"Kira!"
"Tita!"
"Tita? Hmph. I thought I told you to call me mom already! You are making this old woman feel dejected." Isa Lee, Aki's mom, lamented.
"Oh, mom. You are not old, okay?" Kira lovingly responded as she gave Isa a warm embrace.
"How are you mom?" She added.
"I should be the one asking you that." The lovely woman lovingly admonished Kira.
"I'm really feeling much better. I just have to start moving around more. I feel like my body has become very stiff from being in bed most of the time. Aki is not even letting me do much. He's acting like a guard dog! The moment I'd try to get out of bed, he'd snarl and bark!" Kira giggled.
"Oh dear. But I am really happy to see you up and about again. You should listen to Aki, though." Isa lovingly responded, keeping Kira close to her.
"Am I being forgotten here?" Ike boomed.
"Oh, tito. Of course not!" Kira exclaimed as she went to him to give him a warm hug as well.
"Isa gets to be called mom but I don't get to hear a dad coming from this gorgeous and sweet young lady in front of me?" Ike scoffed.
"Oh, dad!" Kira giggled. "It's really obvious where Aki got his smooth talking ways!"
"Hah! I don't think he's learned enough!" Ike teased whilst staring at his son.
Aki lowered his head again and silently sighed. 'Why is my family putting me on the spot, yet again?! Damn it. I already knew this would happen.'
"In my defense, I am not smooth talking to you, Kira. I never did. You are well aware of your mistake for doing something so dangerous, disregarding your safety. If I need to watch over you 24/7 like a guard dog to make sure you won't do anything stupid like that again, then I'd be more than willing to be called your guard dog!" Aki admonished Kira.
"Hmph. I already said I'm sorry. Plus, you're just overreacting!" She tried getting some of the elders to agree with her.
"I am clearly not overreacting. You know that and everybody here knows that too." Aki scoffed.
"Damascus is right, Kira. You really should not have done that. That was a very dangerous thing you did that time. What if my son did not arrive in time, hmm?" Ike looked at Kira as how a loving father would.
"You should inform Damascus if something similar happens, you understand young lady?" Viktor added.
"Yes, dad. Yes, gramps. I'm sorry. It was just that I got so angry. If you could have seen Luisa then, oh, I swear. That Mitch is…arrrgh!" She stopped herself from cursing since Loi is also in the room.
"Oh we understand that dearie. But even if you are angered, you should not take those kinds of situations into your own hands. You gave all of us a scare." Nana remarked, clearly recalling how scared she was for Kira when she heard what happened from her grandson and shaking her head in dissatisfaction.
"Promise us you won't do anything like that again, okay? We don't want our son to be without a wife!" Syvi exclaimed.
"W..wife?!" Kira stuttered. "Oh mom. It seems like all of the Lee family enjoy teasing me and Aki. We're really just great friends. He's just keeping his promise to my dad since you raised a really outstanding man, okay?" Kira replied, trying to stop the butterflies in her stomach.
'Wife? Seriously? He doesn't even see me in that light. I mean, a part of me hopes that he does and that…wait, what? Oh my goodness, Kira! Stop fantasizing. Just be grateful that you have a great friend in someone of Aki's calibre.' She silently admonished herself.
"Mother!" Aki almost screamed.
"Oh stop it now. We're just really happy you're safe and sound now, Kira. You're family. Always remember that. Your business is our business. Right gramps?" Ellie looked at Viktor, trying to divert the topic and making the atmosphere a little less awkward for the two in-denial adults.
"Yes. You are right, Ellie. You will always be a Lee, Kira. Remember that. And nobody messes with the Lees!" Viktor stated with finality and a hint of anger thinking that somebody dared to touch his family.
"Thank you. I… I'm truly honored. I promise to do better next time… I'm sorry to worry all of you. And Aki, thank you, really. You truly are a dear friend and a man of your word. I'm sure dad is also very grateful for all that you've done for me and for what you are continuously doing. I'll be forever indebted and I will make sure to repay your kindness." She sincerely said.
"All right now. Since we are all here to celebrate Kira's fast recovery, shall we start?" Ike exclaimed.
"Food will be served in a few minutes. Loi, would you like to take a swim? Miley and Mikey will be joining us too and your Uncle Michael will be here any minute." Aki added.
"Miley and Mikey? Yes!" She gleefully exclaimed as her eyes widened in excitement.
"Momma, I'll go and change into my swimwear now. Tita Kira, will you help me please? I know you can't swim with us yet, but…" Loi pleaded.
"Of course, sweetheart. Come, let me help you change." Both Loi and Kira walked toward the room where Ellie, Yuma and Loi stay every time they are in Aki's house.
After Kira left the room with Loi:
"Son, you better make your move soon. Your mom and I can't wait to have more grandkids!" Ike teased Aki.
"Yes. It would be nice to have a new addition to the family within a year's time!" Viktor joined.
"Oh stop ganging up on me! I can't even tell her how I feel yet and now you're already asking for kids?! And mom, seriously? Wife?!" Aki was exasperated.
The elders laughed and kept on teasing Aki about his boyish ways of being unable to profess his love. He's been known to be smooth when it comes to women but when it comes to Kira, he becomes like a lost puppy. Although there are a lot of women hanging around him and he's dated a few over the years, he never really had anyone he cherished as much as he cherished Kira. The Lee family knew how special Kira is in Damascus' life the moment he introduced her to them. The way he looks at her and how he treats her until now screams of a man hopelessly in love. And the more that they got to know Kira, they knew that she is the best woman for him. If only he is able to take that extra step and man up so that the both of them can stop this nonsense of going around the bush when it comes to how they feel toward each other.
"We're here!" Michael announced as two little kids followed behind him looking for Loi.
Miley and Mikey are Michael's niece and nephew and they are best buds with Loi.
"Loi? Loi? Loi? Come out! We're here!" the twins shouted excitedly as they ran toward Loi's room after quickly paying respects to the elders in the room.
"So, what did I miss? When's the wedding, bro?" Michael jokingly asked, knowing full well with the Lees here, Aki was already in the hot seat of how he's unable to confess to Kira.
"Shut up!" Aki looked at Michael, clearly annoyed.
"Haha. Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed, ei? Amidst having the love of his life under the same roof. Oh, right. Since he's a coward, he slept by his lonesome and was just dreaming of waking up next to his woman." Michael laughingly replied, making everyone in the room burst out in peals of laughter. They continued teasing Aki to no end until three high-pitched voices started emerging in the living room heading straight to the garden. Kira then joined the adults in the living room.