The next day, Espio enters the hotel having returned from his trip. He sees Y/N reading the magazine in a quiet area with Aquarius on her lap. He heads over, throws his bag down when she turns and gives him a death glare.

"I thought I was here to meet your family go to your best friend's wedding, eat some good food. Instead, I feel like I'm a villain in a soap opera who's plotting to steal your family fortune."

Not expecting this, he grows scared and knows this isn't good. It seemed her weekened wasn't as good as his. Espio sat down next to her.

"What happened?"

"I mean, I met Lien-Da. She told methat everyone here thinks that I'm the evil person that prevented you from moving back to Tokyo lastyear but, when I didn't even know you were supposed to come home."

"Chao!!" Aquarius agreed, glaring at him.

"You have every reason to be upset --"

"I'm not done yet! There was also the gutted, bloody fish that Bunnie's friends left for me in my hotel room on my bed next to the words 'Catch this, you gold digging bitch'... written in big fat serial-killer letters."

Aquarius shook her head that they would do such a terrible thing to her.

"Is that all that happened? I mean, please tell me that's all that happened." Espio asked in worry.

Y/N throws the magazine down and turns to him. Aquarius floats up in the air to watch on their conversation.

"You know what? I don't even care about those stupid girls, with their stupid little designer handbags and sunglasses. I don't care about that. I don't care that your ex-girlfriend told me all this crap. It's that you didn't tell me any of it!"

"I screwed up."

"Why?!"

"I really messed up, okay?"

"Why? What -- Were you trying to test me? Why would you do that?"

Espio takes a beat, comes clean.

"I made a mistake. When we first met, you had no idea who I was, who my family were. You didn't care!"

"Yeah, I don't care about that stupid stuff."

"Well, exactly. You are so different from all of the women that I grew up with. And I love who I am around you. And I don't want that to change. And that's selfish, I know."

"Mm-hmm." Y/N smiled slightly.

Espio takes her hand.

"And I'm sorry that you had to deal with that on your own. But I'm here now. And whatever happens, we'll get through it together. Dead fish and all. Alright?"

Y/N sighs.

"It was so gross. But I buried it."

"You dealt with it."

They laugh.

"Come here."

He holds her. Aquarius lands on their head and hugs them. Y/N is touched.

"You know what? We need to do something tonight. We need to do something that's just you and me, okay?"

"100% agree."

"Yes."

"But... we do have to go make some dumplings first. Okay?"

"Then can we eat them?" Y/N smiled cheekily.

"We can eat as many as you like." Espio chuckled.

"Okay, fine."

"Chao chao?" Aquarius asked.

"Yes, you can come, too." Espio smiled, patting her head.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In the dining room, quick cuts of food being expertly prepared by half adozen maids. Small balls of dough are rolled into flat circles. Minced meat is quickly rolled into dozens of perfectly formed, uniform balls. A maid takes a tray of the mincemeat balls to the center of the room, where Constant Vigil and other family members -- Espio, Y/N, Aquarius, Rouge, Rouge's son, Honey, Endless Reach, and Rich Nights -- are clustered around a large table. They're busy folding the dumplings, which are placed in neatly-stacked bamboo steamers. It's a family tradition, and they work expertly while having multiple conversations.

"I can't believe this is your first time making dumplings." Espio said to Y/N who laughs.

Aquarius who's covered with some dough patted the dumpling and beamed in satisfaction to see it all wrapped up and perfect as she placed it in the basket with all the rest of the dumplings before doing the next one.

"Gotta make sure this time we don't run out of baskets." Endless Reach said.

"Sweetie, that's not how you do it." Rouge corrected her son. "Very good. Very good. And now you roll it up."

As Constant Vigil inspects the tray and nods her approval, Rich Nights eyes dozens of waiting trays with alarm.

"This is too much. We're hosting a rehearsal dinner, not feeding an army --"

"Better too many than have people say we're stingy." Constant Vigil cut her off.

Meanwhile, Espio teaches Y/N how to fold a dumpling --putting the mincemeat ball in the dough wrapper and sealing it closed.

"So, right. You put the baby inbed and tuck, tuck, tuck. Same onthe other side. And you give him a kiss goodnight."

"Okay. That's so cute. And then you eat the baby."

"How's that? Then you eat the baby. Not until he's cooked." he chuckled.

"No, you gotta make sure he's cooked. Did your grandma teach you that?"

"She did."

"I, on the other hand, was taught by auntie. 'You put the Botox in the face and then you pinch, pinch, pinch, then voila!'" Honey said as she fold the dumpling perfectly.

"Did you guys all learn when you were kids?" Y/N asked.

"We didn't have a choice." Rouge said.

She nods to her son as he happily pounds balls of dough with his fist and rips apart dumplings. Aquarius joins in with him with a giggle.

"We taught you so you'd know the blood, sweat, and tears it took toraise and feed you monkeys." Rich Nights said.

"Not like ang-mohs, microwaving macaroni and cheese for their own children."

Endless Reach shudders at the thought of that.

"No wonder they put their parent sin the old folks' home when they all grow up."

"I know!" Rich Nights agreed.

"Grandma says if we don't pass traditions down like this, they'll disappear." Constant Vigil said.

"God forbid we lose the ancient Japanese tradition of guilting your children." Rouge said to Y/N.

The others all laugh.

"It's totally worth it. Mother used to wait for me after school with a nice basket of these." Espio said, remembering that.

"あなたはラッキーです。(Lucky you.)" Endless Reach said in Japanese.

Constant Vigil smiles at the memory.

"Hey, I never got after-school dumplings. Why not me too?" Rouge asked to Rich Nights.

"Well, that's because Aunty Rich Nights was doing after-school microdermabrasion." Honey said with a smirk.

"知ったかぶり。もしあなたの祖父が生きていたら、彼はあなたを頭の中で蹴ります。(Smart ass. If your grandfather was alive, he'd kick you right in the head.)"

Everyone laughs. Endless Reach sees Y/N smiling. Rich Nights throws dough at Honey. Honey brushes her shirt with a playful gasp.

"Aunty, this is Dolce."

"You speak Japanese?" Endless Reach asked Y/N.

"Yes. It's just great seeing you guys all like this."

The family exchanges looks. What does Y/N mean?

"When I was growing up, it was just me, my brother, mom, and dad. Which I loved, uh, but we didn't really have a big family like this. It's really nice."

"That's so lovely of you to say, Y/N. We all are very lucky to have each other." Honey said.

Endless Reach and Rich Nights smile, approving. Feeling more comfortable, Y/N tries to engage Constant Vigil, who's been largely silent. She sees Constant Vigil's yellow gold emerald dragon ring.

"That's a beautiful ring, Constant Vigil. I've never seen anything like it."

The other women look at Constant Vigil, trying to gauge her reaction to Y/N.

"Espio's father had it made when he proposed to me."

"That's very romantic. How did you guys meet?"

"Actually, they met at Cambridge. They were both studying law together." Espio said.

"Oh, I didn't know you were a lawyer."

"I wasn't. I withdrew from university when we got married."

"Oh..."

Constant Vigil reads into Y/N's reaction.

"I chose to help my husband run a clan and to raise a family and train those people into martial arts before he died in a war he was sent in. For me, it was a privilege. But for you, you may think it's old fashioned. It's nice you appreciate this house and us being here together wrapping dumplings. But all this doesn't just happen. It's because we know to put family first, instead of chasing one's passion."

An awkward silence falls over the table. Y/N feels chided, isn't sure how to react when...

"ああ、みんなここにいる！(Ah, everyone's here!)"

Grandma Rosie Woodchuck enter with her maids. Oblivious to the tension, she smiles to see Espio and Y/N.

"Grandmother." Espio greeted, taking his grandma's arm after thanking the maids.

"Oh, Espio."

"Come and sit."

He help her sit down on the chair as she smile at him in appreciation.

"ああ、エスピオ。あなたはY / Nを持ってきました。良い。(Oh, Espio. You brought Y/N. Good.)"

Rosie looks at Y/N's face, scrutinizing it.

"その日はもっとはっきりとあなたに会えます。鼻の形は縁起が良いです。見てみましょう、近づいてください。(I can see you more clearly in the day. The shape of your nose is auspicious. Let me have a look, come closer.)

Y/N leans in as Rosie touches her cheeks.

"とても素敵です。(Very nice looking.)"

Y/N is unsure what to make of it, but it feels likeapproval.

"ありがとう、ロージー。(Thank you, Rosie.)"

Rosie looks at the dumplings from Constant Vigil's place.

"あなたはそれらの餃子を作りましたか？彼らはあまりよく見えません。あなたはあなたのタッチを失いました。(You made those dumplings? They don't look very good. You lost your touch.)"

Rouge watches this exhange, then looks at Y/N.

"Hmm." Constant Vigil hummed, feeling a little upset.

Y/N decides to go use the bathroom as she excuses herself to Espio and exits the dining room, looking for anywhere to go. She walks up the long staircase, takes a few steps one way, realizes she's going the wrong direction, then turns around to find Constant Vigil standing in front of her.

"Oh. Hi. I think I'm a little lost. This house is pretty big."

Constant Vigil comes to Y/N and they walk and talk throughthe halls.

"I'm glad I found you. I'm afraid that I've been unfair."

"Oh, no, you know what? I'm sorry I made an assumption. I didn't mean to offend you."

"Not at all. You asked about my ring. The truth is Espio's father had it made when he wanted to propose to me, because Rosie wouldn't give him the family ring. I wasn't her first choice. Honestly, I wasn't her second."

"Gosh, I'm so sorry. I had no idea."

"I didn't come from the right family, have the right connections. And Rosie thought I would not make an adequate wife to her son."

Y/N is surprised how Constant Vigil is seemingly opening up.

"But, she came around, obviously."

Constant Vigil gives a tight smile.

"It took many years, and she had good reason to be concerned. Because I had no idea the work and the sacrifice it would take.There were many days when I wondered if I would ever measure up."

Constant Vigil pauses, looks at Y/N.

"But having been through it all, Iknow this much..."

She gets close to her ear and whisper gently.

"You will never be enough."

Y/N is eviscerated. Constant Vigil draws back, placid, calm. Then, as if they've been talking about the weather Constant Vigil walks off.

"We should head back. I wouldn't want Espio to worry."

Later, Espio drives as Y/N sits in the passenger seat, silent.

"You alright?" he asked in concern.

"Chao?" Aquarious asked too.

"Yeah." she replied without facing them.

"I know my mother can be tough at times, but there isn't anything she wouldn't do for me. And there is a reason why I lived with Rosie growing up. It's because my mother knew she wasn't the favorite. So she let her raise me so I would be."

Y/N turns to him in slight shock.

"You were just a kid?"

"Yeah. But... It's hard to understand from the outside. But she did what she thought was best for the family... For everyone involved."

Y/N hears the tiny reminder of her otherness and takes it in, hears Espio's regard for his mother. Which makes her feel even more unsettled.

"Anyway, I think I've had enough with dumplings for the rest of my life. What should we do? Sushi, movies, anything you like. Really."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

At the coffee shop, Y/N and Amy sit at a table with Aquarius sipping her favorite drink as Y/N told Amy what happened and she was shocked.

"Wait, what? Was she like 'You will NEVER be good enough formy son,' OR was it like, 'YOU, YOUwill never be good enough for myson.'"

"It's like the second one."

"Oh."

"Except for in a way that made mewanna, like, cry and puke at the same time."

"God, she's so badass. You know, I bet if you told her you'd leave Espio for a million dollars, she will write that check. They do that around here." Amy said.

"And she looked at me like I was nothing..." Y/N said, remembering Constant Vigil's disapproving look.

"Like a ten million dollar check. I feel like she would do that."

"I don't even know what I should do. I mean, I can't even tell Espio because he like worships her."

"What about the Rosie? Does she hate your face, too?"

"Okay, nobody said they hated myface. And Rosie, she liked my face. She said I had a lucky nose and a cute front hair. She could even feel that I have great spirits in me."

"That's great! You know, Constant Vigil can hate you all day long, but you can't beat two thousand years of Japanese filial piety."

"I feel like I shouldn't even go to the wedding. You know, it's Antoine and Bunnie's day, I don't wanna cause any drama there. I feel like I should just sit it out. You know? Tell Espio I had food poisoning or Aquarius is sick."

This made Aquarius stop sipping her drink and gave Y/N a look along with Amy. Y/N noticed that.

"What?"

"That's bullshit. You're just scared."

"No, I'm not."

"Chao chao." Aquarius pointed out, knowing she is scared.

"You're not helping Aquarius."

"Okay, here's what you need to understand, all right? It's not about getting Constant Vigil to like you. It's about getting her to respect you. Alright? Right now, she just thinks you're some like undeserving, clueless, golddigging --"

"Okay, yeah, I got it." Y/N rolled her eyes, making Aquarius snicker.

Amy continued on.

"-- trashy, unrefined banana, yellow on the outside, white on the inside."

"I know what a banana is."

"When in reality, you're like asuper sophisticated, smart martial art teacher. Show her that side of you, you know."

This hits home with Y/N.

"You're right."

"Damn straight, I'm right. It's Amy Rose, I'm always right."

"Yeah, she's like trying to play a game of chicken with me, where she's like coming at me, and like, thinking I'm going to swerve like a chicken."

"But you can't swerve."

"Chao!" Aquarius nodded in agreement.

"I'm not gonna swerve. Not for her."

"No. Chickens are bitches, girl!"

"And I'm not a chicken."

"You're not a chicken. You gonna roll up to that wedding, you gonna be like, 'Bak-bak, bitch!'"

"Bak-bak, bitch!"

"Chickens are bitches!"

This made Y/N and Aquarius giggle. A robot chicken name Scratch on one of the upper balconies overhears her, givesher a disapproving look with a hint of offensiveness.

"Sorry, Scratch."

"Hmph!"

He turned away with a huff and went back inside.

"What are you doing tonight?" Y/N asked.

"Uh, I was gonna go to FedEx orsomething. Why? Oh!"

Amy breaks into a smile as Y/N was determined with Aquarius excited for what's going to happen next.