"How's the baby?" asked Hikaru, a soft smile on a her face as she looked at Reign.
Reign moved her hair out of her face. "They're doing well. Bigger than before which is good, moving a bit more now, and growing at a steady rate. Have you been watching what you eat like I told you?"
Hikaru nodded. "I've cut down on satisfying my cravings just so I can enjoy them while I'm at the end of my pregnancy. Is that good?"
She smiled. "By the end of your pregnancy I do hope to see you giving into your cravings. It's best that you and the baby are happy but as of right now, I need you both to be happy and healthy."
"Can I still exercise? I am seven months now."
"Of course. Don't do anything too intense. A light jog or even just walking around your neighborhood or on a treadmill." Reign informed Hikaru.
Hikaru nodded and Reign stood up, packing up her supplies while Hikaru wiped the gel off of her belly. Once both of them were done, Hikaru walked Reign through the house until she saw her daughter. Reign smiled and gestured for Hikaru's daughter to come to her. She did so happily and Reign caught her and hugged her tightly.
"I didn't get to see you last time." Reign whined, smiling at Rei.
Rei played with Reign's hair for a bit before responding. "Can I go with you? I want to play with the other kids?"
Reign chuckled. "They won't be coming over for another two weeks. I'll come and get you then."
Rei nodded and gestured for Reign to put her down which she did. Reign bowed to Yuta who walked over to her and gave her a piece of cake that he'd gotten from the store.
"Thank you for coming all the way here again." he thanked. "I'm sure you're busy."
Reign shook her head and refused the cake slice. "I'm trying to stay away from sweets as well. Thank you though Yuta. Life has been a bit slow for me these days. I feel more relaxed now and not as on edge."
Hikaru gasped. "Are you perhaps seeing someone?"
Reign lied to Hikaru and Yuta and denied it. "No I am not. My parents want me to though especially since I'm getting older now."
"I understand." Yuta comforted. "That's how my parents were but I'm glad they did or else I wouldn't have the family I have now."
Hikaru smiled at him and he wrapped his arm around her shoulder. Reign smiled at the two and gave one last look to Rei who was playing with toys on the floor before leaving. Reign sighed after leaving since she knew she had to go visit Akito. She didn't want to see Akito especially after what happened between the two of them last time. Reign was informed earlier in the day that she had to go visit Akito by Akito's head maid.
Reign disliked her very much due to her rudeness when talking to someone who was under Akito. She believed that Akito did no wrong and everyone wronged Akito instead which rubbed Reign the wrong way. Ever since they were children she had always been like that. Reign never said anything when they were children but as she got older she got more outspoken which the head maid didn't like so she always treated Reign slightly different from everyone else.
She reached Akito's residence and took a deep breath before entering. Reign hated going there every time she was summoned and she was summoned very often. Reign entered and didn't even bother to greet the maids who roamed the residence since they more than likely wouldn't greet her back. Reign opened the door to the room that Akito was usually in but Akito wasn't there. If Akito wasn't in that room then Akito must be outside. Reign walked a few of the halls and soon found Akito sitting on the deck of the house and looking at the lawn, admiring it almost.
"I was summoned?" Reign interrupted, staying a few feet away from Akito.
Akito turned around and smiled at Reign. "I'm glad you came. I wanted to talk to you since our last meeting didn't go so well."
"What is it?" Reign sighed, setting her bag down and putting her hands in her pockets.
"I'm sorry for making you angry the last time we meet. I brought up things I shouldn't have." Akito apologized without an ounce of sincerity.
Reign narrowed her eyes and simply nodded. "Can I go now? It's not like you actually need me."
Akito laughed. "I'm the God. You exist to serve me do you not? Well, maybe not you since you baited me into even throwing the banquet in the first place."
"What do you want from me?" Reign asked exasperatedly. "I've been with you for years. I want freedom of my own too. I want a life for myself too. Why can't you accept that?"
Akito stood up and walked towards Reign. Reign saw a smirk present on Akito's lips and knew that nothing good would come from it. She wanted to take a step back but showing Akito weakness was one thing one should never do. It gave Akito an opening, and that's one thing you never want to do. Akito came extremely close to Reign and began to fiddle with her hair. Anyone who didn't know the two would've thought they were extremely friendly but anyone who knew them and the Soma family secret would know the predicament that Reign was in right now.
"We are forever together." Akito whispered darkly in Reign's ear. "My life is yours and yours is mine. That's forever unchanging. Get that through your head now like it used to be and get the new thoughts out quickly before I get angry."
Akito yanked on Reign's hair out Reign didn't make a sound or show any emotion to it. Akito chuckled and let it go, throwing it and letting the loc of hair hit Reign in the face. Akito began walking away from Reign and opened the door, stopping momentarily to tell Reign something else.
"A life of your own huh?" Akito snickered. "That's the funniest thing I've heard in a while."
The door closed and Reign squatted down the moment it did to collect herself and her thoughts. She knew what she was walking into when she entered Akito's residence but why did she still feel exhausted and defeated? Why did she expect Akito to brush past the little incident between the two without a care in the world? Why did she even speak back to Akito knowing what the outcome would be? She didn't even know herself. The only thing she could do was move on from the situation between the two and act like it never happened.
Reign got up and picked up her bag and started to head somewhere. She wanted anything to get her mind off of what just happened with Akito. It wasn't the worst thing that ever happened between the two of them but it was the worst of what has happened to Reign recently. The meeting was short but they had enough words between them that left a big impact. Reign couldn't leave Akito's residence fast enough to get to Hatori's.
She got there fast despite not thinking about it much and knocked on the door, somewhat hoping that he wouldn't answer the door. It was a little minute of waiting but he did end up opening it. The moment he opened it, Reign walked inside and sat her bag down on the table before taking her coat off and sitting it on a seat. Hatori shut the door behind her and stayed by it.
"Is something the matter?" he asked cautiously.
Reign said nothing and only gestured for him to come near her. He did so without hesitating and stood a few feet away from her. Reign wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him slowly on his lips. He kissed her back without hesitation and wrapped an arm around her, pulling her closer to him. The kiss helped calm Reign down a bit from before and once she felt herself finally relax fully, she pulled back from the kiss. When she did, Hatori finally looked at her and brought his free hand to cup her cheek.
"Now do you want to tell me what's the matter?" he asked smiling softly.
Reign sighed and rested her head on his shoulder as she moved in closer to their embrace. "Akito."
The mention of Akito's named let Hatori fully understand the situation. He kissed her neck softly and let his finger run soft circles on her back.
"What do you want me to do?" he whispered. "Brew some tea, hold you while laying down, or make you something?"
She thought it over. "Ice cream and a movie?"
He chuckled. "That's really what you want?"
"And let me stay over for the night." she added on.
He kissed her forehead. "Deal."
*
"엄마랑 아버지, 안녕!" Reign greeted happily as they entered her house. (Mom and dad, hi!)
Her mom entered the kitchen with a cake in hand and a bright smile on her face with her dad trailing behind her. "We come bearing no presents but they'll be sent here later in the week."
She gestured with her hands that she didn't care and walked around the island to hug her. "I've missed you so much."
Her mom hugged her tightly and kissed her cheek. "I've missed you too. I don't want to travel out of the country for a while now."
"What about me?" asked her dad grumpily. "I thought you were excited to see me too." he pouted.
Reign let go of her mom and laughed at him. He looked a bit smaller than before but he seemed healthy nonetheless. She braced herself to transform and gave him a big hug. The instant she did, she transformed and he hugged her tightly when she transformed into fox form.
"I've missed you so much my little fox. You don't know how worried I was about you being left alone without us."
Reign snuggled into his chest. "I was worried about you as well. I was a wreck when mom first told me you collapsed. Don't go anywhere without me anymore."
The two of them chuckled but agreed. He let go of Reign and Reign hopped down to go into the nearest room so she could get dressed. Her mom carried the clothes into the bathroom that was closest to the kitchen and it was only after two minutes that she transformed back into a human. She got dressed quickly and came out ready to cook.
"The menu for tonight is 삼겹살, 떡볶이, and 짜장면." Reign announced.
(samgyeopsal, tteokbokki, jjajangmyeon)
Her mom gasped. "That's not healthy at all!"
Reign rolled her eyes. "You two have been eating hospital food. Both of you have also lost weight so I'm getting you back to the original state. Also, we also eat samgyeopsal with wraps so it'll be a bit healthier."
"I still want it." her dad said, going against her mom. "I was sick of hospital food and instant food."
Reign smiled. "I'll start cooking now so you two can go into the living room and wait. I'll tell you when everything is done."
Her mom clasped her hands together. "Great! Let's have cake as the dessert and take a walk after to digest."
"응." Reign agreed.
Reign started the jjajangmyeon first since it would take the longest time to cook. She had always watched her mom make it so she knew how to do it without a recipe. Cooking was all about instincts after all. Once the jjajangmyeon was halfway complete, she started on the samgyeopsal which was just pork belly seasoned lightly and cooked in a skillet. The tteokbokki was the last thing she cooked and she started that once the jjajangmyeon and samgyeopsal was complete. It took ten minutes for it to finish cooking and within those ten minutes, she made rice in the rice cooker.
"엄마, 야채 좀 씻어 주시겠어요?" she asked. "아빠 내가 접시를 가져오는 동안 식탁을 차릴 수 있니?" (Mom, can you wash the vegetables for me? Dad can you set the table as I bring the dishes over?)
"네!" they responded in unison. (Yes!)
It took Reign two hours but she finished cooking everything. Her dad brought chopsticks, forks, knives, and spoons and set them on the table first before bringing the plates and handed the bowls to Reign so she could fill them with rice. Reign's mom brought over the vegetables assorted on a platter and set it down in a place where they would all be able to reach for them comfortably. Reign set the table with the jjajangmyeon first followed by the samgyeopsal, tteokbokki, and then the bowls of rice.
Everyone sat down and the two of them let her dad get his first scoop of jjajangmyeon before they fixed their on plates.
"This is really good Reign, seriously." her mom complimented whilst eating the noodles. "I'm glad you cooked us a meal."
Reign blushed. "Thank you. I don't have any kimchi and I didn't want to make any in a rush either. Sorry."
Her mom rubbed her back in a reassuring manner. "It's fine. I can eat without it."
"This samgyeopsal is seasoned well." her dad commented as he chewed the wrap he made. "I'll need you to make meals for us more often since we're getting older now."
Reign laughed. "I don't think so. This is a once in a while type of deal dad."
He furrowed his brows which made the two of them laugh. Endless conversations flowed naturally between the three of them as they ate dinner together. Reign felt like a part of her finally came back to life as she could actually be in the same room as her parents. They were the only family she had and she didn't know what she would do if they were gone. The two of them meant a lot to her.
The three finished dinner in a timely manner and the only leftover they had was the rice. None of them wanted cake so they just went out for a walk and decided to do the dishes once they came back. Reign was in the middle with her arms linked through both of her parents as they walked around the estate. They didn't talk but simply looked at the sky and enjoyed the fresh air. They didn't need to talk since the company of them being together was enough.
Reign contemplated if she wanted to tell them about her and Hatori since she genuinely had no idea how they would react. One could be happy while the other could be a bit apprehensive. She knew she had to tell them regardless and she wanted to get it off of her chest so it wouldn't accidentally slip out. Reign let out a sigh which made her mom ask was anything bothering her.
"There's something I want to tell you guys." she began.
"What may that be?" her dad asked, his tone of voice leveled like usual.
"I'm currently talking to someone." she confessed, her voice faltering as she spoke.
Unfortunately, her mom caught wind of everything she said and was super happy.
"Congratulations!" she cheered happily. "Is it someone we know? How did it happen?"
"I'm curious about who it is." her dad said. "Someone caught my precious daughters eyes. They must be special."
Reign laughed softly. "Please don't react crazily when I tell you."
The two of them nodded and gestured for her to continue.
Reign let the sound of their footsteps soothe her as they walked and took a deep breath before spilling who it was.
"It's Hatori." she revealed.
Her mom gasped audibly while her dad didn't react at all.
"I should've known!" her mom nearly said out loud . "It makes sense as well! Good job my little fox."
"I did think something was going on between you two." her dad confessed.
She whipped her neck to look at him. "Since when?"
He rubbed his temple with his free hand. "Since you turned twenty. No, before that actually. It was subtle but I think anyone could feel the tension coming from you two. I was never opposed to it since I knew him and his family well and knew that he was a good young man. I still feel that way now."
Reign smiled and kissed his cheek. "Thank you. I wasn't sure how you two would react so I've been putting it off for a while."
Her dad snickered. "Just invite him over for a meal when you two have made it official, yeah?"
Her mom agreed. "Tell me what he likes and I'll try to find a good medium between what we all eat."
"Will do!" Reign replied happily.
Reign's shoulders felt so much lighter after telling her parents that. She was happy that they didn't reject the idea of the two of them together and liked him so much instead. The only thing she kind of had to worry about was the dinner of meeting him once they made it official but it shouldn't be much different than when he used to come over to eat after work. He would no longer be Reign's childhood best friend and coworker Hatori, he'd be her boyfriend who's her coworker.
The change could seem minor to some but for Reign it was huge. To be able to call him her boyfriend was a different level of intimacy that she was kind of anxious over but knew she would get over it once the time came.