A/N: This is a little idea I came up with a while back…just a little Chie/Aoi pairing, only meant as a one-shot.

Falsified Smile

Oh, no…there's that grin again. I hate that fake smile of hers, it's always so troublesome in the worst ways. I wonder what it is this time? After all, it's always something.

It's a real shame, because, I usually love her true smile...I just...I hate that grin.

Her perfectly white teeth peeking out from behind her slender, soft lips. She's leaning on her desk, her fingers twirling a pencil idly, forgoing her lunch. Since Mai's not here, I'm borrowing her desk during the short time we have before class starts up again. Her other hand is under her desk, and with that slightly upraised eyebrow, I know she's up to no good…but I also know, it's because she's hurting.

That grin hides pain, drowns it entirely. I know better, but even if I see that she's troubled, there isn't much I can do.

"Chie, stop." I hissed as I feel my skirt ride up. I bat her hand away when I feel a soft thumb make its way across my thigh. "Chie…" It's hard to keep stern with her. Such a playful woman more often than not. Playful and mine, utterly and desperately so. "That tickles." I tell her quietly as she wordlessly persists. I take her hand in mine, fingers intertwining together to keep them occupied. "What if someone comes looking for us?"

She turns serious for a moment, her grin falling, and for a small moment, I can see what's on her mind. "Most of the students have already left. We've been advised to leave campus too." That small bit of worry, that tiny hint of insecurity that leaves me wanting to crawl into her lap and kiss away whatever might be bothering her. "Mai's been acting strange." Chie says to me, her voice a gentle husk that wavers between frustration and anger. "And it isn't just her. Mikoto's been going missing all the time too."

I flick my eyes to the front of the classroom. "Our teacher's been doing the same." I know something's going on. Chie knows too. The school doesn't just get infiltrated by an army for no good reason. I shake my head, give her fingers a soft tug, and she looks at me. "You have to trust Mai."

"Babe, come on, you know me." Yes, I do know her. Inside and out. I know Chie's really hurting. She only calls me that when she's scared of something. "I can't be content like that. Besides, I don't want to leave."

I can't let her stay here. "I already made the hotel reservations." In fact, we both have train tickets scheduled for tomorrow. "Chie, we have to go. If we stay, we're only going to be a burden."

"If we leave, we're going to be abandoning people who really need us." There's a resolve in her eyes that I know is entirely foolish. "Think of all of the disappearances lately. What happens if Mai's next, or Mikoto…" I see her swallow hard, cold words heated by fear. "What if you're next? What if we leave, and things end up getting worse?" I have no answers for that fear, nothing I can truly say to dispel it. "I don't think I can protect you…but Mai…" I hate when she bites her lip…when her eyes gloss over. It happens so rarely, it's easy to forget that Chie can be really gentle too. "I don't know what's going on, but I know that our friends can protect you in ways that I can't."

"Chie…" I let go of her hands and get up, rounding the desk that separated us. Chie knows something, and she hasn't told me. I see it in her eyes…something's left her terrified, there's a ghost, shadow in her eyes. "There are just some things we can't do, and forcing Mai to talk is one of them. The only thing we can do is support our friends by being oblivious, so that's what we have to do." I tangle my hands into her soft peppery locks. They're short, always kind of messy, and I love that casual look. I mess them up a little, let my fingers slide down to the back of her ears, pushing some hair behind the shell that cradled her glasses.

Her eyes close, a sigh falls out of her lips. She's struggling to find words, and I wait. Finally after what seems like an eternity, her eyes open again. I hear what has to be one of the most difficult admissions of her life. "I don't think I can be content with that." She pulls me close. "It's not safe here, Aoi." Next thing I know, I'm in her arms, sitting on her lap. "Something really messed up is going on here at this school, and I can't put my finger on what it is." Her words glide past my neck, I feel the tremble in her voice. "I can't risk you..." The fear of loss.

I pull away only slightly. I need to see her eyes. "It'll be okay." I truly believe that. Voice alone can't convey the feelings that are turning about in that head of hers. "Have a little faith in Mai and the others." I lean in to kiss her, my knees on either side of her hips, as I pull those troublesome hands of hers over my sides, and she slides her fingers down, and then up under my shirt, untucking it from the brown skirt.

I melted into her on the barren campus of the school ground, knowing that no matter what there was nothing we could do. I can feel the weakness, the hopelessness when she squeezes my butt, pulling me even closer, unwilling to let contact between us end for even a mere moment.

"Let me make love to you..." She murmured weakly, and it sounds like she's crying.

I don't mind, just as long as I don't have to see that falsified smile...When look into her eyes, I know for sure that she is. I and nod my head, slipping my now unbuttoned shirt off of my shoulders.

I just hate...hate...that damn grin.