Leon, Nana, Alan, and Q-chan all conversed amongst themselves over the many different things happening and the many things that were in the wings waiting to happen. Leon watched the subtle shift in behavior being displayed between his cousin and Jiaoshu's grandfather but kept his silence. The petshop had been called and Jill and D's father were in route and that alone made Leon more nervous then he could ever remember being. Bright frenetic spots of anger splotched through him at the thought of his mate's father and clashed against the very real love Jiaoshu held for him. It absolutely poured acid inside his guts to find out that not only was he suppose to make friends with him but also accept this intense and sudden relationship with Jill. His Jill. His best friend slash big sister that he never, ever wanted to see harmed. He kept testing the link with his beloved in agitation needing the reassurance to keep his calm. He knew Nana was watching him carefully and tried to still the resentment inside as best he could. He could only speculate what Jiaoshu's father would think of him.

Across town Jill and Ning were busy opening boxes. Jill quickly discovered that Ning was far more excited then she with an almost child like eagerness. One box held nothing but chocolates and she watched in bemusement as he ate his way through half of them in record time. Each piece of candy earned a small audible approval as it passed his lips and each box his long fingers touched was cause for a little squeal of joy. She sighed to herself and just let him have at it wondering what Christmas would be like this year with him around.

The boxes held an assortment of things they would need or want from toiletries to clothes. Jill gasped at the rich assortment of fabric flung her way. Exotic pieces piled up on the bed as Ning opened her boxes for her. Cheongsam's floated around her in rich reds, shimmering blues, and emerald greens along with matching combs for her hair and slippers for her feet. She let the cool material slide through her fingers and slip onto the coverlet suddenly overwhelmed by the sheer craziness of it all. Jill knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that she wouldn't be able to wear the outfits, knew as she eyed them with envy that they were not who she was. She carefully folded each one and returned it to its box laying inside the combs and the shoes that matched it listening half heartedly to Ning's incessant broken chatter. Ning after his excitement died down from opening the presents noticed and stilled his hands on the last two boxes.

"Jill? What is not right? You do not like them?" He asked a slightly puzzled look on his face. Jill smiled at him and shrugged her shoulders.

"They are beautiful, aren't they? It's not that I don't like them. I'm just not sure I would look right in them, that's all." Ning looked from the bright clothes to her and back again plainly confused. He let his guard down and slipped against her emotions carefully slightly perplexed by her behavior. He felt the strange sadness she felt looking at them and her resolve to not wear them. He couldn't quite grasp why; the emotions he felt to conflicting to paint a clear picture but he knew she would not be persuaded. The many outfits and boxes had been furnished by the pet shop itself so he knew that if she did not use the outfits they would be reabsorbed back into the shop. The last two boxes he hadn't opened yet because they were from his grandmother and were not to be taken lightly. One was addressed to him in Chinese and one was addressed to Jill in English. He picked up the one addressed to her and carried it over to her.

"Grandmother gives this to you. Please open it." He held out the pale blue box and waited patiently for her to take it. Jill brought it down to her lap. She slid the ribbon off and set the top carefully to one side and looked inside. A white note lay folded on top and Jill picked it up first, a smile played on her lips as she read it.

Beneath her fingers lay a simple deep blue pants suit with matching sensible rubber heeled shoes. Deep purple knot and loop closures ran down the front and trimmed the sleeves complimenting the outfit and in the bottom of the box a small velvet bag held a silver chain and a pair of silver stud earrings. Jill smiled at the sturdy construction of the outfit and the clean lines, now this she could wear. Ning content to see her happy again went to get his own box. He sat down beside her and pulled his feet up under him. He and his grandmother had not spoken in years, the night at Jill's being the first in a century. He couldn't conceive of what she would have given him and slid back the lid with some trepidation.

"Oh." Was all he could say as he picked up the strange clothes and held them out to look at, not hundred percent sure there wasn't a mistake. First there was a man's dress shirt very plain in cut and design, no frills and no accessories. Its only redeeming qualities as far as he was concerned was the softness of the fabric and the rich wine color of it because he knew it would accent his eyes. A white t shirt lay just beneath it and beneath that lay a pair of jeans. He knew they were jeans but had never in his long life ever considered wearing a pair. He eyed them suspiciously and held them up for Jill to see.

"What she want me to do with such crude things?" He murmured. He gasped at the sudden jolt in Jill's mood when she saw them and glanced over at her to see that her eyes were bright and she was grinning.

"Why she wants you to wear them, silly. In fact you should put them on right now, make sure they fit." Jill jumped up and pulled him to his feet as she talked propelling him towards the bathroom. She cheerfully pushed the startled kami inside and shut the door. Ning stared at the closed door in mild shock. He rubbed the rough cloth between his fingers and wondered what all the fuss was about, the garment was very plain after all but there had been no mistaking the upshot of arousal in Jill when she saw it. Ning turned the jeans over in his hands and looked at the backside of the denim. He remembered ogling a few men who had not only worn these pants but had looked overwhelmingly attractive in them and the way they hugged in all the right places. Ning grinned at the notion that Jill might want to see him in them for the same reason. Well, whatever Jill wanted Jill would get and then some, he'd see to that.

Jill meanwhile was pulling on the lovely outfit that Nana had sent her. She was a little surprised at the snug fit of the top expecting it to be loose like the ones men wore. This one had apparently been cut for the female figure and clung to her small waist and the swell of her breasts and hips but not overtly so. She studied herself trying to decide if Ning would like the outfit or not realizing that for all the intense emotions neither knew much about the other. She stopped when the bathroom door swung open and Ning emerged. Jill turned around to face him but the question she was going to ask slipped away in the huff of air that came out instead. Ning leaned against the door jam and smirked at the expression on her face.

"You like? Yes?" He asked just a hint of cockiness in his voice. Jill nodded dumbly and just stared. The lithe limbs were encased in deep blue denim and the jeans clung and hugged in all the right places. The white tank top fit smoothly over his chest and abdomen accentuating the flat male body. He wore the button up carelessly, sleeves rolled above his elbows and the ends of the shirt flirting with his hips. Jill licked the sudden salty perspiration from her upper lip. She slid her gaze down his body to his bare feet that were slender and finely arched. She blinked and took a couple of breaths, damn if even his feet weren't beautiful.

"Oh, yeah, you could say I like it. You could definitely say I like it." Jill muttered under her breath. 'Of course you'd look good in a potato sack and wooden clogs and I'd like that too.' She added silently to herself. She looked up to catch Ning eyeing her much the way she had him. An impish smile twisted on his lips when he caught her eye and he shrugged and pushed off from the doorway.

"My grandmother chose well. You are lovely and it moves me inside. We go now?" Jill felt the gentle burn of a blush on her cheeks. Her heart had jerked sideways at the impromptu compliment and she knew she would hold the moment with her no matter what else might come.

"Yes, it's time to go. Are you ready?" Jill asked her question layered with the obvious and the sublime. She raised her arm and offered her hand to the kami, compassion in her voice as he clutched it to him. His fingers trembled ever so slightly against her skin and he raised eyes that held regret and shame to hers.

"I need my shoes, then I am ready." His words barely a whisper and slightly broken as he sank to the bed to pull on the socks and shoes. She helped him as he struggled with the laces of the unfamiliar tennis shoes and squeezed his knee as she rose to standing. It was never easy to admit one was wrong and an odd tightness seized her chest watching the proud creature before her. Her forgiveness had been easy and she could only pray that whatever God was his would watch over him as reached for the forgiveness of his family. He smiled at her in pure false bravado and stood.

"I am ready now. You stay with me?" Jill offered her own smile and nodded clasping his hand once again.

"I'll be with you every step of the way Ning, I promise. Come on let's go your son is waiting."