It was two nights after the reception for Keroro and Mois. Most of the people that had been in the hotel were gone, leaving the halls empty. The Hinatas were still around, but Kururu suspected that even they had chosen to stay other places. He didn't know what had become of Natsumi or Fuyuki, but he hadn't seen much of them. Aki just let them do what they wanted, even though they were still pretty young. He admired that about her. She never tried to control anyone. Or if she did, they never knew it. He smiled, but it was more on the inside then the outside. He was too tired for a real smile. He and Aki had been..."productive" in for these 48 hours.

He lay on the plush bed of his room with her. They had ordered dinner, and he lay back on a pillow, full up with food. He watched as Aki wandered back over to the cart. Her appetite was bottomless. 'She must be full,' he thought, 'But she's so into trying all these different dishes that she doesn't know when to stop.' He would tell her to slow down soon. She'd almost made herself sick the night before.
"So..." she said, coming back to the bed with a plate of steaming colorful food, "You're still not going to tell me what any of this is, are you?" Her grey eyes shone at him, and he worked hard to keep his face neutral. The way she looked at him... He shook his head.
"Nope. Ku, ku!"
"But why? I really wanna know what some of this stuff is, Kuru-chan!"
"There's no point."
"How is there no point?"
"Well," he gestured toward her loaded fork. "Try that."
Aki put it in her mouth and closed her eyes with pleasure.
"Good?"
"Delicious..."
"There you go."
She looked at him quizzically.
"Are you saying that it doesn't matter what it is, as long as it's good?" He nodded his head.
"Now you're catching on. Ku, ku..."
"But what if I don't like it?"
"So far, that hasn't been a problem, has it?"
"Well, no... Keronian food is good!"
"Yeah. And that's why you don't need to know what it is."
He watched as she blanched, and pushed the plate away.
He made a noise and pushed it back at her.
"No, no, Aki... You liked that. A lot."
"Well, I'm...having second thoughts. You haven't told me what any of this is..." He sat back and crossed his arms over his small chest.
"Okay. What if I told you that was fungus pulled off the under side of a whale's tongue?"
"Oh, damn..." Her face turned a shade of grey.
"BUT!" Kururu shouted, startling her into dropping the fork.
"You loved it. I saw you. You closed your eyes and moaned a little. I know you're not faking it." His face was serious and Aki laughed. He was getting passionate about this.
"You are one of the only people I know who doesn't change her mind after her initial reaction. That's one of my favorite parts about you. When you like something, you like it. You don't...change your mind." He looked away on this last part, and his voice was quiet. "Even after you know that it could be horrible, and...everyone else...can't stand it."
Then Aki knew why he was so passionate about this. He was thinking about himself, and the way he was treated by others. He had grown silent, and was staring at the sheet in front of him. He looked like a robot that had been switched off. She forgot the food and crawled towards him slowly. When Kururu felt her breath on his cheek, he looked up. She was the only person that he actually liked to get close to. She was like curry. He couldn't get enough...wanted to drown himself in her. And he had no idea what to do with this feeling. With curry, he was in control. He peeled the potatoes, chopped the carrots and onions. He was the one who slowly stirred, watching, smelling, tasting. He knew exactly what he had put into it, and he knew exactly how it would turn out. With Aki, there was no control. He had dove into the deep end of the pool, and he wondered now if he had really known how to swim as well as he'd thought he could. What if all of this was an elaborate ruse, and after they got home...?
"Kururu..." she whispered. He could tell she was at a loss for words. She sat there for a moment, and he was beginning to feel really uncomfortable. Why had he said this? He wasn't an emotional person. He never had been. What the heck was he going to do now? What if she... Then she crawled back over to the plate, picked up the fork, scooped a huge mouthful of colorful gunk onto it, and crammed it into her mouth. She squealed around the food.
"OISHII!" She shouted at the top of her lungs. Kururu's heart beat faster, and his face flushed with delight. He hid his mouth behind his hand. Some of the food had flown from her mouth when she shouted, making rainbow flecks on the sheets, but he still thought she was adorable. She was coming toward him again, still chewing on the food. She pressed her forehead against his, and a laugh came out of her nose in a sniff. When she swallowed, she was still giggling. Then her lips touched his, and she grew serious.
"I don't care what it is... It's wonderful, Kuru-chan." She kissed him deeply, and he closed his eyes behind his lenses. He felt his body flood with that feeling again and he practically saw himself diving into the depths. But maybe he was figuring out how to get a better handle on it now...
When they broke from the kiss, he smiled at her.
"That is a fungus, by the way."
Aki kept smiling, curiosity in her eyes.
"But it's from a mushroom, not whale tongue mush." Aki laughed and put her hands on his face.
"I'm sure whale tongue mush is better than people think, right?" She winked.
"Meh. Pretty sure it's just about the most disgusting thing ever. Ku, ku, ku!"