Angol Mois wandered the dim halls of the hotel, unable to wipe the smile from her face. Last night had been the best night of her life. It was everything she'd dreamed of. She had been able to achieve her Keronian form, and she had her Keroro. They were married now, Matched and Bonded. She giggled to herself when she remembered how gentle and shy he had been with her. Mois was already thinking of names for their tadpoles. She wanted to start a family as soon as possible. A whole troop of little Keronians.
She danced with delight the rest of the way down the hall until she reached Aki's door. There had been a breakfast banquet this morning, and Hinata-san had missed it. Everyone was a little worried, since she usually loved any kind of party or banquet, especially if it were Keronian. Mois had noticed that Kururu was missing too. Everyone just shrugged it off, though. Kururu usually didn't show up for stuff like that. He liked being alone. Sure, he partied sometimes, but Mois just figured he'd had enough after last night. She giggled again. Maybe he was in his room nursing a hangover in the dark. She'd check on him after she found Aki.
Mois knocked on her door. When there was no answer, she cheerfully called Aki's name a few times. When she was greeted with more silence, her brow furrowed. Something was off. She didn't know a lot about Aki, but she knew that she was punctual. She turned the handle; the door was locked. However, Aki had given her an extra room key, just in case she needed some motherly advice or "girl talk". Mois's birth mom had been there, so Mois had left Aki alone. She slipped the card into the reader and it glowed green. She heard a snick as the door unlocked. The room was dark and Mois tripped on something that felt like cloth. A coat? She shrugged and felt her way to the lamp.
"Aki-san? Is everything all right?" Before she switched on the lamp, she heard strange noises. First there was a gasp that sounded like Aki, then there was some sleepy mumbling that sounded like...Kururu? Quickly, Mois switched the light on. Its glow flooded the room, and their was Aki, in her Keronian form. She was in the process of sitting up in bed, even though it was almost noon. She wore nothing to cover her head, and her hair was ruffled. The sheets were twisted around her, and among them was Kururu. He was still asleep, making soft ku-ing sounds. His body was practically attached to Aki's; legs twining around hers, hands in her hair. Aki sat up straighter, and his hands slipped under the blanket. His glasses were off, and Mois could see his yellow eyelids, still tightly shut.
"Mois-chan...?" Aki whispered. Her voice was thick with sleep.
"Is something wrong? What are you..."
"I was just...you didn't show up for breakfast this morning, so we were concerned. I had no idea that-"
"Shh. Don't wake him." Aki's eyes fell on Kururu and lingered there. She looked at him with such an intense, personal look that Mois's own eyes flicked away.
"I'll just...go now. I'm glad to see you two are..."
"Getting along?" Aki chuckled softly.
"Yes. You could say...'bound to happen?" Aki's smile was full of warmth. Then her brow arched as she glanced at Kururu.
"You better leave before he wakes up."
"Oh, yeah. Of course."
"And, Mois? This will be our little secret for awhile, okay?" She winked at the girl and wagged a finger at her.
"Definitely! I won't tell a soul!" Kururu twitched and mumbled something about reference files for a giant magnet. Aki and Mois both clasped their hands over their mouths, suppressing laughter. Then Mois backed out of the door, waving excitedly at Aki and winking.

When she was gone, Aki watched Kururu sleep and wondered if she should tell him about Mois seeing them together. She stroked the top of his head (his orange hat was soft) and listened to the funny noises he made in his sleep. She smiled when he said her name a few times. Glancing at the clock, she saw that it was a quarter past noon. She wondered what Mois would say to the others when they asked about her. Maybe she should get up and make an appearance so they didn't get suspicious. First, she'd have to get Kururu out of her room.
She got out of bed, walked over to the window, and threw open the heavy drapes. The bright Keronian sunshine spilled through the glass, and she heard Kururu rustle. He opened his eyes, then stuffed his face into his pillow with a groan.
"Rise and shine, sleepyhead!" She shouted.
"Ugh, Aki...You sound like my mother. Do you always treat your lovers like this in the morning?"
"Kururu," Aki laughed. "I really haven't had many lovers."
"Really?" He peeked out from behind the pillow, and his pupils were pinpoints.
"Meh...could you hand me my glasses? I'm nearly useless without them." Aki went over to the nightstand and grabbed his glasses. Before she handed them to him, she looked through them. Everything was blurry and distorted, making her dizzy.
"Whoa. Oh, that's...ugh."
"Eh? What are you doing, Aki? Did you find my glasses?" She nodded, which only made it worse.
"Yeah, I...mmpht..." She covered her mouth and took them off quickly.
"Ku! You tried them on, didn't you?" His voice had laughter in it. "My mistake."
"Yes, well, that's what it's like for me when I'm not wearing them. So could-"
"Oh, here! Sorry, Kuru-chan."
"Ku, ku. Silly woman. Your curiosity always gets the better of you, doesn't it?" He put his glasses on and looked in her direction with a smile. Aki sat down on the bed next to him.
"Well, it was better for me to be curious last night, right?" He chuckled. It was one of his deeper laughs that sounded almost human.
"Hmm, yes. I think so..." He pulled her into his lap.
"I'm glad you were so curious. I was too, but I'm not the kind who makes a move first." He lightly brushed her face with his fingers. It felt like moth wings, and she tried not to laugh. His caressing became firmer and soon he was kissing her. These kisses had none of the urgency of the night before. They were lingering and soft. Aki had never been with someone so gentle, and she sighed and pressed herself closer to him. After awhile they broke apart.
"Aki?" Their faces were inches from each other.
"Yes?" She whispered.
"I may be in love with you a little bit..."
"Me too."
"Well, I hope you love me more than just a little bit, because, as you know, I'm pretty awesome." Aki laughed.
"I already know that you are in love with yourself."
"Ku, ku! Oh, definitely!"
"Kuru... I need to tell you something." He arched an eyebrow at her.
"Does this have to do with my giant ego? Because I might be able to tone it down just a bit if you want. Only for you, though."
"No, it's not about that." He moved away from her a little, like he was preparing himself for rejection.
"What is it, then?" His brow was wrinkled so much that Aki reached out and touched his face. This seemed to make him even more anxious.
"Aki...did I-"
"It's nothing serious, I promise." Her smile seemed to soothe him.
"Oh."
"I just wanted to mention that...we got caught together." She bit her lip.
"What? By who? But you locked the door. I saw you. Nobody could've-"
"Mois-chan has an extra key card and she-"
"Mois-chan?" He sprang off the bed and walked over to the window. His voice was agitated.
"Angol Mois is the last person I would have wanted to...Why did she have a key card?"
"Oh, Kururu. I wasn't thinking about sleeping with you when I gave it to her. I wanted her to be able to talk to me about anything she was concerned about. You know, 'wedding talk'. She's my friend." Kururu sighed and pressed a hand to his forehead.
"Okay. So...what was her reaction?"
"She was surprised at first, but then she seemed pretty happy."
"Tch. Happy." He was silent for a moment, gazing out at the city below. Then he slowly turned to face her.
"Really? It made her happy that I had sex with you?" Aki walked over to him.
"I wouldn't put it like that. I think she's happy that we are together."
"Ku...well, anyway. I hope she doesn't run up and down the halls screaming about it."
"No, Kuru. I told her to keep it a secret for now."
"Well, that'll be tough for her. Considering she tells her precious Keroro everything."
"What if she does?" Aki arched an eyebrow, almost like a challenge.
"Taicho can't keep a secret. He'd spread it like wildfire."
"Is that really so awful?"
"Aki, don't get me wrong. I'm proud that you've chosen me, but I'm also a bit personal. If anyone is going to know that we're together, they'll know it because I told them."
"So...I can't tell anyone?"
"Ku...Depends on who you tell. If you're planning on telling your kids-"
"Oh, no. Not yet. We're here for what...another week or so? Let's just wait."
"Yes, let's. I don't want to be brutally murdered by your daughter. At least not after everything just started to get interesting."
"Oh, don't be silly. She's not going to 'murder' you."
"No, but there will be some torturing. She's scary. Ku, ku." Aki laughed.
"I'm sorry, Kururu. She gets her violent streak from her father."
"Haru? He's violent?"
"Well, not towards me. But he's not as gentle as you. He's kind of like Giroro."
"Ku, ku! Really? Now I almost want to meet him."
"I think, eventually, you will." Kururu smirked.
"Won't that be fun." He laughed to himself for awhile, his voice high and sinister. Aki guessed that he was plotting some future mischief. She rolled her eyes and lookd around the room. It needed some tidying, and she was getting hungry. She wondered if Kururu would come to the banquet. Her guess was that he'd stay in either her room or go to his own and order room service. The idea was tempting, but she had to go downstairs for a little while at least. She picked up Kururu's coat and turned towards him. He was still standing at the window, but he had stopped laughing and had a puzzled look on his face.
"Did you call me gentle a little while back?"
"Yes. Is that okay?" She held his coat close to her.
"No one's ever called me that before. It's not really a word that describes me."
"What do other people call you?"
"Oh, ku, ku. There are a lot of things. I shouldn't really get into it."
"Kururu. I know how you can be. I'm not deluded about you. I just called you gentle because that's the way you are with me. I like it. It means you respect me."
"Of course I do. You're a lady. I'm always like that with ladies. But I don't know if it's gentle so much as it's the fact that I'm slow and lazy. Ku, ku!"
"You certainly weren't lazy last night." She winked at him and he blushed. Then he broke away from the window and walked over to her. He smirked.
"What are you doing with my uniform jacket?"
"I was just picking it up. It's sort of messy in here."
"That what the maids are for."
"I guess so. I just felt like straightening up."
"Don't bother. They get paid for it."
"Oh, all right." She handed him his coat. He studied it for a moment, then the lenses on his glasses gleamed.
"You wanna try it on?" His voice took on a deep, sultry tone.
"Ooh, really?" Aki quickly shrugged into his jacket. The fabric felt stiff against her skin and the medals jangled. She pinched one between her fingers, trying to read it. The medal was so small that she couldn't make out what it said. They were all tiny, and Aki assumed they would have to be, since all Keronians had such small chests. She counted them. There were eight.
"One of them is missing." Kururu said. His tone was casual, but Aki could hear a touch of annoyance.
"It must have come off when I threw your coat across the room. Maybe it's on the floor somewhere. I'll help you look for it." They both crawled around on the floor for a minute or two, and Aki imagined that they must look pretty comical. The room wasn't very big, and she soon found it in the corner next to the door. The gold winked at her in the sunlight.
"Here it is." She was about to put it on herself, but she wasn't sure where it went. Kururu came over, smiling at her.
"Let me put it on." He drew it from her hand and carefully pinned it onto the fabric. It fit perfectly on the last row. There were three rows of three, making nine.
"I actually have more than these, but they don't all fit, and nine's my lucky number."
"What are they for? Honor and valor?"
"Ku, ku! No. Soldiers like Giroro and Dororo get those ones. I'm more selfish, so I just get medals for performing certain duties or obligations." He pointed to some of them.
"This one is for quick thinking under duress. And this one's for extraordinary diligence. Half of them I got for being intelligent and the other half...well, they're basically for kissing so much ass." Aki laughed.
"Oh, Kururu." He shrugged.
"Meh. It's true. Like me or leave me. Ku, ku, ku." Aki smiled to herself as she bent over and picked up his cap. She pulled it over her ruffled hair. It was shorter in her Keronian form and harder to tame. Kururu whistled through his teeth.
"Mmm...Aki. You look better in that than I do. Damn, I need to find my camera." Aki giggled.
"Fine by me. Just as long as you don't post them all over the uni-"
"No, no, no...These pictures will be highly classified."
"Later, though, Kuru. I'm starving. Aren't you hungry too?"
"Yes, but I don't know if I can work up the nerve to go down there. Too many people, and I don't like eating en-masse anyway." Aki assumed he meant he didn't like eating in large crowds.
"So what should we do?"
"You should go down there and mingle a bit, so no one thinks there's anything wrong. I'll just go back to my room and take advantage of the room service. I hope they have good food here."
"You don't mind?"
"Not if you don't. Besides, I need some 'me' time anyway. To reflect. Ku, ku..."
"Oh, okay. Should we meet up later?"
"Actually, I need to go to my house for some stuff, and I was planning to do that in the evening. Do you want to come with me?"
"Oooh, your house. I hadn't thought about that."
"Eh, it looks a lot like my lab. Only abandoned and drafty. Nothing to get too excited about."
"I don't mind." She looked at him, and her eyes were soft. He reached out and touched her hand.
"Okay. Meet me at my room around six, then."
"Sounds good." She leaned in and gave him a quick kiss. When she turned around to leave, Kururu stopped her.
"Aki."
"Yes?"
"Don't forget to take off my uniform, lovey."
"Oh, my! Well, that would've been an interesting way of revealing us to everyone."
"Ku, ku, ku! Actually, I like that. Subtle, yet dirty." Aki took the coat and hat off and handed them to him. She winked, backing out of the door.
"See you later, Kuru." She left the door open, and Kururu stared into the hall, watching as she walked away. He marveled at her every move.
"Ah, Hinata-san." He whispered to himself. "You are both a blessing and a curse. Yet...how I love being inflicted with you. Ku, ku, ku..."