(no subject)
Title: Survival guide
Rating: PG13
Pairing: Tokio(friendship), Arashi(friendship), NAgasexOC
Genre: Fluff
Beta: myself
Summary: What do you do when you fall in marry your bosses granddaughter? What do you do when she thinks you are an idiot? You agree and hope that she can come to forgive you.
Word Count: 2946
Author: hannah_arashi
A/N: Hope you all like it, this is a sort of sequel to my first attempt at a Tokio centered fic... anyway its ridiculously full of fluff... I hope you enjoy and comments are loved
“You are absolutely the biggest dumbass I have ever met!”
Nagase flinched as the door slammed shut and he was left wondering what he had done to make his little wife so angry that morning. Even as he got ready to go into work he could not think of anything that might have set her off. They had been married for half a year and things had gone smoothly for the most part. He always knew what he had done to screw up but today was so strange. She had been asking him questions about his plans for the day after meeting with the band and he had told her that he had nothing planned. After he said that was when she had stormed off angrily. Not knowing what else to do he got ready and left for work. He sighed when he noticed that she had not taken her car which meant that she was extremely upset with him. Granted she could just borrow a car from her grandfather for her work that day but it wasn’t often that the girl refused to drive.
Meanwhile Li marched into the Jimusho past many friends. One look at her gave them all perfect reasoning to not bother the little woman on a mission. Before long she found herself in her grandfather’s office discussing her schedule for the day. She had added a ridiculous amount of work leaving her practically no free time. Now Johnny was aware that she was angry, more than likely at her idiot husband, but he was also aware enough to not mention it unless she did. So as she left his office for her meeting with Tokio that morning he quickly dialed Nagase.
“I do not know what the hell you did to her but you better sort it out. Not during the meeting however; it would be in your best interest to act professionally while she’s like this… Just fix it Tomoya!”
Nagase sighed as he hung up from the reaming his boss gave him only to be confronted by messages from his friends asking ‘what did you do?!’ HE sighed again and assumed she must be waiting in the green room for him to start their meeting. True to himself he was 15 minutes late but today he was not greeted by a pleasant sight. The only free seat was between Tatsuya and Mabo, across the table from his fuming little wife. She conducted herself perfectly in a professional manner from start to finish. Even as she left to work for the rest of the day she did not give any of them unnecessary greetings. After she had left Mabo laid his head on the table, Tatsuya sighed and Taichi looked like he might start crying at any moment. Finally Joshima looked at the younger man with a pitying glance.
“Nagase… What did you do?”
“I don’t know... This morning she asked me what my plans for this evening were. And I told her absolutely nothing… why?”
His band mates all looked like they kill him right on the spot. He waited patiently for one of them to calm down enough to explain the whole situation to him since he had no clue what was going on.
Li took a deep breath as she walked into the coffee shop to meet Jang Suk. He was sitting at their table with a paper in front of him and a puzzled expression. HE greeted her kindly but immediately asked why she was meeting him on such a day. Her only response was to smile sadly and say ‘My husband is a massive idiot’ He understood immediately and shook his head apologetically. The meeting didn’t last long however because she was meeting several new clients that afternoon. She had been trying to find female clients to even out her resume but so far had no luck individually. For the most part the only females who she worked with were parts of drama or movies casts. That afternoon she would be attending the matinee performance of a stage play and then afterwards would be attending a meet and greet. She gratefully accepted Jang Suk offer of a ride home to retrieve her car. After he left she ran upstairs to change out of the jeans and t-shirt she normally wore.
As she left the building she wore a beautiful grey sweater dress and heels. She got in her car and began the drive to the theatre. After two hours of driving she finally arrived and parked. Walking up to the theatre she was secretly glad to have picked up her tickets earlier. She went inside immediately but as a final thought did decide to leave one ticket at the window, just in case. She walked to her seat and sat down anxious for the play to begin. After the theatre finished filling up the show began and her mind was taken off other things. She focused on the show and found that she enjoyed it immensely. After the performance she was shown to a small show room at the back of the theatre where she was given a pass to alert the actors of her position. AS she made her way around the crowd talking to people and generally just mingling she was met with an unpleasant situation. She was speaking with a group of younger actors when a voice spoke up behind her that gave her chills.
She turned to find herself face to face with an actress who had acted in Mabo’s drama ‘Yaoh’ as well as others but Li hadn’t paid too much attention to her because she hardly ever played main roles but also because the woman was a nasty bitch. She smiled calmly at her and tried to not let her poisonous words bother her. Thankfully though someone else apparently thought she was a b itch as well because Li wasn’t forced to deal with her long.
“Li-san is that you? Whatever are you doing in a tiny little theatre like this? I thought you only conversed with TALENTS.”
“I’m afraid my resume has evolved quite a bit ever since we last… spoke ma’am. I work with many different artists however I am still finding it difficult to work with females.”
“That’s probably because you went and married an idol who works for your grandfather! No one is sure how power hungry you might become in the future…”
“That’s just fucking stupid!”
The English comment caught the actress by surprised and simply made Li turn in interest. The speaker was one of the main actresses from the performance. She was an American actress/model that had come to Japan as a model but had also been cast in the play for aesthetic reasons. The woman was taller than Li without a doubt but seemed to lack the refined nature most models exuded. Instead she stood there blatantly not amused with the other actress and making not effort to disguise that.
“Why should who she marries matter to anyone besides herself. Anyway it’s not like she married the man then took over her grandfather’s entertainment industry. Heck, her resume only has two groups on it from his company. Li-san was it? Do you speak English? I find my Japanese is terrible.”
Smiling at the dismissal to the other woman she nodded and engaged in an English conversation with the other woman. It was the first time she had smiled all day but deep down inside she was very hurt by the other woman’s words. Especially the parting comment she made.
“It’s a shame your husband is not here… And quite shocking I would thing. Perhaps he is just too busy to pay attention to such a SPECIAL day…”
Li refused to acknowledge the comment as the woman left but did feel the traitor tears building in her eyes. The other actress noticing her distress invited her to the terrace where they spoke for some time. They found out that they had quite a lot in common and by the end of their conversation the model had promised to have her agent calling the girl for advertising purposes the next day. Li smiled at the model and shook her head. She was at least a head taller than her making her about 5’6” with bright green eyes. She had dark mahogany hair that was currently piled in a curly mess on top of her head. But what really surprised Li was the young woman’s attitude. She was slightly childish with a serious side to her that took a lot of looking to find. Over all, the young woman reminded her very much of one of her best friends, Aiba. After this realization struck her she laughed out loud and had to explain to the model. She had simply shrugged and asked to meet her male twin. Nodding slightly Li agreed that the two would need to meet. Her name was Sarai Moore, but apparently her Japanese friends had taken to calling her Sa-chan since Sarai was an odd name to pronounce. Li just laughed and explained that Elizabeth was just as difficult. Within just 15 minutes of conversation the two were chatting away like they had known each other for years.
AS they walked inside from their discussion Li heard a commission from across the room and looked up only to be left speechless. In front of her stood all of Tokio, her husband leading with a bouquet of orchids in his arms. She covered her mouth with a hand while Sarai simply whistled in an impressed manner. AS he approached Li bit her bottom lip to keep from crying and stared up at her idiot husband.
“Gomen… I really am the world’s biggest idiot. But I love you if that counts for anything right now.”
She gave a strangled laugh and after smacking the man upside the head she hugged him wrapping her arms around his neck and string up into his hopeful eyes. She could only sigh and gently nuzzled her face into his chest. After a few minutes she finally looked up at him again. He still wore that hopeful yet terrified look.
“You are an idiot… With very good friends apparently… And yes I suppose you loving me does count for something. Do you realize why I got angry?”
“Truthfully? Not completely but I think I have a little bit of an understanding…”
She chuckled and shook her head but otherwise waited for him to continue. HE took a deep breath and looked around before settling his sights on her.
“I am an idiot because you told me about this play weeks ago and asked me then if I would be able to attend that way you wouldn’t have to worry about having a panic attack around so many new people. When I told you absolutely you also told me to write it down which I obviously did not do… I am also an incredible idiot because tonight should be our celebration since you were supposed to be working all day tomorrow, not today. Therefore I am here to not only support you, but to also apologize and beg you to take tomorrow of so that I can pamper my beautiful little wife on her birthday.”
She kissed him as he leaned down and was completely oblivious to the clapping that her potential new client took the liberty to start. AS he pulled away she smiled up at him and again buried her face against his chest muttering an incomprehensible response.
“Gomen darling but with all the noise I can’t understand you…”
She sighed and pulled back enough to look him directly in the eyes.
“You are the world’s biggest idiot but you are my idiot. I was angry this morning because you obviously did not remember but also because I realized with my current schedule I wouldn’t see you for the next few days. I felt betrayed, but not completely by you. I know it was irrational and stupid but that’s just how things are with me as you know. Thank you for coming Babe.”
Nagase grinned and finally relaxed knowing that at least the little girl would be coming home to his bed that night. Noticing the tall model that stood behind her laughing at the situation he cocked his head to the side and gave a questioning stare. He was met with a joyful smile and a hand presented to him. He shook it hesitantly after situating Li at his side under her protective arm. Li smiled at Sarai who grinned broadly.
“So this is the idiot you were talking about? I will give it to you I think you managed to catch the manliest idol I have ever laid eyes on… Heck if they are all in one group I would say you are one lucky bitch!”
Li laughed at the girls’ crass behavior and speech which had made Nagase grin and the others smile slightly as well. She introduced them to the new model who greeted them all in a similar manner.
“SO handsome… mind telling me where I might find someone like you?”
Taichi and Joshima both deflected the younger woman’s advances claiming the age card and Tatsuya simply told her that he was happily taken. Mabo was the only one who had no real way to deflect the young girl so he simply shrugged and said the first thing he could think of.
“You could try hanging out with me and seeing if there is anything you like.”
Even as he said it he was blushing slightly which made Sarai gush over how cute he was and earned him a bur that would stick to him for some time after that. Meanwhile the evening ended with Sarai fitting in just fine with the group and promising to call Li in two days’ time effectively clearing up her schedule for the next day.
That evening as she lay in bed curled up next to Nagase wearing only his shirt (her favorite sleepwear) and listening to his heartbeat she sighed in contentment.
“Ne Tomoya… why do you put up with me and my craziness?”
“Hmm? ‘Cause I love you and I can’t imagine living without you of course.”
She smiled happily and sat up to stare down at him teasingly.
“Nothing to do with my sexy good looks then?”
He grinned wolfishly and turned the tables so that he was staring down at her. Her hair fanned out around her head and her eyes had widened ever so slightly.
“Well that is a given my dear… I never thought I would actually have to tell you that I find you so distractingly attractive that I want to lock the door and never have to leave our bedroom.”
As he waggled his eyebrows impishly she couldn’t help but giggle at the utter absurdity of the situation. Nagase grinned as well and turned over again pulling her tight against his chest.
“I love you more that life itself and I want nothing more than to see your smile every time I wake up in the morning… EVEN the days when we are rudely awakened by our so called ‘friends’ who seem to think it’s appropriate to bother a married couple on their mutual day off. I chained the door this time so they can bloody well wait if they want in. Because tomorrow morning is strictly going to be about you… and maybe a little bit about me…”
She chucked and called him a ‘perv~’ before smiling and curling up against his side. He gathered her in his arms and let out a satisfied sigh.
“What do you want for your birthday?”
“Only you…”
“That can definitely be arranged.”
They both fell asleep with a smile on their face. And as Nagase had promised their friends were left sitting outside on his doorstep for over an hour before he got up and unchained the door. They were not impressed (with the exception of Tatsuya) but it didn’t matter to him. All that mattered was that his wife was happy and his life was complete. As they spent the day doing meaningless task together he thought of how much he loved the silly little girl. As the evening approached and they went out to dinner he handed her a small wrapped box. AS she unwrapped it she found their wedding bands, finally back form the jewelry fitters. She looked confused until he took hers from the box and careful slid the ring on her finger. He waited for her to do the same. Once that was done he crouched in front of her chair and smiled.
“I am never taking this off now. People know I am married and know I am the happiest guy in the world. SO I might as well go all out with it. What do you say?”
She chuckled and wiped away a few tears.
“You are an absolute idiot but I love you anyways… thank you for the best birthday present ever.”
“Well you did say you wanted only me.”
As they drove home that evening Li stared out at the city lights. Imagining them to be stars she wished that this happiness would last. Of course life has its ups and downs but for the most part happiness meant being loved not ever having worries; being protected not everything being perfect and of course not always having the right thing to say but always knowing when to say the perfect thing. Yes life was a rollercoaster but with her man at her side she was prepared to take the leap.
Rating: PG13
Pairing: Tokio(friendship), Arashi(friendship), NAgasexOC
Genre: Fluff
Beta: myself
Summary: What do you do when you fall in marry your bosses granddaughter? What do you do when she thinks you are an idiot? You agree and hope that she can come to forgive you.
Word Count: 2946
Author: hannah_arashi
A/N: Hope you all like it, this is a sort of sequel to my first attempt at a Tokio centered fic... anyway its ridiculously full of fluff... I hope you enjoy and comments are loved
“You are absolutely the biggest dumbass I have ever met!”
Nagase flinched as the door slammed shut and he was left wondering what he had done to make his little wife so angry that morning. Even as he got ready to go into work he could not think of anything that might have set her off. They had been married for half a year and things had gone smoothly for the most part. He always knew what he had done to screw up but today was so strange. She had been asking him questions about his plans for the day after meeting with the band and he had told her that he had nothing planned. After he said that was when she had stormed off angrily. Not knowing what else to do he got ready and left for work. He sighed when he noticed that she had not taken her car which meant that she was extremely upset with him. Granted she could just borrow a car from her grandfather for her work that day but it wasn’t often that the girl refused to drive.
Meanwhile Li marched into the Jimusho past many friends. One look at her gave them all perfect reasoning to not bother the little woman on a mission. Before long she found herself in her grandfather’s office discussing her schedule for the day. She had added a ridiculous amount of work leaving her practically no free time. Now Johnny was aware that she was angry, more than likely at her idiot husband, but he was also aware enough to not mention it unless she did. So as she left his office for her meeting with Tokio that morning he quickly dialed Nagase.
“I do not know what the hell you did to her but you better sort it out. Not during the meeting however; it would be in your best interest to act professionally while she’s like this… Just fix it Tomoya!”
Nagase sighed as he hung up from the reaming his boss gave him only to be confronted by messages from his friends asking ‘what did you do?!’ HE sighed again and assumed she must be waiting in the green room for him to start their meeting. True to himself he was 15 minutes late but today he was not greeted by a pleasant sight. The only free seat was between Tatsuya and Mabo, across the table from his fuming little wife. She conducted herself perfectly in a professional manner from start to finish. Even as she left to work for the rest of the day she did not give any of them unnecessary greetings. After she had left Mabo laid his head on the table, Tatsuya sighed and Taichi looked like he might start crying at any moment. Finally Joshima looked at the younger man with a pitying glance.
“Nagase… What did you do?”
“I don’t know... This morning she asked me what my plans for this evening were. And I told her absolutely nothing… why?”
His band mates all looked like they kill him right on the spot. He waited patiently for one of them to calm down enough to explain the whole situation to him since he had no clue what was going on.
Li took a deep breath as she walked into the coffee shop to meet Jang Suk. He was sitting at their table with a paper in front of him and a puzzled expression. HE greeted her kindly but immediately asked why she was meeting him on such a day. Her only response was to smile sadly and say ‘My husband is a massive idiot’ He understood immediately and shook his head apologetically. The meeting didn’t last long however because she was meeting several new clients that afternoon. She had been trying to find female clients to even out her resume but so far had no luck individually. For the most part the only females who she worked with were parts of drama or movies casts. That afternoon she would be attending the matinee performance of a stage play and then afterwards would be attending a meet and greet. She gratefully accepted Jang Suk offer of a ride home to retrieve her car. After he left she ran upstairs to change out of the jeans and t-shirt she normally wore.
As she left the building she wore a beautiful grey sweater dress and heels. She got in her car and began the drive to the theatre. After two hours of driving she finally arrived and parked. Walking up to the theatre she was secretly glad to have picked up her tickets earlier. She went inside immediately but as a final thought did decide to leave one ticket at the window, just in case. She walked to her seat and sat down anxious for the play to begin. After the theatre finished filling up the show began and her mind was taken off other things. She focused on the show and found that she enjoyed it immensely. After the performance she was shown to a small show room at the back of the theatre where she was given a pass to alert the actors of her position. AS she made her way around the crowd talking to people and generally just mingling she was met with an unpleasant situation. She was speaking with a group of younger actors when a voice spoke up behind her that gave her chills.
She turned to find herself face to face with an actress who had acted in Mabo’s drama ‘Yaoh’ as well as others but Li hadn’t paid too much attention to her because she hardly ever played main roles but also because the woman was a nasty bitch. She smiled calmly at her and tried to not let her poisonous words bother her. Thankfully though someone else apparently thought she was a b itch as well because Li wasn’t forced to deal with her long.
“Li-san is that you? Whatever are you doing in a tiny little theatre like this? I thought you only conversed with TALENTS.”
“I’m afraid my resume has evolved quite a bit ever since we last… spoke ma’am. I work with many different artists however I am still finding it difficult to work with females.”
“That’s probably because you went and married an idol who works for your grandfather! No one is sure how power hungry you might become in the future…”
“That’s just fucking stupid!”
The English comment caught the actress by surprised and simply made Li turn in interest. The speaker was one of the main actresses from the performance. She was an American actress/model that had come to Japan as a model but had also been cast in the play for aesthetic reasons. The woman was taller than Li without a doubt but seemed to lack the refined nature most models exuded. Instead she stood there blatantly not amused with the other actress and making not effort to disguise that.
“Why should who she marries matter to anyone besides herself. Anyway it’s not like she married the man then took over her grandfather’s entertainment industry. Heck, her resume only has two groups on it from his company. Li-san was it? Do you speak English? I find my Japanese is terrible.”
Smiling at the dismissal to the other woman she nodded and engaged in an English conversation with the other woman. It was the first time she had smiled all day but deep down inside she was very hurt by the other woman’s words. Especially the parting comment she made.
“It’s a shame your husband is not here… And quite shocking I would thing. Perhaps he is just too busy to pay attention to such a SPECIAL day…”
Li refused to acknowledge the comment as the woman left but did feel the traitor tears building in her eyes. The other actress noticing her distress invited her to the terrace where they spoke for some time. They found out that they had quite a lot in common and by the end of their conversation the model had promised to have her agent calling the girl for advertising purposes the next day. Li smiled at the model and shook her head. She was at least a head taller than her making her about 5’6” with bright green eyes. She had dark mahogany hair that was currently piled in a curly mess on top of her head. But what really surprised Li was the young woman’s attitude. She was slightly childish with a serious side to her that took a lot of looking to find. Over all, the young woman reminded her very much of one of her best friends, Aiba. After this realization struck her she laughed out loud and had to explain to the model. She had simply shrugged and asked to meet her male twin. Nodding slightly Li agreed that the two would need to meet. Her name was Sarai Moore, but apparently her Japanese friends had taken to calling her Sa-chan since Sarai was an odd name to pronounce. Li just laughed and explained that Elizabeth was just as difficult. Within just 15 minutes of conversation the two were chatting away like they had known each other for years.
AS they walked inside from their discussion Li heard a commission from across the room and looked up only to be left speechless. In front of her stood all of Tokio, her husband leading with a bouquet of orchids in his arms. She covered her mouth with a hand while Sarai simply whistled in an impressed manner. AS he approached Li bit her bottom lip to keep from crying and stared up at her idiot husband.
“Gomen… I really am the world’s biggest idiot. But I love you if that counts for anything right now.”
She gave a strangled laugh and after smacking the man upside the head she hugged him wrapping her arms around his neck and string up into his hopeful eyes. She could only sigh and gently nuzzled her face into his chest. After a few minutes she finally looked up at him again. He still wore that hopeful yet terrified look.
“You are an idiot… With very good friends apparently… And yes I suppose you loving me does count for something. Do you realize why I got angry?”
“Truthfully? Not completely but I think I have a little bit of an understanding…”
She chuckled and shook her head but otherwise waited for him to continue. HE took a deep breath and looked around before settling his sights on her.
“I am an idiot because you told me about this play weeks ago and asked me then if I would be able to attend that way you wouldn’t have to worry about having a panic attack around so many new people. When I told you absolutely you also told me to write it down which I obviously did not do… I am also an incredible idiot because tonight should be our celebration since you were supposed to be working all day tomorrow, not today. Therefore I am here to not only support you, but to also apologize and beg you to take tomorrow of so that I can pamper my beautiful little wife on her birthday.”
She kissed him as he leaned down and was completely oblivious to the clapping that her potential new client took the liberty to start. AS he pulled away she smiled up at him and again buried her face against his chest muttering an incomprehensible response.
“Gomen darling but with all the noise I can’t understand you…”
She sighed and pulled back enough to look him directly in the eyes.
“You are the world’s biggest idiot but you are my idiot. I was angry this morning because you obviously did not remember but also because I realized with my current schedule I wouldn’t see you for the next few days. I felt betrayed, but not completely by you. I know it was irrational and stupid but that’s just how things are with me as you know. Thank you for coming Babe.”
Nagase grinned and finally relaxed knowing that at least the little girl would be coming home to his bed that night. Noticing the tall model that stood behind her laughing at the situation he cocked his head to the side and gave a questioning stare. He was met with a joyful smile and a hand presented to him. He shook it hesitantly after situating Li at his side under her protective arm. Li smiled at Sarai who grinned broadly.
“So this is the idiot you were talking about? I will give it to you I think you managed to catch the manliest idol I have ever laid eyes on… Heck if they are all in one group I would say you are one lucky bitch!”
Li laughed at the girls’ crass behavior and speech which had made Nagase grin and the others smile slightly as well. She introduced them to the new model who greeted them all in a similar manner.
“SO handsome… mind telling me where I might find someone like you?”
Taichi and Joshima both deflected the younger woman’s advances claiming the age card and Tatsuya simply told her that he was happily taken. Mabo was the only one who had no real way to deflect the young girl so he simply shrugged and said the first thing he could think of.
“You could try hanging out with me and seeing if there is anything you like.”
Even as he said it he was blushing slightly which made Sarai gush over how cute he was and earned him a bur that would stick to him for some time after that. Meanwhile the evening ended with Sarai fitting in just fine with the group and promising to call Li in two days’ time effectively clearing up her schedule for the next day.
That evening as she lay in bed curled up next to Nagase wearing only his shirt (her favorite sleepwear) and listening to his heartbeat she sighed in contentment.
“Ne Tomoya… why do you put up with me and my craziness?”
“Hmm? ‘Cause I love you and I can’t imagine living without you of course.”
She smiled happily and sat up to stare down at him teasingly.
“Nothing to do with my sexy good looks then?”
He grinned wolfishly and turned the tables so that he was staring down at her. Her hair fanned out around her head and her eyes had widened ever so slightly.
“Well that is a given my dear… I never thought I would actually have to tell you that I find you so distractingly attractive that I want to lock the door and never have to leave our bedroom.”
As he waggled his eyebrows impishly she couldn’t help but giggle at the utter absurdity of the situation. Nagase grinned as well and turned over again pulling her tight against his chest.
“I love you more that life itself and I want nothing more than to see your smile every time I wake up in the morning… EVEN the days when we are rudely awakened by our so called ‘friends’ who seem to think it’s appropriate to bother a married couple on their mutual day off. I chained the door this time so they can bloody well wait if they want in. Because tomorrow morning is strictly going to be about you… and maybe a little bit about me…”
She chucked and called him a ‘perv~’ before smiling and curling up against his side. He gathered her in his arms and let out a satisfied sigh.
“What do you want for your birthday?”
“Only you…”
“That can definitely be arranged.”
They both fell asleep with a smile on their face. And as Nagase had promised their friends were left sitting outside on his doorstep for over an hour before he got up and unchained the door. They were not impressed (with the exception of Tatsuya) but it didn’t matter to him. All that mattered was that his wife was happy and his life was complete. As they spent the day doing meaningless task together he thought of how much he loved the silly little girl. As the evening approached and they went out to dinner he handed her a small wrapped box. AS she unwrapped it she found their wedding bands, finally back form the jewelry fitters. She looked confused until he took hers from the box and careful slid the ring on her finger. He waited for her to do the same. Once that was done he crouched in front of her chair and smiled.
“I am never taking this off now. People know I am married and know I am the happiest guy in the world. SO I might as well go all out with it. What do you say?”
She chuckled and wiped away a few tears.
“You are an absolute idiot but I love you anyways… thank you for the best birthday present ever.”
“Well you did say you wanted only me.”
As they drove home that evening Li stared out at the city lights. Imagining them to be stars she wished that this happiness would last. Of course life has its ups and downs but for the most part happiness meant being loved not ever having worries; being protected not everything being perfect and of course not always having the right thing to say but always knowing when to say the perfect thing. Yes life was a rollercoaster but with her man at her side she was prepared to take the leap.