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Winter had descended quickly upon Sun Harbor. One day, it had been a balmy paradise in the mid 80's; the next, the temperature had dropped nearly 30 degrees and chill winds blew in off the bay. The tourists had begun to disappear while the residents huddled indoors, seeking shelter from the sudden change in weather. The beaches and piers were all but deserted, save for the staunch few hoping for one last taste of the glory days of summer.

Friday had seen a sudden squall roll in, bringing with it driving sheets of rain that sent the populace scampering indoors to escape from the torrential downpour. The winds had carried it past by nightfall, revealing the canopy of stars above the tourist town. Gabe and Yuni had been anxiously following the weather, hoping and praying for the storm to abate before their planned festivities for the evening. The pair was in a celebratory mood: Yuni had just been accepted to St. Reya's, one of the most prestigious medical schools in the country, and would be starting there next fall; Gabe, meanwhile, had been an integral part in finishing a huge project at work and had been given a hefty bonus for a job well done.

When the storm had finally passed, the couple had made their way to Crymson, the club where they had first met. Joined by Gabe's best friend, Zane; Yuni's roommate, Amber; and her boyfriend, Tommy, the small group was surprised as they were stopped just inside the entrance by a large husky wearing a shirt emblazoned with the word "SECURITY" on it. He motioned for them to follow him, leading them through a side door and up a spiral staircase to a private parlor overlooking the dance floor. Dev, the owner, and his fiance Riley were waiting for them with smiles on their faces as the security guard ushered them all in. The foxes revealed that Micah, Gabe's DJ friend, had spoiled the good news to them. After congratulating the rabbit and vixen in turn, they told them that the group's drinks were on the house and to enjoy themselves. What followed was a night filled with drinking, dancing, and general revelry, and it was only when the sky began to lighten along the horizon that the group finally called it a night. Gabe and Yuni hailed a taxi that carried them off to Gabe's apartment where, still inebriated, the two managed to stumble their way into the apartment before collapsing onto the bed.

This was the reason for Yuni being quite aggravated when someone decided to knock on the door early Saturday morning.

The vixen's green eyes opened slowly, unsure at first what had woken her up, but completely aware of the massive headache she was experiencing. Shifting beneath the covers, she snuggled back against her lop-eared boyfriend, sleeping soundly with an arm draped languidly over her waist. The ghost of a smile spread over her face as she wiggled herself further beneath the covers, her eyes drifting shut and prepared to slip back into the warm embrace of sleep, when there was a series of knocks coming from the living room.

Yuni's eyes open again, brows furrowed as she glared accusingly in the general direction of the front door. There was silence for a moment before the pattern of knocks repeated once again. Muttering darkly, she nudged Gabe's still sleeping form gently with her elbow.

"Babe," she said softly, hints of her migraine seeping into her words. "Babe, someone's at the door..."

A grunt from the rabbit was the only response she received before he shifted closer to her and his arm tightened about her waist. Giggling in spite of herself, she nudged him once more. "C'mon bunny, someone's knocking..." As if to demonstrate, the persistent person at the door knocked once again, but Gabe continued to sleep on.

"Honestly, ears his size and he can't hear this?" Yuni muttered as she rolled over and elbowed him in the stomach, not too hard, but not necessarily gently either, and the rabbit woke with a start. Blinking stupidly in the dim light of the bedroom, his azure eyes searching for a moment before alighting on her face and he frowned.

"Wha'chu wake m'up fer...?" Gabe asked, still struggling from his less than polite awakening, and as Yuni made to respond, the knocking repeated once more. Gabe's attention was drawn towards the open door of the bedroom as he mumbled, "Th' hell?" The pair continued to lay there in bed, silently waiting for a moment before the knocking sounded again. Groaning, Gabe buried his face in the back of his girlfriend's neck and wrapped his arms tighter about the vixen's waist. "S'too early fer this..." he muttered, making Yuni giggle again, her tail swaying against him lightly. A soft churr escaped the rabbit while his hands stroked lightly across Yuni's stomach, earning him an appreciative murr, but any thoughts of amorous activities were dispelled as another loud sequence of knocking sounded. Muttering obscenities and tossing the covers off himself, Gabe clambered out of bed as his hangover hit him in that instant. Grasping his forehead, he padded towards the door before Yuni's voice made him stop.

"Babe, put on some pants..." she said before dissolving into a fit of giggles while the rabbit begrudgingly slid on a pair of flannel pajama pants he snatched up from the floor.

"Should jus' answer nekkid, teach'em a lesson," he grumbled while Yuni continued to giggle, and a small grin spread over his own face. Taking a moment to struggle into a t-shirt as well, he then proceeded out into the living room, pausing long enough to close the bedroom door behind him in hopes that Yuni could at least get some more sleep. Making his way towards the front door, the mysterious person knocked yet again. "Ugh, calm down, I'm coming," he said, stepping to the door and unlocking it before he pulled it open.

"Surprise!" came the excited shout from the other side once the door begun to open, and Gabe's eyes clamped shut against the noise. When he opened them once again it was to find the smiling faces of his parents in front of him. He stood there, slack-jawed, looking back and forth between his mother, who was practically bouncing in excitement, to his father, standing just behind her with a slightly embarrassed smile of his face. Struck dumb by the sudden appearance of his parents, he simply stood gaping at them before his mother rushed him, wrapping him up in a hug that only a mother could deliver.

"Oh, Gabriel! Did we surprise you?" She asked before pulling back and laughing at the complete lack of comprehension on his face. "Look at him, Thomas! He's completely speechless!"

"Let the boy breath, Carol," his father said, practically needing to pry his wife off their son before he patted him on the back. "How have you been, Gabe?" he asked him with a smile.

"Uhh...I've...been alright?" Gabe responded, still shocked by the fact that his parents were now standing in his living room, given the fact that they lived states away. His mother bustled by him, her long, usually curly, blond hair drawn up into a bun, while her bright blue eyes flicked over the furnishings of his apartment. His dad remained by his side, one arm still hooked around his shoulders. "Um, what...what are you two doing here?"

His mother waved a hand dismissively at the question as she settled herself on the couch. "We wanted to surprise you! Jared is home on leave, so he and TJ are watching the other's, and your father's partners are covering his clients for the next few days." His mom's excited nature, something that had been a cause for embarrassment numerous times in his youth, was now compounding his hangover. Seating himself beside his wife, his father and mother sat there grinning at him and he forced a smile on his face in return.

It had been roughly a year and a half since Gabe had last seen his parents, and his current situation was leaving him in no condition to deal with them. Seating himself on the recliner facing them, he took a deep breath in anticipation of the onslaught he knew was about to wash over him. As soon as he was settled in, his mother launched into stories from home, mostly concerning his younger siblings: how Jared was adapting to life in the military (and how proud she was of her airman), that TJ had been offered a track scholarship at Sun Harbor University ("We hope he can stay with you, but you'll need to move into a larger apartment of course."), that Michelle had begun driving ("And the boys are just lining up for her!"), and the twins, Richie and Crystal, were happy to finally be teenagers ("Honestly, who knew thirteen was so important?"). Gabe's headache continued to pound a steady rhythm against his skull as his mother continued her stories for nearly twenty minutes, but he couldn't get a word in edgewise until his mother finally asked him, "Oh, honey, how have you been? We hardly hear from you anymore!"

"Well, thing's are actually going pretty good right now," he began, shifting in his seat while a small grin spread over his face. "We just finished a huge project at work, which resulted in a nice bonus for me, and-"

The rest of his words were cut of by an excited shriek, making him wince as a stab of pain laced across his forehead. His mother jumped to her feet as if she had been shocked before she dashed to him and hugged him tightly. "Oh, Gabriel, I'm so proud of you!" she exclaimed. "We simply MUST take you out to celebrate!"

Patting her on the back gently while his father smiled at him from the couch, Gabe gave her a small smile before pulling out of her hug. "Actually, I'm kinda celebrated out right now. We went out last ni-"

He was interrupted once again, this time by a groggy voice sounding behind him, "Hun, who's here?"

Silence fell over the apartment as suddenly as if someone had died. Gabe cringed inwardly as he examined both of his parents faces. His father had a look of surprise on his face, while his mother looked as if she had just been slapped, her mouth hanging open in shock as she looked past him and he turned his head to follow her gaze. Yuni was standing behind him, dressed in her pajama pants and a hoodie he recognized as his own, emblazoned with the logo of his favorite hockey team. Her hair was disheveled and she was still rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. Letting her hands drop to her side, she looked up in astonishment at the sight of two rabbit she didn't know, her cheeks darkening in an embarrassed blush. Gabe opened his mouth to speak, but his mother voice sounded first.

"Gabriel," she said, the usual pleasantness in her voice gone, replaced with an icy tone. "What...?"

Sighing inwardly, Gabe resigned himself to whatever might happen as he stood, walking behind the recliner to stand beside Yuni. The smaller vixen looked up at him, a questioning look on her face, but he smiled reassuringly to her as he looped an arm around her waist before turning his attention back to his parents. Taking a deep breath to steady himself, he smiled at them before saying, "Mom, Dad, this is Yuni. My girlfriend."

His words hung in the air as a ringing silence followed. His father seemed stoic at the statement, but his mother went rigid, her eyes flicking back and forth between her son and the vixen standing beside him. She was silent for a moment before she stepped up to Gabe, looked him dead in the eyes, and slapped him. Hard.

"How DARE you," his mother said, every word dripping with contempt as Gabe reeled from the blow, hand cupping his cheek. Yuni gasped, her hands clapping over her mouth in shock while Gabe's father stood up and shouted, "Carolyn!"

"No, Thomas!" his mother fired back at him. "No, I will not stand for...for THIS!" Stalking over to the couch, she snatched up her purse before stomping to the door, wrenching it open in a rage and storming into the hallway. Gabe and Yuni were still standing there, although the vixen placed a hand on her boyfriend's shoulder while he rubbed his cheek gingerly. With a heavy sigh, Gabe's father walked over to them and placed a hand on his son's other shoulder.

"I'm sorry about that, Gabe," he said solemnly before turning his attention to Yuni. Gabe watched warily as his father examined her for a moment. "And I apologize to you, too...Yuni, wasn't it?"

The vixen nodded as his father looked at the two of them before patting Gabe lightly on the shoulder and turned to leave. "We'll talk later, son," he said softly, and disappeared into the hallway, closing the door behind him.

The apartment was quiet for a minute, Gabe eying the closed door and Yuni carefully watching him before he finally muttered, "Fuck, that hurt."

Gabe padded over to the sofa, rubbing his sore cheek while Yuni followed behind him and settled beside him once her sat down. Reaching up, she gently pulled his hand off his cheek, examining the red that was clearly visible through his soft, short fur. "Oh, hun...what was that all about?"

A sigh escaped Gabe as he looked at her, worry and concern showing in her emerald eyes, and he knew that what he had to say would hurt her. Leaning back, he sighed again before saying softly, "That was years of specist upbringing rearing its ugly head."

Yuni frowned, watching him carefully as he leaned back into the couch and spoke. Chewing on her bottom lip, she curled up beside him, arms looping about his waist as the vixen snuggled into him. Gabe's hand landed on her back, rubbing softly as her head rested on his chest, silent for a moment before she finally said, in a small voice, "Because of me?"

Gabe looked down at her, those vivid green pools of hers meeting his own azure before he shook his head. "No, that was because of my grandparents and their backwards way of thinking," he replied. Yuni nodded slightly, curling tighter against his side while he continued gently rub her back. "They didn't think that two people of different species should be together, and this is something they instilled in my mom and, what I've taken to believe, my aunt as well." He let out a derisive snort before continuing. "You should have seen my mom's reaction when my brother TJ dated a cotton-tail back in high school. It's absolutely ridiculous."

Yuni raised her eyes to him once more, a mildly incredulous look on her face. "She didn't push these beliefs on any of you?"

The rabbit snorted again. "Oh, she certainly tried," he said, shaking his head. "And when I was younger, I believed her. But when I was in high school, I made some friends that weren't rabbits. Hit it off great with them, even dated one of them for a while." He shifted slightly at the last comment, averting his eyes from the vixen and earning a slight giggle. Gabe never liked to talk about previous relationships, be them his own or hers, and it always made him uncomfortable even at the smallest mention. "She found out one day, though. Man, I've never heard her scream that much. But it was that moment where I really began to question everything that she had told me about what was right and wrong."

Yuni nodded once more and let silence fill the apartment once more, albeit a more comfortable one that had permeated once Gabe's parents had departed, and the pair sat on the couch for a few minutes, enjoying the solitude before Gabe's stomach rumbled. The vixen looked up at him, eyebrows raised while a grin slowly spread over her face. Gabe heaved a dramatic sigh, lifting his eyes to the ceiling. "And now I'm hungry, what else can go wrong today?"

That earned him a small giggle from his girlfriend, and she leaned up to give him a tender kiss on the cheek. "Let's get cleaned up," she said, disentangling herself from the rabbit. "Then we'll go get some food."

Gabe nodded in agreement and she gave him another soft kiss before disappearing into the bathroom. He waited a minute until he heard the shower turn on, then stood and padded into the bedroom. Rummaging through the drawer on his nightstand, he finally extracted a nearly empty pack of cigarettes and made his way back to the living room, opened the slider, and stepped onto the balcony. It was a brisk morning with cool winds blowing inland from the bay, but he paid the weather no mind. He pulled a cigarette from the pack and lit it, taking a long draw as his eyes watched the waves rolling in, trying to empty the thoughts of that morning from his head.

When Yuni exited the bathroom just shy of an hour later, Gabe was still on the balcony, and the faint scent of cigarette smoke lingered in the air. Frowning, she made her way into the bedroom and began to get dressed. She could always tell when Gabe was stressed to his breaking point, because those were the only times he would smoke. Yuni had only seen him smoke once before, and that was just over a month ago, when the project he had been working on was nearing the deadline and the rabbit was putting in twelve hour days at the office. But that was one thing, and this was quite another.

The vixen could tell that this was bothering him more than he was willing to let on, but she also knew that it would not be wise of her to bring up the topic further until he was ready to face it. So she simply pulled on an old pair of jeans, a t-shirt, and one of Gabe's hoodies. Grabbing a beanie off the dresser, she padded back into the bathroom to brush out her long, midnight colored hair. Sighing softly to herself, Yuni's mind replayed what Gabe's mom had done earlier; the rage and betrayal that had been on the older rabbit's face had terrified her, and she felt a chill race down her spine just thinking about it. The vixen gave her head a tiny shake. 'No, it won't do to dwell on it,' she told herself, setting about finishing her hair. It took only a few minutes before she was satisfied with the way she looked, and she exited the bathroom once again, heading towards the balcony and her boyfriend. She stepped out there with him, coming up behind the rabbit and rubbing his shoulders gently. Gabe started at her touch, craning his head back to look at her before smiling slightly. She returned the smile, leaning over to kiss his forehead.

"Come on, bunny," she said. "Let's get you cleaned up and go eat."

"Yeah, good idea," he replied, standing up from the chair and padding inside. Yuni followed behind, making sure he made it into the bathroom, and stood outside the door until she heard the water turn on. She sighed softly, turning on her heel and padding back out onto the balcony. There were three cigarette butts dropped onto the floor, and she frowned at the sight of them. Being a medical student, she knew the dangers and the hazards of smoking, and even though Gabe rarely did it anymore, it still irked her when he did. With another sigh, she picked up the butts and dropped them into the small metal bucket that was tucked in the corner of the patio. The vixen made her way back inside, sitting down heavily on the couch while her mind remained worried.

Soon enough, the water shut off and Gabe emerged from the bathroom, still dripping a bit as he spotted Yuni on the couch, curled in the corner with her head down. Gripping the towel around his waist tighter, he moved into the living room.

"Yuni?" he asked tentatively, unsure if she had drifted off to sleep again, but her head snapped up quickly to look at him. "Everything alright?"

She put a forced smile on her face and nodded, and Gabe chose not to pursue the issue.

"Alright, well, give me a couple minutes then we can head out," he said before disappearing into the bedroom. Yuni smacked herself lightly on the cheeks, trying to clear her mind.

Less than ten minutes later, the pair exited the building, bundled up against the chilly weather as they made their way down to street to a small cafe on the corner. Both of their minds were distracted, replaying the events of the morning, yet not wanting to upset the other. Breakfast was a solemn affair for them, a large change from the revelry they participated in the night before, and they made their way back to the apartment in relative silence.

As the two of them stepped into the lobby of the building, Gabe felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. Fishing out the device while they waited for the elevator, Gabe read the screen before muttering, "Shit."

"What's wrong?" Yuni asked, concern and hesitation plain on her face.

"Dad texted me," Gabe explained, typing out a response. "He wants us to have dinner with them tonight."

"Did....did he say why?"

Gabe shook his head, stowing the phone back in his pocket as the elevator doors slid open in front of them. "No, but we're not going."

"Wh-what?" Yuni said, surprised as she followed the rabbit into the elevator. "Why?"

"Because I'm not going to subject you to whatever they want to say," Gabe said, the anger that had been bubbling in him since that morning beginning to raise to the surface.

They rode up with silence settling over them again, but Yuni felt a small spark of happiness flare in her chest at his comment. A ghost of a smile spread over her face as the exited and wandered down the hallway and back into the apartment. As Gabe closed the door behind them, his phone went off again, ringing this time as he pulled it from his pocket and glared at the screen. Swiping the screen, he held it up to his ear.

"Yeah, dad?" He said, striding to the slider opposite and out onto the balcony, closing the door behind him.

"Gabe, about dinner tonight," the older rabbit began, but Gabe cut him off.

"Dad, I'm not going to bring Yuni into that situation," Gabe explained, pacing back and forth along the balcony while the vixen watched him from inside. "Mom was.....that was uncalled for from her."

A heavy sigh sounded from the other end of the line, and Gabe could practically see his father rubbing his temples on the other side. "I know," came his reply after a moment that actually surprised Gabe.

"That's why I want you two to come to dinner with us," his father continued. "I want to clear the air between all of us. So, please, will you two join us tonight?"

Gabe was silent for a moment before he finally spoke. "Fine, we'll come. When and where?"

Yuni watched her boyfriend with trepidation, unsure what was being said, and somewhat upset that she was the cause of the tension between him and his parents. Her ears perked as e finally hung up the phone and stepped back inside, letting out a sigh as he looked to her.

"So, yeah, we're gonna meet them for dinner," he said a little abashed, hanging his head slightly while Yuni smiled.

"They want to apologize?" she asked, a little amused.

"Sure seems that way," came Gabe's reply. "They want us to meet them at Giuseppe's for dinner tonight."

Yuni's jaw dropped. "Giuseppe's?! That's....that's one of the most expensive places in the city!"

"So long as they're paying, I don't really care," Gabe replied with a grin on his face. "Although, probably shouldn't show up in jeans and hoodies."

Yuni nodded, her mind already working over what she might wear for the night. The two of them whiled away the afternoon hours; Gabe spending some time on his laptop, while Yuni busied herself annotating her textbooks. At six that evening, however, the pair exited the elevator into the parking garage, dressed for an evening out.

Gabe was dressed like he was heading to work: black slacks, a light blue collared shirt, patterned tie, and his heavy pea coat. Yuni had chosen a calf length skirt of deep violet and a black blouse. Over which she wore her own coat and had a scarf wrapped loosely about her neck. She had done her hair up in a bun and was feeling particularly nervous as they slid into Gabe's car and pulled out of the garage.

The restaurant wasn't far from the building, situated up on the foothills surrounding the city and offered a view of the bay below. After a short drive, the two arrived as Gabe steered the smaller coupe into a parking space beside the lavish restaurant. Gabe helped Yuni out of the car and, together, the two of them stepped into the restaurant. A smartly dressed otter greeted them at the door with a simpering smile.

"Yes, welcome to Giuseppe's," he said through a faked accent. "A table for two tonight?"

"Actually, we're here meeting people," Gabe interjected as the maitre'd moved to grab menus. "Thomas and Carolyn Andrews? I think they should probably be here by now."

"Ah, yes, follow me then," the otter said and led them into the restaurant. They wove between tables, following behind him until Gabe spotted his parents seated at a table near the back. The two older rabbits appeared to be in good spirits, but as Gabe's mother lifter her wine glass to take a sip, she spotted her son and Yuni approaching and her face immediately darkened. The otter gestured for them to sit before placing menus before them and stepping away. Tension hung in the air before Gabe's mother turned on his father.

"Thomas, what is the meaning of this?" she said in a low voice that dripped with venom.

"This is an opportunity for us to clear the air with our son," his father said, lifting his own wine glass before regarding Gabe and Yuni with a small smile. "Thanks for coming, you two."

"Thanks for inviting us, dad," Gabe said while Yuni nodded at his side. "I was...kinda surprised to get the call."

"Well, after this morning I felt we needed to get together like this."

Gabe's mom sat with her arms crossed, deliberately not looking at the the young couple across the table from her. Their waitress arrived, and took Gabe and Yuni's drink orders before disappearing again while Gabe's father looked at his wife.

"Carolyn, say something," he insisted.

Gabe could see the muscles in her jaw working as she fought to bite back whatever retort she may have had, but she turned and fixed her husband with a glare.

"I don't enjoy being played for a fool, Thomas."

"I'm not, Carolyn," replied his father and returned her glare. "Our son is a grown man, and he can make his own choices in life. If you want to take what could be a pleasant night and ruin it, then go right ahead."

The other three at the table were stunned, looking slack-jawed at the rabbit as he took a sip of his wine. Gabe had never heard his father snap like that and his mother was looking as if she had been slapped. Yuni was trying to make herself as small as possible in her seat, feeling like an intruder in the family issues. The tension was broken as the waitress returned again with Gabe and Yuni's drinks, setting them before the two before asking if everyone was ready to order.

"I think we'll need a few more minutes, please," said Thomas and their waitress just smiled, told them to take their time, and departed. Gabe's father looked around at the others and let out a sigh. "I'm not going to be the only one to talk tonight. Please, everyone, let's order and then talk."

The all perused their menus and placed their orders once the waitress returned again, but remained silent for a moment after she left, prompting the older rabbit to speak up once again.

"Fine, I suppose I'll break the ice," Thomas said as he leaned back in his seat slightly. "Yuni, why don't you tell us all about yourself?"

The vixen sat up with a start, looking over at her boyfriend's father as he sat there with a small, kind smile on his face. "OH, well, um...R-Right now I'm going to SHU."

"Is that so? Are you studying computers like Gabe did?"

"Err, no. I'm...studying medicine there."

"Actually, dad," Gabe interjected with a small grin of his own. "Yuni just got accepted to St. Reya's here in town. They're one of the best medical schools in the country."

"Really? That's quite impressive," said his father, while Carolyn looked at the now blushing vixen.

"It's...been an ordeal, I guess," Yuni said shyly. "But this is something I've wanted to do since I was a kit."

"Family in the medical field?" Thomas asked to which she nodded.

"Yeah, my mom. That's actually how her and my dad met."

"Do tell."

And so Yuni launched into the explanation of her family; how her dad was in the military, stationed overseas, when he became sick and her mother treated him at the hospital. She grew more comfortable the longer she kept talking, occasionally glancing at Gabe beside her as he sat there with a grin plastered on his face. There was even a noticeable change in Carolyn's demeanor, the female rabbit's glare fading until it was replaced with a look of curiosity. Eventually, she was interrupted with the arrival of their meals, but Thomas looked back to her as their waitress left.

"A military kid then," he said. "Only child?"

"Middle, actually," replied Yuni, the usual chipper tone in her voice returning. "My older brother Katsu joined the navy right out of high school, and my sister Hanako is a junior right now."

"Ah, so she's about the same age as Michelle," said Thomas to a quizzical look from Yuni. "One of other children," he explained.

"You have....five others, right?" she asked to a surprised look from the two older rabbits.

"Yes, indeed we do," Thomas said while his smile grew wider. "Gabe here is our eldest. Then there's Jared who just joined the Air Force and just got out of basic. TJ will actually be out here next year to go to SHU as well. Michelle's a junior in high school, and the twins, Richie and Crystal, are still in middle school."

"Wow, I can't imagine such a large family like that," Yuni said with a hint of awe in her voice and Thomas laughed in response.

"Oh, sometimes it's a hassle, but we've managed well."

The four of them lapsed into a comfortable silence while they ate, Thomas occasionally asking More questions of Yuni and Gabe while Carolyn remained mostly silent. Eventually, their meals were consumed and dessert had come and gone, leaving the four of them sipping at coffees that had been brought over.

"I just wanted to thank the two of you," Yuni said in a small voice, looking from Thomas, who smiled, to Carolyn, who looked down at her cup. "I know that...after this morning..."

"There's no need to thank us, Yuni," Thomas said. "In all honesty, we should probably be thanking you."

Yuni opened her mouth to respond, but she was cut off.

"He's right, we should be thanking you. No, I should be apologizing to you."

The other three looked to Carolyn as she sat there, eyes still fixed on the coffee cup held in her hands. She took a deep breath before looking up at the fox sitting across from her.

"I...should apologize for my behavior this morning. It was out of line, and I apologize to both of you," she said as her eyes flickered over to her son.

Yuni wasn't sure what to say to that, but she felt Gabe's hand slip into hers and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"Thanks, mom. That really means a lot to us," Gabe said and Yuni nodded as Gabe squeezed her hand in return.

"Yuni," said his mom, holding out one of her hands to her. The vixen looked up to Gabe and he nodded to he before she placed her free hand in the female rabbit's. "I need to apologize to you the most. What I did and said this morning was uncalled for, and I'm sorry that I put you into this situation without even knowing you." She placed her other hand over Yuni's, holding tight to her as she offered her the first smile the vixen had seen from her.

"It's obvious now that you and Gabriel make each other happy," she continued. "The last thing that I would want is to come between my son and his happiness."

"Thank you for that, Mrs. Andrews," Yuni said softly as Carolyn lightly patted her hand before letting go. The four of them finished their coffees, Gabe's father paid the bill, and then they all left the restaurant together. Standing outside at the valet station, Gabe gave both his parents a hug, surprised as each of them hugged Yuni as well.

"Gabe, it was great seeing you again," his father said, clapping his son on the shoulder. "Any chance you two can make it out for Christmas this year?"

The young couple both blinked in surprise and shared a look with each other before Gabe spoke. "I...don't think that will be possible. I've got a new project starting soon, and Yuni's got the new semester to plan for."

Thomas nodded in understanding, but it was Gabe's mother that spoke next. "But, you have to come for TJ's graduation. We'll pay to have you two fly out."

Gabe and Yuni shared another look before the vixen smiled. "We'd love to. Just let us know when."

Gabe stepped forward and gave his mother another hug as he muttered, "Thanks, mom."

She smiled as their cab pulled up to the curb and the valet opened the door for the two older rabbits as they slipped inside. They waved at Gabe and Yuni as the cab pulled away, carrying them back to their hotel while the younger couple headed off to Gabe's car. Yuni slipped her hand into her boyfriend's and hugged herself close to him as she let out a heavy breath.

"Well, that's certainly not how I imagined the night going," the fox said with a small giggle. "Especially being invited to their house! What do you even call that?"

Gabe laughed as they reached his car and he opened the door for her, leaning in to give her a lingering kiss. "Progress, that's what I call it."