Sunshine seeped in through the cracks of the leaves that were shielding Yusaku from the light, warming his skin pleasantly. He stirred awake from his nap, which had taken place beneath a tree in Den City High School's extensive yard. He and Aoi, who was still asleep and leaning on his shoulder, were skipping class. It was a naughty pastime of theirs and they never got caught - yet. Yusaku dreaded the day Akira would inevitably find out about them.

It's warm, Yusaku thought to himself. He never usually cared about nuances in his environment like temperature or nature, but without the hustle and bustle of the student body walking around, he could truly admire the tranquility of the scene around him. It was oddly comforting. Then again, ever since he and Aoi started becoming more involved in each other's lives, he began to see beauty in what used to be a daft reality.

'Yusaku...' Aoi mumbled as she woke up. She stifled a yawn and blinked several times to clear her groggy vision. 'What's wrong?'

'Nothing.'

'Did you have a nightmare again?'

'No.' he kissed the top of her head. Placated by his attention, she smiled and nuzzled into his toned chest. Her eyelids shut and she listened to the sound of his heartbeat; a rhythm that comforted her. Yusaku, too, was calmed by Aoi's presence. And it really was true - ever since Yusaku started dating Aoi, the nightmares have been decreasing with time. Even more so than that, he had actually been able to sleep for longer hours. He wondered why that was the case. Perhaps she was a distraction from his trauma?

As much as he didn't want to admit it, Yusaku knew that the real reason was far more illogical than that.

'I'm glad.' Aoi whispered. 'I don't want you to hurt anymore.'

'I don't.' he lied, but at least the convenient truth of the matter was that he was getting better. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer. Her body shifted and she was completely enveloped by the almost crushing weight of his embrace. Not that she minded; she loved it when he gave her his unfiltered, passionate attention. It was moments like this wherein he wasn't so controlled that she truly felt the genuineness of his feelings for her.

'Am I hurting you?' he asked.

She shook her head. 'No... I like it when you hold me like this.'

'That's good then.'

'Yusaku...'

'What?'

'Can I have a kiss?'

He nodded and gave her a peck on the cheek.

'No.' she hissed, visibly irritated. Then, her features shifted into unexpected bashfulness. Her face flushed - why was Yusaku being such an idiot? Was he seriously going to make her say it? Well, there was no getting around him being as dense as a brick. 'Kiss me the other way!'

'Huh?'

'Yusaku!' she was freaking out. 'Kiss me on the mouth!'

'Ah... Of course.' he replied with a rare smile. He let her go to cup her face before leaning down slightly to press his lips against hers. A familiar bolt of exhilaration ran up his spine, and he couldn't hold back from slipping his tongue into her open mouth. He felt her fingers fist the fabric of his uniform jacket - this was the first time he kissed her this deeply, so he was just relieved that she didn't hit him. Rather, she reciprocated his actions and soon they were seriously kissing in a manner that would make any adult blush awkwardly.

'Yusaku... I feel... so good...' she whispered brokenly between lip locking.

'Good.' he said curtly before unceremoniously resuming their intimacy. His hands left her face to wrap around her waist yet again, pulling her to him like he never wanted to let her go. She moaned just then, and he abruptly stopped kissing her for fear that they would do something they'd regret later.

'Wait.' she frowned, evidently frustrated. 'Don't stop. Why-'

'It's getting a little out of hand.' he explained and she kept quiet. There was no reasoning with Yusaku once he made up his mind; this was a dimension of his character that she knew all too well.

Giving up, she distanced herself from him by leaning against the tree. Not one to allow Aoi to throw one of her infamous, rebellious streaks, he looked into her eyes with calculated lovingness to hopefully let her know that he wasn't rejecting her. He was just keeping himself in check.

She glared right back at him. He sighed. Why was she being difficult?

He took one of her hands in his. Her frustration dissipated somewhat and she allowed their fingers to intertwine. After what seemed like an eternity of a silent showdown, he cracked a smile that took her breath away.

He gave her a tight squeeze before gently untangling his fingers from hers. Then, he brushed their tips against the smooth skin of her thighs, deliberately stroking her feathery lightness. His digits traveled dangerously high up her leg, to the point where he lifted her skirt slightly. Vibrant, green eyes smouldered at the sight of this normally secret, intimate part of her body. Though it wasn't vulgar in any way, it was the implication of what lay higher than this previously unseen patch of skin that excited him.

It was the idea of experiencing Aoi in a way that only lovers could that melted the permafrost on his heart.

But that same thought was absolutely terrifying. Even just being in a relationship with Aoi was frightening. Never did he ever expect to connect with another human being to this extent. He thought for certain that he was jaded beyond repair, but perhaps there was enough weak humanity left in him that gave into irrational desires for love and acceptance.

Yusaku knew that Aoi loved and accepted him just the way he was. She couldn't make that clearer. And he couldn't thank her enough for her devotion to him.

It was criminal for him to want more.

But...

'We can, you know.' Aoi's voice broke into his thoughts. 'I trust you. I want to-'

'I'm not ready for that.'

Aoi's heart fell, but she nodded. If he wasn't comfortable pursuing a sexual relationship, then she wasn't going to pressure him into it.

Yusaku strongly felt that being intimate with Aoi was reaching the point of no return in their relationship. Right now, it was romantic but casual. It was easy; he didn't feel like he was giving too much of himself away, but he liked the option of being able to vulnerable to this one person. Taking it to the next level meant that he was responsible for her, and that she was responsible for him.

How could he make sense of that when he's been alone for so long? If not for Kusanagi, he wouldn't even have the means to eat. Heck, his own apartment didn't have a kitchen! He couldn't take care of himself properly, so how was he going to take care of Aoi?

'Are you happy?' Yusaku asked seriously. His informal girlfriend was taken aback by that question. Her jaw dropped and her eyes widened to the size of saucers. It was almost amusing seeing the usually composed Aoi shellshocked.

'What...?'

'Do I make you happy?'

When the question finally sank in, Aoi's shock quelled and a soft smile played on her features.

'Yes.' she said quietly, though her happiness shone as unshed tears brimming in her eyes. 'You make me feel loved.'

'That's because I do, in fact, love you.'

Aoi buried her face into his neck and her hands came up to palm his chest. She kissed his skin, sending pleasant licks up his spine. Reflexively, his wrapped his arms around her and held him closer to him, repeating words that she could never grew tired of hearing, 'I love you, Aoi.'

'I love you too.' she happily replied.

He's been this way since the beginning, since before he's even laid a finger on her; always telling her how much he loved her. It was a declaration that she couldn't return immediately. She couldn't say it back to him the first time, but that didn't deter him from reminding her time and time again that there was love in his heart for her. He's never changed. Even after she reciprocated his feelings, he refuses to let a day go by where he doesn't whisper those three magical words into her ear.

Despite Yusaku being arguably the coldest person she's ever known, it was these unguarded moments wherein he shamelessly proclaimed his love for that she treasured. Maybe he was a little hard to crack or a little too rough around the edges. But these flashes of emotion gave her hope that their feelings for each other could transcend his trauma.

Hey guys, this is a oneshot that I wrote since my other stories will be on hiatus until we get more information from the series. Let me know if you like shorter, non-continuing stories like this. If so, I'll put in the time to write more. I love writing about this pairing regardless, but I think that waiting on more character background from the series would give me a better understanding of how to proceed plot wise. In the meantime, one shots would give me a way to keep contributing to the fandom. I get so excited when I read a new story for this pairing, so I want to consistently add to the content for this ship.

Anyway, thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed it! Hope to read what you guys think of it!