In San Francisco, Ruolan was sitting in the living room of her new friend. It was a sparsely appointed apartment shared by a couple of marines. Tiffany and her roommate despised the barracks and had worked together to get this apartment as a home away from home. A nice, quiet place away from the loud and bawdry other marines. Or in other words... party animals. Now, she sat next to the partner of the man she thought she loved and whom she thought loved her.
"So, you never put a label on it?"
Those were the words that Ruolan had asked in an almost ridiculous manner, no wonder he felt so free, she thought. Tiffany had been extremely and honestly surprised by Ruolan's tone and demeanor. The more Tiffany thought about it, the more she had realized that this was bound to have happened. She herself had ghosted him for months and then never tried to force him into a relationship. Truly, they had no relationship as such to speak of. If anyone did, it was the woman that Kano had been next to most of the time. Her investigations into his life, along with Ruolan's help, had led her to find out that Victoria was Kano's ex-girlfriend and childhood friend. How was she going to compete with that? Also, she was certain there was more going on with the younger sister, Tiffany had seen the starry eyes on the younger one whenever she glanced at Kano. That meant, that it was only a matter of time before she was also going to horn in on him.
"What do I do?" Tiffany asked as she slumped further into her couch and hugged tightly to her pillow she had brought from her room.
"Girl! He ain't worth all this!" a voice came from the kitchen. It was Tiffany's roommate Leanna. Leanna was busy at the moment watching her muffins rise in the oven. "What he got anyway? A twelve inch dick?"
Tiffany muttered to herself and Ruolan choked on her coffee as she heard it. Leanna walked back into the living room and looked at them both quizzically. "What? Is it?" She asked with a more than curious tone. Tiffany only turned red and tried her best to become part of the couch. "Damn. Must be big enough, then. Still, can he use it?"
The women both noticed a sudden misty eyed look cross Tiffany's face and wondered just what she was thinking about. Tiffany only nodded after a moment and they both knew she was thinking about it and experiencing it firsthand. "Damn... well, I mean, he must be an asshole, right?"
Ruolan and Tiffany both tried to think of a time when Kano had been a terrible person, but even when Ruolan had hurt him terribly, he had only apologized and let it go. Neither of them could say he was. "No, he is actually a pretty decent guy... just a playboy who loves sex." Ruolan finally answered.
"He is just 22." Tiffany stated plainly. All three of the women nodded along as young men in general only had one thought on their minds. "So... should I give him a chance?"
All three women had different ideas on that. Ruolan herself was trying to decide just what the hell her partner was thinking. This weekend, he was on CQ duty at the station and Thursday he had seemed almost relieved by something. He never revealed what, but she knew that something had occurred. The man had secrets, but it was his mysteriousness that made up part of his charm. He always seemed to be knowing more than he let on about things. "Hubby surely can't be that good at keeping secrets..." Ruolan muttered to herself, not realizing that she had whispered aloud to herself as she was absorbed in her thoughts.
Tiffany perked up and stared at Ruolan hard, "Hubby?" Even Leanna stopped short and looked at the current target's partner whom immediately turned red and waved her hands about.
"No, no, nononono. He and I are just friends... work-husband, work-wife? We watch each other's back and support each other emotionally?" She did her best to explain the relationship between her and Kano, but felt that she was only making it worse.
Tiffany seemed to be thinking pretty hard about things. Ruolan, arguably, spent the most time with Kano and probably knew him almost as well as the sisters. "There is more to that than just a work joke, isn't there."
It was a statement, not a question, after all, why else would Ruolan have been so upset with how Kano was acting. He had other women and obviously she wanted him too. Tiffany suddenly tensed up and wondered just how many women were after the man she wanted. He was too good looking and too charming, how could a woman defend against him? Seeing Ruolan nod, she waited with bated breath for an explanation.
"Next month, Thanksgiving, I asked him to pretend to be my fiance. I need him to convince my parents that we are real so that they will dissolve my arranged marriage." The other two girls gasped in surprise. This was the modern day, not the ancient world where things like this were common. But then again, Ruolan's parents were from an entirely different culture. Truly, they would not understand no matter how many times it was explained. "Kano, is a good choice. He is gentle and protective yet fierce and unforgiving when needed. He has protected me from numerous attacks while we were on duty, probably more than he should seeing as we are police... but I can't help but feel..." She was about to say the word cherished but stopped herself in time as she was afraid of what Tiffany would think.
"Cherished. Loved, like you are the only one in the world that matters." Tiffany finished for her. The two of them looked into each other's eyes and came to an understanding. This was Kano's power over women. This was exactly how he made them feel. It became apparent suddenly to Leanna why her friend was so smitten with the guy. If a man made her feel that way, she would be hard pressed to resist as well.
"Ruolan... how do you feel about Kano?"
Those were the words Ruolan had feared to hear, words she herself was trying to figure out the answer to. It had started out simple, he was a cad and a flirt and she was ignoring him. But as time went on, she spent time with him, she got to see him vulnerable and his quiet refreshing side that was so damn irresistible. The cold and commanding authority he exuded when arresting a perp made her squirm in excitement even now. She related all of those things to Tiffany and Leanna, trying her best to not admit what she knew was true in her heart. She had caught feelings. It was evident when he had truly opened up to her after Tiffany broke it off with him. Ruolan even felt relieved when that happened, much to her own chagrin. Trying for so long to not fall in love with this playboy and philanderer... but she did it anyway.
"But Ruolan, you still haven't said... what are your feelings about Kano?"
Ruolan sat there, still in silence as her face froze in consternation. Finally, she started to elaborate. "The older sister, Vicky, she will always hold a place in his heart. She will always hold the highest place in his heart. Even if she never returned to him, her shadow would be in every other relationship with him. And yet, I also feel that a shadow exists now anyway, yours. I can feel that any woman he gives a place in his heart to, he would always hold that place for them, they would always have a piece of his heart with them forever. If you were to call him and demand he come here to see you, he would leave immediately after duty and drive here as fast as he could, staying until the last minute in defiance of orders even. He places each of us in the highest light. I'm not even one of you, yet I feel this way."
Tiffany stiffened at the use of the word 'us', as if Ruolan considered herself one of Kano's women already, as if it was only a formality that she and he were not labeled. She needed to know more before she made up her mind, but at the idea that Kano would defy the authority to spend time with her, she could not help but feel warm inside. She pressed on, "So, if you were to be with him... how would you feel about him being with other women?"
"I'm not sure. Not happy, but not entirely disheartened either. It is a strange feeling... I almost expect it to happen even. But, have you noticed? He may shamelessly flirt with women all around, easily attracting hordes of bitches in heat, but he only accepts a select few. Each woman he is with is exemplary and lose out to no other in the beauty department. But even more so, each of you is quite suitable a match for him. Vicky is stunning, but cool and collected. She is strong of heart and sure of herself and has a wonderful grasp of the home life and children, easily bringing the numerous children at her school under her control quickly and with no harsh words. They flock to her and listen attentively. Her sister, although young, already displays a frightening investigative ability and it is only a matter of time before she becomes his mistress. Did you know, she already keeps tabs on the two of us? Even has notes on Margo. She wants to be a journalist and I have no doubt she will be successful in her endeavors, especially with Kano at her side. Vicky already knows, this I discovered and is accepting of the idea. They are simply waiting for Sarah to reach legal age. Kano has refused to touch her until then. She still steals kisses from him though." Ruolan could not help but grin and let out a truly unique giggle at the thought of Kano being at a disadvantage by a young lady no less.
"She fell in love with him as an adolescent and carried that torch forth, not allowing any other boys to come close and had even determined that she would find him after she was old enough. Fate intervened and brought him to her first, making it easier for her to snatch him up. The poor fool, he may have never looked at her as anything more than a little sister before that, but when she got her claws in him, he must have been like a dog seeing a leash and anticipating a walk." Ruolan took a drink of her coffee to wet her dry throat before continuing as the other two women laughed at her analogy.
"Margo... is terrifying. She is ruthlessly business minded and cunning to the extreme. If there is a threat to Kano's little harem, it would be her. She is selfish and graduated with honors from Stanton, so her abilities and beauty are no less than any of us, possibly even combined. On top of that, she is older, more mature and refined, but most importantly... experienced in many things. She knows what she wants and if determined to get it, she will have it. In fact, I think she is the reason that you and I witnessed Kano with his two girlfriends." Ruolan turned to Tiffany and held on of her hands before continuing. "If you want to be with him, I think you will have to come to terms with the idea of others being involved with him. I'm not sure when he will stop or even if, but I know he did not do this on purpose. He simply falls in love and won't stop once he has. And I think unless you want him to end up with only Margo and losing the love of the rest, you will have to join together with the others to force her to back down or be forced out. He will not flourish as her plaything, only in being himself will he be at his brightest. I think that he can change her, or perhaps together all of you can. Also, do not forget that if Kano finds someone is harming others, he does not forgive. He does not forget. To this day, he still glares at the home of Margo's ex-husband for what he put her through. If he believes that she is the cause of harm, even though it will hurt him, he will push her away and never look back. Kano has not admitted to himself, but he has fallen for this woman as well. It is not just a simple physical game to him anymore, even if he tries to claim it is. I have seen it in his eyes when he talks about her, its the same as when he talks about you, and Victoria and Sarah... "
'Sometimes... I see it when he is talking with me... about me.' but she could not bring herself to say it aloud.