All I Want for Christmas

There was a short pause before the door was pushed open, not by Johnny, or Taylor...or even Alex or Talia.

"Merry Christmas, you must be Ma-mou-ru, right?" an older Caucasian man who seemed nearly fifty asked.  He had short, fading blonde hair, wide framed black glasses, and a perfect smile.  "It's nice to finally meet you.  Aurora has told me so much about you."  The man offered out his hand from the doorway.  He was about Mamouru's height, and behind him was a slightly younger tan-skinned woman with curly hair. Her eyes seemed diverted, not wanting to hold any of the attention.

From the living room, Aurora had heard the voice and took a few steps over towards the doorway just to peak.  And raised a big eyebrow when she saw who it was.  "Dad?"

Mamouru took a step back when a man stepped forward. He definitely wasn't expecting someone. Certainly not someone clearly Western. He was about to apologize to him and the appearing woman for getting the wrong room when the man spoke.

"Huh?" Mamouru lifted his hand and adjusted his glasses and then looked at the man's hand. He didn't really understand despite the words until Aurora finally spoke "Uhhh, dad?" He said.

"Dad?" He said again to make it click. He looked back to Aurora. "Kasan, this is your father?" He asked. He flashed her a look and then quickly turned and grabbed the man's hand with both of his and bowed his head deeply. "Otousan, I had no idea that you were coming! If I had known then..."

"Onegai! P-Please, come in!" He said, trying to usher the man in the door. "And Okasan as well?" He said, bowing his head to the woman. "I'm honored, really." Mamouru said, keeping his head low.

The man smiled in seeming disbelief as Mamouru became super polite like he had made a grave mistake or insulted him. But he also didn't seem certain how to talk him down from it. He didn't understand the Japanese terms but got the gist of it. Mostly. He nodded along as Mamouru guided the two in. "I apologize for showing up unannounced but we thought we'd surprise the two of you." He looked around at the others with nods of greeting. He didn't really know them.

Aurora had walked up beside Mamouru, squeezing his hand and lifting him up from his bow. "This is my dad, Richard. And my step-mom Rachel," she said to correct his assumption. She held him close, forcing a smile. "I thought you said you couldn't make it." She seemed more than just a little flustered that her dad was there. Nevertheless, she walked up to her dad and hugged him tightly, then his wife Rachel as well. She seemed a little uncomfortable, but most people would've been. "If we had known you were coming, I would've prepared something more...festive."

Her father smiled and shrugged. "Sorry to ruin the fun." He looked at Mamouru with a seemingly curious look. Maybe it was his mannerisms, but he seemed unsure of what to think about him. "Is...your sister here?" he asked to Aurora who quickly shook her head. "Well...I suppose that'd be a Christmas miracle." He let himself in, casually walking over to the nearby kitchen to try and diffuse the awkward silence. Rachel followed him. As did Aurora, still holding tightly onto Mamouru. "You two have a nice little place."

Mamouru turned his head and smiled a bit at the man's words. "Well, you certainly did that..." Mamouru said and looked back, bowing his head politely. He was thankful when Aurora came up to him. In the awkward situation, he needed her support. He greeted both of them with another bow and a smile and urged them both in.

"You didn't ruin anything! It's just a small gathering! I'm honored to meet both of you." Mamouru said bowing again, his Japanese politeness really kicking in. "Please, come in, won't you?" He asked.

"I know that you must want to see Megumi-chan. She's asleep right now, but... if you were quiet, you could get a little look." He said, smiling.

Richard nodded with a pleasant smile as he brought up Megumi. Really, she was the dominant reason he had flown all the way from California. It was nice to see his daughter, of course, as well as meet her new husband. But really his granddaughter carried the most weight for him, as it did with most grandparents. "I would love to take a peek, if you don't mind."

Aurora got a beer out of the fridge to hand to her father who accepted it without even asking. She didn't wait to get anything for Rachel before leading the three others, Mamouru's hand still in tow, to Megumi. She carefully opened the door, cautious not to make any sudden or jarring sounds. Even though their granddaughter had slept through much worse, Aurora couldn't help but tip toe to the crib, leaving room for the others to slip beside her.

Sound asleep, was Megumi. She was wearing a yellow onesie and lay perfectly in the center of the crib with her head turned away. Richard couldn't help but grin, a silent hand on both Mamouru and Aurora's shoulders. He gave a little smile to each of them that seemed to say "Good work."

"She's amazing." Mamouru said. "A blessing, just as she's called." The proud dad said, smiling at his sleeping daughter. He gave Richard a courteous nod and then slowly stepped out of the room where Megumi was.

"I will get things settled for the both of you." Mamouru said and quietly exited.

With Mamouru gone, Richard looked at his daughter. "I'm happy for you. She really is beautiful." Richard said. "But, how are you and Mamouru doing?" He asked, his tone seeming to become serious, even though his voice remained quiet for Megumi's sake.

Aurora was smiling rather smugly when Mamouru left the room. Then as quickly as her confidence had built, it quickly vanished as her father asked her the question. They certainly seemed to be doing alright. Did something seem off? Why would he ask such a thing unless he thought they weren't doing well?

"Yea...we're doing fine. Why do you ask?" she whispered back, looking at Megumi to avoid direct eye contact with her father. She knew he was going to be extremely judgmental about everything in his own way. He didn't have to shame her out loud for her to know he was ashamed about something.

"I was surprised when your sister decided to come to Japan to be a wrestler of all things. Even moreso when you and your brother followed." He paused. He didn't seem to approve but he had come to terms with it. "But I don't even know the word to describe finding out you're married and with child. When would I have seen her if I hadn't popped in out of the blue?" He asked.

Mamouru went back to the kitchen and began trying to set things up. "I hope everyone's hungry. We got a lot so that everyone could eat as much as they liked and we could have leftovers as well, so, it will be no trouble serving two more." Mamouru said to Shauna, Vi and Aurora's mother.

Aurora continued staring at Megumi. The truth was she didn't want to face the judgement of her parents. Especially if they knew the real circumstances of the marriage. Perhaps she had hoped if she pushed off the matter long enough it wouldn't have been a problem.

But that would be silly.


Vi was helping herself figure out the television while Shauna and Rachel were sitting down forcing casual conversation. Both seemed decent at it, though, so to an outsider it probably looked like they were old acquaintances. But Vi knew better, and was frustrated at why the channel kept changing to the analog station instead of the satellite one. And she quickly gave up as Mamouru walked in. "Oh...do you need any help with that?" she asked, uncharacteristically eager to aid.

"Oh, um, sure..." Mamouru said, bowing quickly to Vi. He motioned for her to follow her into the kitchen and he began to get out the dishes. "Just start putting the food into these." He said as he fetched them. "Arigatou."

As he began to pull out the dishes and silverware, he looked at the young Brit. He felt like as long as things were left unsaid, that they might always be awkward between them and Mamouru was trying to be a better person.

"Vi-san." He said. "I appreciate you comeing over. I am glad that Kaa-san as people she can count on. I think she needs it right now, with, everything..." He said carefully.

"Also..." He began a bit more cautiously. "I hope that you and I could keep anything that has happened between us in the past. I know that I was a different person in a difficult situation back then. I hope you could... understand that..." He said genuinely. "And forgive me..."