The past day was a blur. I found myself awake now, but I knew I'd been sleeping for a long time. It was dark outside, and we were in the living room. Brief images of us today, of him feeding me lunch, taking me to the toilet again, flashed in my mind. That's all I remembered. His concerned face, checking me over, his fingers moving my hair as I laid on top of him for most of the day. My belly was sore.

I was on top of him on the couch now, a blanket around us. He was asleep, his breaths audible and slow. His long bangs brushed his cheek, his head to the side a bit. Was he comfortable like that? My eyes closed, lazily opening again. My arms were weak and tired. I breathed out long and slow, closing my eyes again. I rested my head on his chest.

I woke up with light coming in from the living room windows. I was alone on the couch now, on my side.

"Oh, good morning!" Sawai-san called to me from somewhere in the living room. "How are you feeling? Ready for breakfast?"

I blinked. This was not my usual morning greeting. Where was Tetsu? A panic started in my stomach. My eyes darted around the room, finding Sawai-san sitting in the blue chair holding a newspaper.

Like a vision, Tetsu rounded the corner into the doorway of the living room. He paused, seeing me looking at him. Relief flooded me as he went into a smile. Hurriedly, he made his way over to the couch, and I rose my arms to him. He dropped to his knees on the floor in front of me and hugged me. His warmth. I sighed inside. He's what was missing. Needing him. His forehead pressed against mine, and the love I felt was indescribable. I never wanted to wake up like this again, without him.

"I went to the bathroom," he explained. "When did you wake up?"

I nuzzled into his nose that I love so much. It crinkled, and I smiled, causing him to smile again. "Just now. You weren't here, so I was worried."

"Aww, don't worry, my darling. I'm right here." He nuzzled my nose back, and my smile increased.

"Well, I'll make breakfast now," Sawai-san said with effort, rising from her chair.

"Okay, sounds good," Tetsu said to her, turning his head slightly. My hands took his cheeks and he made a small chuckle as I turned his head back to look at me greedily. He puckered his lovely lips, and I moved in to kiss him. Our lips touched, and he closed his eyes beautifully. I sighed, kissing him again.

He parted from me, his finger touching my cheek. That smile. I could stare at it all day.

"Come on, darling. I'm going to take you to the bathroom now. I'll brush your hair, too," he said gently.

I nodded, no shame at all in my body at this. Not after what he'd said yesterday, when he thought I was asleep. How strange, this feeling of acceptance. His hand went through my hair in love, his relieved smile my whole world.

After breakfast, we sat on the couch together. I was in front of him, and behind me he had hair elastics hanging between his teeth. A hair brush was in his hand, and he was brushing my hair into a pigtail, making it really neat. My eyes were closed, enjoying his hands in my hair, tugging a little, this way and that, moving my head. Hair clips with watermelons on them were clipped to his shirt, too, and he'd put these in front of my pigtails for a finishing touch when he was done. The whole thing was going to be so cute. I couldn't wait.

My stomach was so full again. I'd eaten well. Sawai-san had made omelettes with peppers, onions, and turkey sausage. Tetsu made sure I ate the whole thing. It was little wonder why I'd gotten so bloated before. I was figuring it out. I was definitely eating a lot more than before. Maybe it was a good thing.

Something started to rumble, buzzing. My eyebrows creased as I tried to figure out what it was. A familiar tune started up, and I realized. It was Tetsu's cellphone. Who was calling? He briefly stopped brushing my hair, fumbling in his pocket, taking the elastics from his lips at the same time. He answered, and his happy noises made my heart glad.

"Keitaro!" He called out. His arm went around my middle, pressing me to him. My smile appeared in bliss at this. "Uh huh. Oh yeah, you're right. What? Hold on. What?"

He let out a loud "ehhhhhhh?!" noise behind me, and I pressed my lips together, snorting, as I tried to hide my laughter at his adorableness.

Sawai-san turned in her chair, lowering her newspaper, clearly paying attention, her face in amusement.

"Wait, wait, wait," Tetsu laughed. "Let me put it on speaker. I want Sana to hear this. It's what we talked about, right? I can't believe you put it together. What? No, of course I believed you would! Haha, Keitaro!"

His energy reminded me of how he was last year. That same joy. My glad feeling expanded. His cellphone appeared in front of me, and his finger pressed the speaker button.

"Okay. Okay. Can you two hear me?" Keitaro asked.

"Yeah, we can," Tetsu confirmed. "Go ahead. Repeat what you said." He was acting so different, turning on a completely different part of himself. So surprising.

"Well, I talked to my manager about what you proposed. He talked to his superiors. And they talked to even more people. I don't know the whole story. But, I was approached yesterday. It's crazy. They've never said yes so fast. You've got to understand, your story is all over the place. Did you know that? Everyone's paying attention. My company has heard, too. They're jumping at the chance to work with you. They want to offer you a temporary contract, to make a mini album. They're going to talk to your previous company about the rights to your name, so you can do it as Aurelia. Isn't that wonderful? It's only temporary, you understand. But, if they really like the mini album, you never know. If it sells well? And I think it will. When I say everyone's talking about you two, I mean it. People want to support you. I know you've been away from the industry for just about forever, but when you come back, you're going to see that everyone knows about you. It's almost impossible for people not to know your story at this point."

"Huh?" I asked.

Tetsu's chin went on to my shoulder, and my smile went to a million. "My story?" Tetsu asked him. "What do you mean?"

"Your blog, silly. People are talking about what you're doing. They're really inspired. People who know you are talking to other people, and those people are talking to other people. My manager knows about you, and I didn't even tell him I know you. It's crazy. When I mentioned your name, he said, 'ohh! Aurelia! You know her?' I was shocked."

"A mini album? I'm confused," I said, staring at the phone like it would tell me more. What were they talking about? It was almost overwhelming.

"Wait, am I famous?" Tetsu asked, sounding just as confused as me.

"Yes, actually. I think you being your authentic self has made you more famous. Everyone's buzzing. The more people I asked, the more people seemed to know your story. They go, 'oh, Aurelia-san! I read her blog!' It's amazing. I'm discovering more about it."

"Wow... I had no idea."

"Are you not paying attention to your read numbers? I think this mini album is going to sell out fast. Think about what you want to do. My company wants to talk to you about it, when you're ready. They're willing to work with you about what you want to do."

"Okay. Wow. I will." Tetsu pulled me backwards a little, his chin rubbing my shoulder. My eyes went half lidded, enjoying his touch.

"Let me know when you have ideas. Oh- Congratulations. Welcome to your first major contract." Keitaro chuckled.

"Whaaat," Tetsu said, sounding shocked.

"Bye," Keitaro chuckled more.

"Bye?" Tetsu repeated after him. The phone hung up. We stared at it for a few seconds.

"Excuse me, what?" He said quietly.

"Mini album?" I asked, just as quietly.

Sawai-san burst out of her chair, the newspaper flying everywhere. "Oh my god!" She exclaimed, her arms going up excitedly. Tetsu exploded into laughter, and I followed, giggling at her. "Did I hear correctly! Oh my god, congratulations! What's happening?!"

"I have no idea," Tetsu said, mystified. "Wait. I have to think."

"I'm going to get your mom. This is nuts," she said, grinning. She walked out of the room, and the door to the garden opened quickly.

"I'm calling him back. That can't be real," he said. His fingers flew about the number pad, typing in Keitaro's number.

"What mini album?" I asked again.

He pressed the speaker button. Keitaro answered immediately. "Hello?" He said in English.

"What is this joke you're talking about?" Tetsu asked, mock anger in his voice.

Keitaro laughed. "It's not a joke! You don't believe me? Give the president a call."

"No way," Tetsu gasped.

"You have to come up to Tokyo to sign the contract, by the way. Oh, and they mentioned they want me involved with it, too. They said they'll use my name to drive up sales, something like that. I don't think you need me, though. Is that okay? I want to work with you! I can play piano and you can sing. It sounds nice. A good change of pace."

"But- but-" Tetsu sputtered. "We'll need other musicians, too, right? Where am I going to find them? When's the deadline?"

"No deadline yet. You haven't talked to them about what you want to do yet. And musicians? Tetsu! You know about a million of them!"

"They're all involved with their own projects, are they just going to drop everything for-" Tetsu's words were all over the place, scattered thoughts.

"I know some musicians who are currently out of work," Keitaro said, teasingly.

"Who? Who? Oh my god, Keitaro, I'm freaking out-"

"They're called Lyra. Come on, Tetsu." Keitaro was laughing.

"I-" Tetsu paused. My mouth was open, silent shock. Wait, a minute... He found himself again. "Lyra?!" He exclaimed.

"It wasn't obvious?!" Keitaro was laughing so hard. "Your story, Tetsu! Think about it. They're involved, aren't they? People are talking about Sana, too. They want to know more about him. What's better than working with Lyra on this? People will go wild. You really don't know about what's happening right now in the real world, do you?"

"What people? Real world? I don't know who's talking about us," Tetsu said, so much shock in his voice.

"Come up to Tokyo. Come to the office. Once I tell people you're Aurelia, everyone's going to know you. So many people are going to come up to you. I swear, everyone in the office knows who you are. I was so surprised. Everyone's buzzing about this mini album. The news spread like wild fire as soon as the company gave the go ahead. Everyone's so excited."

"Oh, my head. This is going too fast."

"It's all thanks to your idea. Because you want to do a duet with Sana. Remember? What's better than working with Lyra on this, huh?"

"Duet?" I asked. "You want to do a duet with me?" I paused, thinking. Trying to envision it. I couldn't.

"I was talking about one song! With you and Sana! For Youtube!" Tetsu half scolded him, joy in his voice. "Not a mini album with your company!"

Keitaro made a dismissive, friendly noise. "I can't do Youtube like that. I'm under a contract. I asked for permission to do a couple of songs with you, kind of like single, for streaming service release, and my boss went nuts. We talked about it, and they said they want it to be a mini album. Physical and streaming release. They think it will do well."

"Ohh, but..." Tetsu began rocking me back and forth a bit, and I couldn't stop grinning. "How are we going to do all that? I can't- wait- Keitaro!"

Keitaro started laughing again. "Think about it for a while. Then call me back and we'll arrange for you to sign the contract. If Lyra is doing this, they need to sign it, too. And Sana, of course. Hi, Sana. I hear you talking in the background."

"Hi," I answered him nervously. My brain finally figured it out in a shock. My eyes went wide. "Major? Did you say, major? Wait..." Lyra... Keitaro... Two things came together and I gasped, my hands going over my mouth.

"And what do you mean everyone's talking about my story?" Tetsu asked.

"You really haven't been paying attention, have you? I'm not surprised. I know you're pretty busy. Honestly, I think they're willing to work at your pace, too. They know you have a lot going on."

"But..." Tetsu squeezed me around my middle.

The door to the garden opened, rumbling footsteps rapidly running towards the living room. Both of us looked towards the doorway at the same time. Tetsu's mom appeared, with Sawai-san close behind. His mom had a euphorically happy expression on her face.

"Te-chan!" She squealed, her arms bracing the doorway. "It is true?!"

Keitaro laughed. "I'll let you go. Celebrate! This is huge news! Go tell Lyra, too! Come up with something, and we'll talk! I couldn't wait to tell you! This is great!"

Tetsu's mom squealed again, coming towards us. "Keitaro, thank you!" She called out to him, leaning towards the phone. "I have to call the rest of the family now!"

Keitaro continued to laugh, joyously. Both Tetsu and I stared at the phone in shock. Confusion was all I felt. What was happening? "Bye, everyone! Go celebrate!" Keitaro said loudly. The phone hung up again.

Tetsu's mom made a loud, happy noise and suddenly hugged us both. Over her shoulder, I saw Sawai-san standing the middle of the room, looking so proud. My mouth hung open, unsure what to think, a million emotions going through my body.