3RD PERSON POV

December 31, 2019

8:00 am

Ocean woke up with strong arms around her. She was in her apartment with Robert in her bed. She examined Robert's face with a smile before tapping his nose. The two-headed back to her apartment after they finished eating in the park. Robert was already tired so instead of dropping her off, he just crashed at her place

Robert opened his eyes smirking. He pulled Ocean closer to him. "Good morning," He chuckled. "Happy New Year's Eve. Do you have any plans for today?" He asked, holding Ocean close for warmth

"OH SHIT," Ocean exclaimed. She removed herself from Robert's arms and got out of bed. "I need to get to my parent's house. I promised I'd help set up for their party," She opened her closet and pulled out a white lavalliere blouse and a black midi skirt. She threw her shirt off and was about to take her pants off before she realized Robert was still in bed. She immediately covered her chest and looked at Robert

Robert stared in awe when looking at her. "Wow. . ." He was sitting on the bed with his legs crossed. When he felt the soft texture of Ocean's shirt after she threw it at him, he came to sense and ran out the door. "SORRY!"

Ocean walked out of her room after a few minutes. "I'm sorry, I wanted to have breakfast with you, but you know," She sighed. She picked up her bag and slung it over her shoulder. She checked her hair in the mirror before grabbing her keys

"It's alright. If you guys need help, I'll be glad to help," Robert offered. He walked over to Ocean and placed a hand on her head. "Lauren and Joey are holding a new years party at their house at seven. So if you need help. . ."

"Well, I think my mom wanted to go shopping and then cook the dishes," Ocean went silent for a moment. "My dad's side of the family is gonna be there. . . Geez if I take you they're gonna question you until you die,"

"Ah, that's alright. I'll walk you to your car," He took her hand in his. "Are you ready to go?" He asked. He looked at Ocean and placed his other hand on the top of her head. He thought she looked so cute

Ocean nodded and walked out the door with him. She locked the door behind them before taking the elevator down to the lobby. She mentally went over everything that needs to be prepared. Mochi, soba noodles, and osechi ryori which was basically a complex bento box with many components

The two of them got to the parking garage. "Well, I'll see you later," Robert smiled. He pat her head one last time. "Good luck with your family," He laughed before walking off to the guest parking 

"Hey wait!" Ocean went after him, grabbing his arm when she was close enough. When Robert turned to her, she hugged him tight. "I love you!" She blushed as she dug her face into his chest. She looked up at him. "C-Can I k-kiss you?" She asked

Robert nodded. He leaned in and captured her lips. It was a sweet, but short kiss. When Robert pulled away he laughed. "And I thought I was the clingy one," He gave her a little peck on the cheeks for good measure

"I think we're both clingy," Ocean laughed. "But I can't resist your strong arms!" She liked the feeling of him hugging her, it gave her a sense of security that she barely felt as she grew up. It reassured her that he's there and he's never leaving

"We both gotta go remember?" Robert removed his arms from Ocean. "I'll see you soon," He waved at Ocean before walking off to go to his car. He heard the sound of Ocean walking away from behind him. He smiled to himself and lightly touched his lips. "I love her way too much,"

TIME SKIP

9:00 am

Ocean unlocked the door to her parent's house using the spare key they gave her. "Hello?" She called out. She felt something bump into her legs. "Hm?" She looked down at her little brother who was clinging to her leg

"Big sis!" Ryuuichi hugged her leg. "I missed you! Kichi is being a big meanie!" Kichi was the youngest son of the 2nd child of the Kaneko family. "Kichi said he was going to repwace me and steal you, big sis!"

Ocean laughed. "He won't steal me Ryuu. I promise," She ruffled his hair. After a second later, another small child clung to her leg. "Kichi-kun?" She looked at the 1st grader who held on tight to her leg

Kichi rambled some words in Japanese which translated to, "Onee-san! Ryuu is being stupid and annoying!" He puffed out his cheeks and looked up at Ocean. He made grabby hands at her signaling that he wants to be picked up

Ryuu's face turned red in jealousy and did the same thing as Kichi. "Big sis! I want upsies!" He said, jumping up a little bit to make up for the height difference between him and his taller and older cousin

"Kichi. Stop," The eldest son told Kichi. His name was Hiro, he was 18 and started college a few months ago. He picked up Kichi and sighed. "I'm sorry, Kairi," He bowed. "How are you?" He asked, she was definitely his favorite cousin. He had black hair with bangs long enough to cover his eyes and aloof

"It's alright," Ocean waved it off and picked up Ryuu. "I've been good. How are you and your family doing? My dad had to go to Japan a month ago. He said your father is 'failing him' which I hope isn't true," 

"That was greatly exaggerated," Hiro sighed. "Why didn't you go with them? Kichi found out your parents were going and he got excited. He thought you'd be there too," He asked. He ruffled Kichi's hair

"Oh, I was actually staring in a musical!" Ocean smiled. She was super proud that she finally achieved her dream of being an actor in a musical. "I don't know why they didn't take Ryuu. but babysitting him is always nice," She lightly tapped her little brother's nose, causing him to giggle

Hiro nodded. "Your mom said to go to the kitchen," He told her. "Kichi. Play with Ryuu," He set down Kichi as Ocean set down Ryuu. Kichi apologized to him and they ran off to go play somewhere 

Ocean and Hiro started to walk to the kitchen. "Do you know when Mei is going to show up?" Ocean asked. She always loved talking to her younger cousin. Mei, Hiro, and her were the famous trio in the family

"I heard she was coming later in the afternoon. Doesn't she has a boyfriend now," Hiro chuckled "She got one before you did, how funny," He himself didn't have a lover, but Ocean was older than him

"Hey! I don't see you with a girlfriend or anything! Plus, I did date someone before she did, so HA," Ocean scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Anyways, what are 'ya up to now? You graduate school right?"

"Yes, I'm going to college and majoring in programming. I'm going to make video games," Hiro told her as the two of them walked into the kitchen where the adults were talking and each other

"Oh! Ocean, you're here. I just finished the grocery list," Ocean's mom picked up a piece of paper. She folded it into a square and slid it into her pants pocket. "Did you still want to do Hiro?" She asked

Hiro simply nodded. After a few minutes of the adults talking, he walked outside with his mom, Ocean's mom, and Ocean. He sat in the back seat of the five-person car with his cousin while the adults sat in the front

The four drove to the nearby Asian grocery store. The moms picked up everything that was on the grocery list. Hiro and Ocean got some snacks for the family since Hiro's family will be staying over for the next week. They stop by a bubble tea place and get boba for them and everyone else at the house. Once all the shopping was done, they all head back to the house at the same time Mei's family arrived. Mei's mother was the youngest daughter of the 3 Kaneko siblings with Ocean's dad being the oldest and Hiro's dad being the middle child

Wasting no time, they all got to work making everything. Hiro, Mei, and Ocean were in charge of pounding mochi in the backyard and watching the kids, Hiro and Ocean's dads were in charge of making the osechi ryori, Ocean's mom was in charge of making the soba noodles, Hiro's mom was in charge of making the ozoni broth, Mei's parents were in charge of bringing the alcohol and making a sushi platter. While the adults were doing that, Ocean's grandparents on her dad's side, Hiro's grandparents on his mom's side, and Mei's grandparents on her dad's side were all having tea in another room, discussing their kids and their grandkids

"Mei, Mei," Hiro called out to his cousin as he entered the backyard holding the ingredients for the mochi. Mei was in the backyard setting up the usu and kine which was basically a giant mortar and pestle with the usu being the mortar and the kine being a giant mallet that acts like a pestle

"Hiro!" Mei waved him over. She stood next to Ocean who just placed a small folding table, near the usu so the hot water and other ingredients can be placed there

When Hiro set down the ingredients on the table, he hugged Mei. "It's nice to see you again," He told her after he pulled away from the hug. "Now tell me about your boyfriend," Naturally he would feel protective because 1, she doesn't have any older siblings or any siblings, and 2, he's older than her

Mei sighed. "I knew you'd ask that," She shook her head with a frown. She thought she might as well 'practice' for later when everyone else questions her since she hasn't seen them in a while and they all have a lot of catching up to do. "Yeah, I got a boyfriend. Uh. . . Do you want me to say something about him?"

Hiro interrogated Mei about her boyfriend as they made mochi with Ocean. When the conversation turned to if Ocean had at least someone since Mei had seen a guy on Ocean's Instagram stories a lot, Ocean just waved it off and said he was just a really close friend. The conversation ended up turning to Hiro and if he had someone on his mind

"W-Well. I do have a friend. But I'm not gay! I heard that's what it's called when you like a boy here. . ." Hiro's aloofness dropped for a moment as he quickly became embarrassed. His entire face was red

"Then you're bi?" Mei asked. She thought it would be amazing for all three of them to be bisexual

"I-I! That's not w-what I mean!" Hiro stuttered. His eyes peeked through his long bangs. He dug himself his own hole since they didn't know if his friend was a boy or a girl

"She's just teasing. You tell us if you really like someone when you're confident enough to tell us. No rush," Ocean slammed the mallet one last time onto the mochi. "I think the mochi is done now,"  

"You're super strong Ocean!" Mei admired her strength. She knew that her cousin was working out, it motivated her to start working out

"I think all of our cousins admire Kairi!" Hiro told Mei. He helped pick up the mochi and place it on a tray that had potato starch on it. "Let's go inside to stuff the mochi," He started to walk inside, Ocean and Mei following close

Hiro and Ocean went to the dining table and sat down, positioning the mochi in the middle of the table. The little kids came running up to the dining table, asking to help. After the two older siblings nodded, the kids hopped up into a chair next to their sibling

Mei joined her cousins at the table holding a baking tray with a bowl of red bean paste and spoons on top. She gave everyone a spoon and placed the red bean paste next to the mochi. She placed the other tray in front of an empty seat before sitting down next to Ocean. She was a little jealous that she didn't have a younger sibling like the others, but her friends were like her siblings

The five people sitting at the table all started to put the red bean paste in the mochi, some looked better than others. When they ran out of red bean paste, they rolled the mochi to grill later on

After dropping the mochi off at the kitchen, the kids went off to watch some kid shows on the TV. The three cousins decided to go to the room Hiro was staying in. Mei got out her phone and scrolled through Ocean's Instagram. She pulled up a photo of Ocean and Robert. "Hey, Oceannn. Are you dating this guy yet?" She showed the picture to her cousin

"What! N-No! Of course not! Why are you looking at my Instagram," Ocean grabbed Mei's phone and closed out of the Instagram tab. Her cheeks were dusted a light pink as she returned the phone to her

"Eh? Kairi you have someone?" Hiro asked, now curious as to who that person in the picture was. He didn't get to see the picture but he heard dating, guy, and he saw the blush on Ocean's face

"No!" Ocean put her hand on Hiro's face and pushed him away to where he was originally. "We're both just friends but. . . I do really like him," She looked down at her lap. "He. . . has my heart. . ."

"Then date him! A third of your Instagram feed is of him! What's holding you back anyway?" Mei was genuinely curious as to why they never got together. They went on a date, you can sense their chemistry through the pictures, and they look genuinely cute

"Well. . ." Ocean muttered

"Well, nothing. He can't just have your heart platonically," Hiro sighed. "He might get his hopes up, but when you're ready for him. He'll move on. Please don't hesitate. You know it'll cause more harm than good,"

"I'll. . . Think about it okay?" Ocean heard the adults calling them. "They're calling us. We better go," She stood up and walked out of the room

Hiro and Mei shared a look of concern. They both hoped their cousin will find the courage to ask Robert out

TIME SKIP

11:59 pm

The family shared laughs as they drank and ate. They all wore traditional kimonos. During the entire celebration, Ocean thought about what her cousins told her. She agreed with them but she was still scared

"Oi! Kairi! The countdown is starting!" Hiro nudged his cousin. They all stood up and started to countdown. The time turned to midnight and they all cheered. The family shared hugs, couples shared kisses, and others texted their friends and important people in their lives. They all shared their blessings and plans for the new year

The family drank and ate more, watched a movie, and played video games. During a round of a fighting game, Ocean was reminded of Robert. She stood up and announced to her family, "I'll be back!" She excused herself and asked if she could run in the kimono. After getting approval, Ocean held onto the bottom of her kimono and rushed to the door. She got to her car and started to drive to Robert's place

Ocean tried her best to run with the wooden footwear she had. She noticed that no one was home, so she just waited by the sidewalk for them. She wished she had brought a jacket. The slight breeze caused parts of her kanzashi, a hair accessory, to jingle and shake. She shivered lightly. Because her hair was up, not even the back of her neck was warm

Ocean waited outside for around 15 minutes before a car parked near her. Out emerged Robert and Jon. Robert noticed Ocean and ran over to her. "Hey! What are you doing out here it's freezing," He felt her cold hands and saw her cheeks were red from the cold

"I was waiting for you!" Ocean told him. "I forgot my phone at my parent's house. . ." She admitted. "I need to tell you something!" She let out a small sneeze. "So. . . I just had to see you!"

Robert took his jacket off and put it over Ocean's shoulders. "Jon, can you go inside?" He asked his roommate, who quickly obliged. "What is it?" He asked her. He continued to hold her hands in his to warm them up quick

"I. . . Love you! More than anything. I'm so sorry it took me so long to say this to you. . . I was too stupid to realize that you're the only one for me and I never want anyone else ever. You are my heart. . ." Ocean started to tear up a bit. Her heart was beating faster and faster to the point where it felt like it was about to jump out of her chest. "Please. . . be my one true love!"

Robert wiped her tears away. "I love you too," He lightly pressed his lips on hers. Their body heat warming them both up to the point they didn't need any jackets. Just each other. When Robert pulled away, Robert smiled. "Yes, I'll be your love,"

Ocean smiled wide. She threw her arms around Robert and hugged him tightly, throwing him off balance a bit. She felt his strong arms wrap around her and she felt safe. "I love you!" She muttered over and over again. Robert placed gentle kisses on her cheeks. The two pulled from the hug and shared one more kiss