hit him hard. This man, though he seemed older, was sharp. Hiiro knew he would have to keep his footing now, or the lie would all break apart later.

“Sir, with all do respect, I love your daughter Serena more than life it’s self. And she loves me. We knew we were young when we married, however, we decided that we both knew the enormous amount of responsibility and work it would take to make our marriage thrive. And I believe, that, for the last five years of our marriage, it has worked incredibly well for us.” Serena beamed up at Hiiro. Within minutes of entering her house, Hiiro had been pulled into such a giant mess that she had been sure he would back out and run away. But here he was, sticking up for her and not only that, oh no. He was doing so well at it that her father almost seemed intrigued by him instead of hopping mad! Hiiro had not yet ceased to amaze her and take her breath away since the day they first met.

“Serena? Do you feel the same way?” Kenji almost had half a mind to accept Hiiro. Almost. But Hiiro had stolen his daughter away form him in more of a way than that Darien fellow had. Hiiro had taken away his baby’s innocence, made her into a true woman. He had to know if his daughter had matured enough emotionally to handle the life that lay ahead of her.

“Dad.” Kenji looked up. Serena always called him daddy! “Dad. I know that when I was younger I made a great deal of mistakes. I didn’t pay enough attention to schooling. I never learned the responsibility chores were supposed to teach me. I didn’t know the value of a dollar, and I didn’t have any idea how much I truly had. But dad, when I left home and Darien left me, I had to grow up. I learned how to pay attention to detail. I learned to deal with responsibility. I learned how to earn my keep and I learned the meaning of family. I became responsible for another life, Ben. And Hiiro, Hiiro’s been with me through it all. He’s been by me when I thought I would fail. He’s given me strength and support when I needed it most. I have a job now. I have a son now. I cook, I clean, I improvise. And I know that what Hiiro and I have, what Hiiro, Ben and I have, is here to stay forever. It’s more than just some one-night stand, it’s more than just a fling like Darien and I had. It’s friendship, respect, it’s family.”

Hiiro looked at her while she spoke. He could tell she was picking and choosing her words carefully, but he could also see that she meant every single word that came out of her mouth, even the ones about them being a family. He felt a warm wave wash over him as though he had been accepted into a giant world he had been excluded from the last twenty-two years.

“Oh Serena. Oh my darling little girl! She’s grown up so well!” Ilene began to shed tears once again. Kenji turned to hold his wife in his arms while she sobbed. He too, could see his daughter was far more mature than he had ever thought she would be. Well, even if he did like the way Serena had grown up, and even if the mad she had married was just as smart, he still had to act like the mean old drill sergeant of a father and go through the routine questions at least.

“Very well. I accept you Hiiro Yui. For now. I do, however, would like you to answer a few basic questions.” Kenji replied sternly.

“Very well.” Hiiro replied, almost as coldly. Kenji shook his head. Had this boy just put on a different persona? One minute he and Serena had been beaming at each other, the next he was calm and stoic as a statue, and Serena seemed to be used to it. What was going on?

“Full name.” Kenji began.

“Odin Lowe Jr., legally changed to Hiiro Yui by my guardian when I was five.” Well. That was certainly a more thorough answer than Kenji had been expecting.

“Age.”

“Twenty-two years, five months, seven days, twenty-six hours, 1560 minutes, and 93600 seconds.” Serena nearly choked with laughter when she hear Hiiro’s response. Her father was going to go ballistic! But she knew, judging from Hiiro’s expression, he had been taught in his training to answer questions in this manner.

Kenji, was furious. Was this… boy… mocking him? How dare he! And he had thought that this Hiiro Yui might be suitable. Then Kenji caught the expression on Hiiro’s face- or lack there of. It looked as if Hiiro was being serious. Then why had he answered in such a rude manner? Kenji continued his questioning, hoping to get the answer.

“Occupation. And if you say unemployed, I’m kicking you out here and now, so save yourself the trouble and just leave if you are.”

“Daddy!” Serena reprimanded her father.

“I’m part of a special unit of the United States Government referred to as a SWAT team. My unit is Gundam, sector 65, otherwise known as the city of San Francisco.” Kenji was taken aback by this answer. Not only was the boy employed, but he worked as part of a SWAT team? What was a SWAT team?

“What is the job of the SWAT team Gundam’s members?”

“We handle jobs that are too big for the police to handle. Special infiltrations missions, we do research on classified subjects, we stop terrorists and threats, and we handle special investigations. If I tell you any more, I may need to…”

“Hiiro, let’s not get into that right now. Tell my dad about the school and Ben.” Serena stopped Hiiro from practically threatening to kill him. Hiiro looked at her and understood.

“One of our jobs was to save the school Ben attends when a group of terrorists held the children and teachers hostage.”

“I remember reading about that in the newspaper!” Kenji cried out suddenly.

“Daddy, Hiiro was the man that came out of the building after it had been blown up.” Serena added.

“You were the one? This is great!” Sammy finally joined in the conversation.

“Oh my…” Ilene breathed.

“Hmm.” Kenji seemed satisfied. So, he had been trained to answer questions that precisely because of his job, not because he was being smart.

“Apartment? House?”

“We live in a nice two bed/ one bath apartment.” Serena answered for him.

“Hmm.” Kenji couldn’t think of anything else… wait. “How did you two meet?” Serena stopped grinning so much and Hiiro’s stoic posture slightly crumpled- though no one noticed save Serena. She placed a hand on his shoulder, signaling him that she would answer.

“I was in a restaurant being hounded by a bunch of men. No matter how many times I told them I wasn’t interested, they wouldn’t leave me alone. Hiiro came in as my knight in shining armor, telling the guys to take a hike. We became  friends, them dated, then it all just…”

“…happened.” Hiiro finished when he saw Serena was getting choked up. Why would she feel so sad all of a sudden? He didn’t know, but when they were alone, he would find out. He liked the way she had made them meet. It had happened, just a little differently. She was just stretching the truth to fit their story. Suddenly his watch beeped.

“Oh my goodness! Hiiro, it’s four! We promised the others we’d be back by four thirty!” Serena gasped.

“Others?” Ilene and Sammy both chorused at the same time.

“My friends and their girlfriends came with us. One of them owns a house here in Tokyo, so we all came up for Christmas.” Hiiro told them, slightly warmer than he had been while answering Kenji’s questions.

“Oh dear, does that mean you won’t stay for dinner?” Ilene sighed worriedly. Serena glanced at Hiiro. “Of course, your friends are welcome too!” Ilene tried again. She wanted so much to get to know the woman her daughter had grown to be. Serena and Hiiro glanced again.

“Mom, that’s eleven extra people, and while I don’t eat as much as I used to, Duo does…”

“Come to our place tonight.” Hiiro invited them.

“Yeah! What a great idea Hiiro! Quatre’s cooking, and trust me mom, you’ve got to try this American food… you’ll fall in love with it!” Serena squealed. Ilene couldn’t help but love the happy look upon her daughter’s face. Why not?

“Ken?” Ilene pleaded.

“What time and what’s the address?” Kenji sighed in defeat. Hiiro wrote the address down and Serena gave them an approximate time. Then Serena called Ben downstairs and helped him put his coat on.

“We’ll see you tonight around six! Bye mom! Bye dad! Bye Sammy!”

“Bye Serena! Bye Hiiro! Bye Ben!” Called the rest of the Tsukinos as they watched their daughter disappear again, down the street and into the snowy air. What were they in store for tonight at dinner?

>>>)(<<<

            “You told them what!?” Duo and Hilde  screamed at Serena and Hiiro together. The ‘gang’ had all been loafing about Until Serena and Hiiro had walked in the door, with Ben screaming about Hiiro being his new daddy. Naturally, everyone had been, interested to say the least, over Ben’s new pet name for Hiiro. This had lead the group into a conversation regarding the fact that Serena was no longer to be referred to as Ms. Tsukino, but as Mrs. Yui, and that had, in turn, lead Duo and Hilde to their screams.

            “Wait, you two are pretending to be hitched to appease Serena’s family?” Sally asked, a twinkle in her eye.

            “Well, yeah. And we want you all to help us. You know, play along. Hiiro and I have been married for five years.” Serena told them all.

            “We met in a situation much like the one during our lunch break during the trial.” Hiiro explained. The guys, of course, knew exactly what this meant, but the girls were in the dark. While Serena took them aside into the kitchen to explain, they began working on dinner. Quatre joined them and Sally (who insisted cooking had never been her forté) and Dorothy left the kitchen, saying they each were going to help the rest of the guys clean up ‘nice’ for Serena’s parents. Dorothy had meant it. Sally, on the other hand, had used it as an excuse to go spar with Wufei in Quatre’s gym room.

            Finally, after all the chicken was put into the over to simmer, the beans were in their pot on the stove, and the mashed potatoes, bread rolls were ready to be served, the table was set and both the guys and women had cleaned up, they were ready for anything. Enter the doorbell. It was time for the face-off to begin.*