Meal Time~

[WATANABE RYOKO]

Ryoko wished only the best for Kyousuke, he was the best thing that happened to her next to Taiki. He was the closest friend she had in life and if it wasn’t for him, she would have given up quite often on life altogether. She had fears back then, that he would deny and neglect her when he found out he was the son of a rich boy but she stayed by his side nonetheless and realized that he was still there, with her. She smiled at him, grateful for that and glad that she could discuss the situation she was stuck in with someone that could understand more than anyone from her world; what helped was that Kyousuke knew both worlds.

What frustrated her was that some people could imply that she would want to ruin people’s reputations and use Taiki for money. “That is nonsense; you know I wouldn’t do that. I’m going to have to prove them. I never reached out to Yamaguchi, even when I found out I was pregnant.” She didn’t understand that part of the high-end society and honestly, didn’t want to take part in it. She just wanted to have her bakery and have an easy life but it didn’t turn out that way yet…she’d have to work hard to get to her dream.

“I don’t know, life was easier when he didn’t know.” She admitted slowly and sighed at the thought. “He blames me for everything and even accused me of wanting his money. If I wanted it, I would have reached out for it the moment I knew I was pregnant.” She said. She looked like the bad guy in the story and she wasn’t even the only person who did this mistake. It was frustrating.

[SHISHIDO KYOUSUKE]

Kyousuke nodded when she called that nonsense. Of course he would know that, he knew her. But others didn't know her, and in this situation, she ought to gain more than the Yamaguchi, which could lead to some people thinking less than kind things. But Kyousuke was with her. "You don't need to tell me. I still remember when you told me, and how your parents took it." Of course, she didn't tell him at the same time she told her parents, but she mentioned it as well. Kyousuke only asked what she wanted to do and offered to help. If she didn't want to keep the child, he could have acted as the father and help pay for the procedure. He also offered to act as the father if she chose to keep the baby, something she was not in the right mind to think about when they first talked of this. But, unlike her parents, he didn't try to tel her what to do nor threatened to cut her off if she did not. Maybe it was easier for him. It was not like it would have impacted his life. Well, he offered to, to help, but it otherwise wouldn't have any effect to him. All of it made him wonder if that was how it had been for his mother however. His heart ached at the thought of her being cast out from everyone she knew because of her affair and the baby she got in result. She never made him feel like he was unwanted though, and he didn't think Ryoko ever woud with Taiki. She might hate his father, she loved her son.

"Was it though?" he asked when she argued that life was easier back then. He took a sip of tea. "I mean, you were more or less in the same situation you're now. Except that you now have his parents willig to help financially. Sure, he's annoying, but he doesn't sound like he wants to be a part of your life, so if you cross him out of the equation, is it really any better or worse?" To him, her parents still didn't want to talk to her, she still had to struggle between her son, school and work. Things didn't seem to have changed much, but she might have a different approach to things.

The way she talked of Hideo shed some light on the matter. It was dealing with him and thinking that it might be the opinion of plenty of other people that bothered her. Again, Kyousuke wondered if it was something his mother had to deal with. He was afraid to ask the woman. "You didn't make that child on your own. Even if you were chasing after his money, you'd be entitled to it, or at least Taiki is. Between money and time, one is a lot easier to give and forget about." He sounded a bit sad saying it though. Kyousuke had longed to spend time with his father so much as a child. He wished for a family above everything else. Completely ignoring his child could leave a scar in Taiki some day. Kyousuke hoped it would never get there, but perhaps he would be able to help if that ever happened. "I suppose if it gets too unbearable, you can just cut ties with them. Is Hideo even recognized as Taiki's father?" Kyousuke was no lawyer, he didn't know what Hideo's family could do, if they could take custody of him or not, but he supposed that as long as Hideo rejects paternity, it would favor Ryoko. Maybe he should ask some people studying law at school, but they might think he was the one who knocked up someone, and he didn't need that kind of rumour flying around Ouran.

[WATANABE RYOKO]

Ryoko felt the needed to defend herself there; she wasn’t a gold digger. If she was, she would have reached out to Hideo the moment she knew that she was pregnant. Apparently, it wasn’t something that would get into their head easily. She’d have to find a way that would show them that she could handle life easily. She didn’t need their money, even if it was to send Taiki to school. The idea of sending her son to a better school than she had been to was appealing, that was a certainty, but she didn’t know if she was willing to accept that yet. But now that she had to face Hideo and his family, she had to question herself even more on the matter and set the limits of what she wanted for her son.

She nodded her head a little as he questioned her. ” It was even weirder than when I was yelled at by my parents.” She admitted to Kyousuke. “The worst part is that they seem to compare me to him, for some obscure reason. We don’t even come from the same world, how they could do that?!” She said aloud. She didn’t want to be compared to someone like him or to be told that she was a better parent, then again, she might be, but she didn’t want to throw that at Hideo’s face. On his account, he didn’t know that he had a child until his friends showed up. “I don’t know what’s better anymore.” She admitted, that she disliked both situations. She didn’t want to be dotted by strangers, she would have loved it if it was from her parents, but they chose to reject her.

“He doesn’t want to do anything with the kid.” She said to Kyousuke. “It’s not like I shoved Taiki in his face when he was born.” She would have never wanted to do that. She remembered when that happened, she cried a good amount of time, both sadness because of the mess she had gotten into and joy because of the little thing that was in her arms. “This is so confusing Kyousuke, I don’t even know what I want anymore.” She said.

[SHISHIDO KYOUSUKE]

Kyousuke had a frown as he thought of what she was saying. What did she mean by comparing? And then she claimed they were not from the same world. That made him a bit uneasy. He doubted his mother was from 'the same world' than his father. What did that make him then? Kyousuke would have wished so much for his parents to be together, but that did not happen, not even after his wife's death. "Well, it's not just your mistake. And maybe they're seeing how you're handling it and want to show it to their son. That has nothing to ddo with class then," Kyousuke suggested. But without a better context, he had no idea if what he said made sense or not.

He felt bad for putting her on the spot like this. She looked troubled alright. Maybe he should take her out instead the next time, but that would imply some planning, since someone would have to watch over Taiki. Unless they could have a break early enough they could take the toddler along with them.

He then felt bad for Taiki. For now, he didn't know that his father was uninterested, but one day he would understand and it would hurt. He wondered though what Ryoko preferred for herself. No doubt she'd want to protect her son but did she prefer for that to have Hideo around or away? To hear her sound so defeated was shocking. She was rarely this helpless. "Right now, all we can do is focus in what we know and want. You want to take care of Taiki, and you're studying to have a better living for the two of you. If someone wants to offer help and it could be useful, it's up to you to decide if you're comfortable with it or not." He wished he could do more, but he didn't really know what else he could do. And he had troubles of his own to deal with.

[WATANABE RYOKO]

Ryoko wasn’t sure she agreed to the idea that they’d show to their son’s face the duties he would have to do. She could care less for that if it was to allow her the peace and quiet she had wanted to keep from the beginning. She didn’t mean to hurt Kyousuke’s feelings when she said that either, she knew that he was shoved into that world and trying to stay strong. It made her wonder to know how exactly he was handling it because they never truly spoke about it completely. “It might have nothing to do with class but you can’t compare two people who come from two different upbringings together. It’s not like I’ll ever be like him.” She said with a sigh. Alright, he was probably irresponsible and even if he used all the protection he could to prevent any other unwanted children to pop up it still happened to them and she wouldn’t be surprised if there was a bus full of his children he had no idea of their existences.

“I just feel so out of place here, you have no ideas, even their toilet is larger than what I have here and I’m trying to stay as polite as I can.” She admitted to him. Heck, she even felt out of place in their bathroom! It made her feel so little, she disliked the idea.

“I know.” She admitted. “I just can’t accept that much money that easily, it makes me look like I’m a gold digger and I’m not. They might worry about their reputation, but they don’t give a damned about mine.” She said. Unfortunately, she doubted there was anything Kyousuke could do there. “Let’s just stop talking about them for the rest of the evening otherwise it’ll get us into a depression.” She decided. She didn’t want to bring the mood downer than it already was.

[SHISHIDO KYOUSUKE]

She still felt their upbringings were too different to have a fair comparison. Kyousuke wondered. It depended on what you compared the two. If it was on the kind of responsibilities and work they had to do, sure, but if it was on how serious they were, he didn't know if their upbringing had anything to do with it. But it was clearly causing her trouble to just think about it, so Kyousuke felt it was best to drop the topic altogether. "I'd rather you don't turn like him too. Not sure how I would feel if my best friend become like that," he teased. As long as she did her best, wasn't it what was important? But it was true that she had an example shoved right in her face of what effort could bring to others.

Feeling out of place, that he could understand well. He thought he could just be the same as he went to live with his father and brother. The house was bigger, for sure, they had staff coming every now and then to clean or watch over the kids to prepare them meals, but he believed, maybe naively, that it would be the same. Then school started and the treatment was similar yet more brutal at the same time. he ended up being told he had to act a certain way, that he had a lot more expected our of him. "Good thing you're not living there then. But maybe that's why you feel so bad about accepting their money? You act so politely, it's like they're your boss or benefactor and you owe something to them. Maybe if you treat them... I don't know, like you do my mother, with the respect owed to an older person but nothing more than that, maybe it would be easier?" He knew his relationship with his father changed too because of that. The man was just his father before, the man he wanted to see more, the one he was wishing for whenever he was waiting for someone to pick him up in kindergarten. Now, that relationship was different and he didn't know if it had to do with him no longer being a little boy or because, by recognizing him, his father also expected something else out of him.

He'd rather not ask if her reputation could get worse? It was far too mean to say, when he never thought any less of her for this.She asked for them to talk of something else. He nodded. "Great idea. Maybe we should focus on Taiki. I think he'll need a bath before he goes to bed too."

[WATANABE RYOKO]

Ryoko disliked various aspects of the fact that she was seeing Hideo’s family. She hated having the looks of a gold digger, hated giving a bad impression on others, and hated having to rely on someone while she was stuck dealing with this mess on her own for so long. No one understood that. Sure, she had friends, but it wasn’t like having a father around. Yet, how could she even ask this out of Hideo? He clearly showed no interest in their child which proved to her that she should have stayed in the shadows and kept it to herself the moment he stepped into her bakery. She shook her friend. “Don’t worry about that.” She assured him. The topic was getting her so worked up, that she wanted to be able to at least, enjoy a bit of Kyousuke’s company while he was here and they were having what resembled a family time with Taiki. She wouldn’t force him to be a father which he wasn’t, but it wouldn’t hurt to have him act like one if they needed it.

“The problem is that they’re not your mother.” She said with a light sigh. It was the truth, she would manage better if she didn’t see them as some kind of money provider. She wasn’t working for them. They were the ones who wanted to see their grandson. There was nothing she could do against it. Well, there were but she didn’t have the heart to go there and reach out to the law. None of them needed that sort of drama in their lives.

She smiled glad that the subject of their conversation would switch to a much lighter one. Taiki-kun definitely could use a bath and she nodded agreeing. The meal was good, and they would get to relax a bit once they’d bath Taiki. It was welcomed. She never seemed to have enough time to do that lately. “The only good thing is that I might have a new pair of babysitters if I need it.” She said trying to see some positivity in this mess.

[SHISHIDO KYOUSUKE]

While Kyousuke understood the discomfort Ryoko had over her situation, he also started feeling some. He was caught between the two states. He knew how she grew up and the mentality that came with it, but he also grew in Hideo's world, so to speak. He was not as rich and proeminent. He thought he could have a good idea of what Taiki may feel in the future, but he didn't want Ryoko to feel bad about it. He didn't want her to think he was judging her for not giving him a father. Who was to say how Taiki would feel when older? Kyousuke might have an idea, but he might not think the same he did. All he ever wished when he was a kid was to have his father around, to have a family. He'd do his best to provide a family to Taiki and hope he wouldn't feel like he was missing out on anything.

"But are they really worth more respect than her?" he asked. They were worth more money, sure, but did that mean she had to bow down to them lower than she would with something like his mother? He never thought she'd have such an inferiority complex, but she was feeling it towards them. Was it because of their son and his reaction or did they have that sort of commanding appearance it forced her to act that way? If so, she was hiding that part from him.

She didn't want to talk about this any further. It was true that it was mostly all they talked about since he arrived with the prime meat. A good bath before bed would be nice for Taiki. He might sleep well tonight with it too, even if Kyousuke was more exciting him at the moment instead. He looked at her as she finally found a silver lining in all of this. "It's true that Tsukamoto and I are a bit busy," he admitted. Kyousuke wasn't against skipping classes but Ryoko wouldn't let it happen if she noticed he was doing it too much. And her neighbour was going to school while working as well. At least he didn't have work, unlike them.

[WATANABE RYOKO]

Ryoko couldn’t say she trust Hideo’s family and she tried to tell them countless times that she wasn’t there for the money, that she could keep it up that way and live on her own without having them around. A little financial aid would help, that was a certainty but it gave her the impression that she had to do something for them in exchange and she didn’t like that part of the deal or the idea she had of it that was. Hopefully, her worries wouldn’t actually become reality because she’d be even more upset at herself than she was, to begin with.

She shrugged at his question. “I guess they are worth some respect but it’s just so weird, we have different opinions and I just hope they won’t try to steal Taiki away from me.” She said to Kyousuke. What if they decided that she wasn’t good enough of a parent? She doubted that Hideo would want to take care of the child but his parents might decide differently and hire the proper staff to do that. She truly needed to stop overthinking or else it would ruin her completely!

She nodded, agreeing that a few more hands to help with the babysitting would be welcomed. “Yes, and it would give them the opportunity to see their grandson.” She added lightly.

[SHISHIDO KYOUSUKE]

Did his father ask anything to have him around? Yes, Kyousuke would have to admit that he did. He didn't want his son, albeit illegitimate, to go to a mere public school. He didn't want him to waste his life in a small job either, at least it was why he implied when pushing him to study medecine. And his mother... Kyousuke always wished for a family, but that meant both his parents. And yet he was now living with his father without his mother. Maybe those were not the conditions Ryoko feared for from Yamaguchi's parents but they were the ones he had to deal with.

She voiced her fear out loud. Did his mother feel that too at any point with his father? But he was married then and his wife did not like Kyousuke and what he represented. Kyousuke wanted to reassure Ryoko, say that it wasn't that hard to take a child away from their mother. But they had money and if Kyousuke had no idea how much was required to do that, he supposed they had it. "You need more than just money to take a child away, no? That's not enough to raise a child either." But she must have thought of it all before and still feared this outcome. He needed to come up with something else. "Maybe you can have Hideo sign off his rights or something like that. If he doesn't want to be involved, his parents would have less weight, no?" Again, he didn't know. He was no lawyer. Maybe he should seek out someone who was studying that at Ouran?

She seemed to have calmed down a little and it calmed Kyousuke also. He didn't like seeing her that way. He had no idea how he could help for it. "And it could be all they want." Shouldn't she be alittle more positive about it? Oh, he knew. She got hurt badly, by Hideo, by her own parents, it was hard to trust someone now. But Kyousuke wanted to believe some people were doing good. "If you can take Taiki to a good school with them, why not? So many don't have that opportunity despite having the talent. Just make sure he end up doing what he wants and not what they want." The one paying the price might not be Ryoko in the end.

[WATANABE RYOKO]

Ryoko didn’t want to leave her son behind, she was his mother, and had raised him since the start, on her own. It was hard for her to accept that Hideo’s family was willing to help her, especially when hers didn’t want to have anything to do with her when they found out that she got herself pregnant. They accused her of making bad decisions in life and told her she deserved that. It hurt, but she understood that her actions had consequences, she just wished they’d be great-grandparents, but they weren’t. On the other hand, Hideo’s parents seemed to be just fine, which confused her a little. She made a mistake too and yet, they seemed to only barge on Hideo. She would have thought they’d be the ones who wouldn’t want to see her face and her family would have been the ones to stick around but the roles were reversed and it felt strange.

“Who knows, when you have money, anything can happen.” She said to him. She couldn’t tell exactly what could happen, but it was a fear she had and she didn’t want his grandparents to take advantage of that and decide that she wasn’t a good enough parent. It was why she couldn’t trust them just yet hence she did not know their true intentions and didn’t know what they were trying to achieve there. “As if I could get him to do that.” She said back to him. It was something she had considered doing, but would his parents let him do that? She didn’t know just what impact they had on him but they seemed to have a lot.

“I’ll have to remind him that and that he doesn’t have to do as they tell him.” Wouldn’t that be a challenge? That was a certainty.

[SHISHIDO KYOUSUKE]

Kyousuke understood how difficult of a situation Ryoko was in, but he wanted to try and look on the bright side of things. He didn't want to believe things could only get worse for her. She had such big dreams and plans, and equally big responsibilities to take at the same time. He wondered if she would ever be able to fulfill those or risked failing btohas she tried to reach for everything. She was strong, he thought she could achieve it, but it was asking a lot of her, stretching her thin right now as she had to do so many things at the same time. If there was a way to make certain things easier, Kyousuke wanted to believe it would help her, that there wouldn't be a trap further along the road.

"My father has money yet he can't keep me from coming back here when I want to," he pointed out. True, his father was far from the kind of money Hideo's family had, but the point still stood. His father did not take his mother in after his wife's death, but he never stopped his son from seeing her. Maybe, had Kyousuke turned his back on her and his previous life, he would have had an easier time at Ouran, but he couldn't do that. "Money is not the most important to raise a child. Poor people have children and they can be happy and grow into good people as well. Our society cannot break families that easily." His tone was more serious now, and softer at the same time. His last statement was more a wish. He didn't want to think he lived in a world where someone was giving everything she could to her child and yet could have her baby taken away and given to someone just because they had more money. He looked up at Ryoko. "Maybe they don't want to raise Taiki. Maybe they just don't want people say they ignored their grandchild because it's shameful to them." That was not all that more jolly of a thought, but at least it would mean Taiki would remain with Ryoko, and that was the most important.

He nodded, his gaze lost far away in the distance, as Ryoko said she would make sure Taiki always knew he could do what he wanted in life. "He shouldn't rely on the fact his grandparents have money. They could just as easily stop helping. Especially once he turns twenty. They could decide they have done their duty towards him by then." After all, he would be an adult at that point. If Kyousuke said that though, it was more because he felt the pressure of doing and being someone decided by others. It was why he was dressign that way at times. He needed a way to escape from it, if only for a moment.

[WATANABE RYOKO]

Ryoko wasn’t too keen at having to meet with Hideo’s family for various occasions. It had been weird and very awkward for her to do that. Besides, the guy was convinced that she did this to have the money. Didn’t he see that she tried to avoid that situation for so long? She wanted to stay in the dark, where she had always been. She preferred that safer position. Being put in the spotlight for the wrong reasons didn’t please her at all. It was like reviving the moment when her family decided that if she was old enough to be a mother, then she was old enough to do that on her own and cut ties with her.

“Your father is nice, I don’t know what to think of Hideo’s family yet.” She said. Were they just putting a front for her to have their grandson in the hope of the kid becoming part of her and cutting ties with her? It scared her beyond what even Kyousuke believed. She had it tough, and the idea of having it tough without seeing Taiki around broke her. “I know that.” She said when he referred to money. But still! What if he preferred being with them if they gave him whatever he wanted? “I still have to see if this is really what they wanted.” Of course, she wasn’t against a little financial help with Taiki – it would allow her to breathe more with her studies but she still didn’t entirely appreciate the gesture.

“Let’s just hope that it won’t happen.” She said, not wanting to down the mood anymore. They were supposed to have fun when he came over and she felt like that talk was becoming heavy on them. Kyousuke was the only one who helped her when she needed it and she didn’t want to get him out of her life because she had been acting that way.

[SHISHIDO KYOUSUKE]

Kyousuke felt a connection with Taiki that had nothing to do with blood. They were born in a somewhat similar situation. Sure, his father had an affair with his mother resulting in him, so it differed in that way, but he too was raised by his mother alone, with his father only mildly involved in his life, until he chose to recognize him officially. Maybe it was why Ryoko feared what could happen, because she saw it with his friend. Then again, he didn't know how similar the situations were on that regard. It seemed like Taiki's father didn't want to be involved, it was his grandparents. And Kyousuke, having seen a bit of their world thanks to Ouran Academy, he wondered if they didn't want to put money on the infant's wellbeing and education only because of what people may otherwise say about them. Status was very important for people in their level, something neither of them really cared about.

You didn't always say that," he pointed out. Then again, Ryoko never made fun of him or judged him for not living with his father, or having such naive hope that they could all be a family one day. She also didn't point out how the only reason why he brought his son under his roof and got him to Ouran was also because of status and people's opinions. "But you're right. Maybe you should see them alone first to get a better idea of them before you let them see Taiki?" He too wanted to protect the boy. He knew what it was like to hope for a family and have reality brutally come back at you.

He could see Ryoko was feeling down about this, and all the possibilities it may bring in the future. There were too many bad one for her to focus on the good ones. "Hey, I'm always going back to my mother. Whatever happens, I'm sure he'll do the same. You're doing too much for him not to get it." Okay, he was very young right now, but maybe in his baby brain he got it. She was the world to him right now for sure, and would be for a while longer. "Do you want something sweet to end the meal? I can go get something if you don't have any," he offered. He wasn't afraid to go outside in these feminine clothes, although he might have to remove some of it before heading back home. He knew his father tolerated it but did not like to see his son dressed up like this. Plus, it could give Ryoko some time to take care of her son. Unless she had some home, something that was more than possible, with her baking stuff every now and then.

[WATANABE RYOKO]

Ryoko was aware that what was offered to Taiki was one of a lifetime’s chance, but she also feared what it might come up with. Would they take Taiki away from her? Would she be left in the dark once they would recognize her son as part of their family? She already had to deal with hers who didn’t want to see her face anymore. They had literally disowned her while they weren’t even part of a rich family. She brought shame to theirs so to say. She had thoughts of wanting to end her life in the past because of that but she was stronger than that and having Kyousuke around was certainly a life saver. She didn’t know what she would do without him and was thankful that he was still by her side but there were times where she wondered if she was pulling him back too. She was not made for the world that he had been thrown into.

She shrugged in response to his words and nodded, glad that he agreed with her that she should see them first. “I want to make sure of their intentions then I’ll see if I’ll let them see Taiki.” She said. It was slightly frustrating not being able to control her life like she used to but now that Hideo was aware that he had a son, there was no going back.

Kyousuke’s words reassured her a little, but she still worried he might turn her back on her seeing what their world had to offer to him. Of course, she wasn’t raising him to be that way and would teach him the value of money but there always was that voice in the back of her mind that worried. “I sure hope it will be his case too.” She said softly. They finished their meal and she smiled when he asked for something sweet. “I actually baked a bunch of butter cookies; do you want to try them?” She asked him. She was confident in her baking skills alright, and she liked to hear his opinion knowing he wouldn’t just say it was good if she failed one.