He never thought he'd be sitting the way he was in front of the only girl that he'd truly and completely loved. Sure, he'd once been infatuated with the girl in the red scarf—or so he'd though—but she'd only ever been understand part of him, the easy, open part. However, the girl now in front of him had seen it all. Every dark corner of his being was known to her, she could slice through his web of lies faster than anyone else and, no matter what, she was always by his side.

He figured that this would permanently be their relationship, as family, as siblings, as the other's support. He never once let himself dare to hope that they'd be where they were now.

She sat completely still, a soft red tinge on her cheeks and her long hair in gentle waves around her shoulders. Her lilac colored outer sweatshirt was discarded and she was left with her red jersey, unzipped and hanging loosely on her frame, exposing her simple black bra underneath. She didn't fidget, she wasn't tense, and she just looked at him.

"Well…? It doesn't look very appealing… sorry…" she spoke quietly, diverting her eyes. It took him a moment before he realized what she meant. Just back a little ways on her shoulder, he could see the faint discoloration caused by her childhood run-in with the burning flames that took away her family. Was this the reason she kept her jacket on? He knew the answer to that all too well. Yes, it was. He had seen them once when they were younger and no matter how stubbornly she kept up appearances in front of the others, she was actually very conscious of the large, painful looking burns that stretched from the base of her neck to her lower abdomen.

"I don't mind." His voice was solid enough to let her know that he meant it, but he also kept a gentleness; he didn't want her to regret this and it wasn't as thought he didn't have his own physical flaws. Scars in varying shapes and lengths covered most of his upper body and parts of his neck and arms, surely, if she could be fine with those, there was nothing to worry about.

Her eyes widened ever so slightly and she let out a near silent breath before she gave a small, nervous smile. At this, he carefully reached out and pulled her closer; placing a tender kiss on her lips and moving so he could almost feel the heat of her body. It was nice and at first it was innocent, slowly heightening as the tension between them rose.

Her skin was soft, and she smelled so heavenly that he found it hard to control his urges but he refused to let himself get carried away—that would only lead to her hating him. So, as he pushed the red jacket to the floor, he made sure to not get too physical.

He placed his hand on the side of her face and moved closer. She wrapped her arms around his neck and the two were brought nearer still. The couple played a game of tug of war with their lips, gradually closing the distance until they were pressed against each other. It wasn't until he could feel her tongue begin dancing with his did he continue any further. They flowed naturally together, it felt right and it felt as though they'd waited forever to get to this point.

It wasn't rough, or even what some might call romantic, each made small advances until finally there was no going back.

The night passed in almost a haze, only pieces remaining in their memories—only the pieces that they needed to remember.

He could honestly say that it wasn't what he expected—it was far more to him than merely sleeping with her; it was a physical connection that matched the emotional bond they already shared. With the other by their side, they were able to put their broken pasts behind them and look forward—even if only a little bit. The marks that branded them as having gone through the never-ending world didn't matter.

With her by his side, he could finally sleep without the torturous nightmares that haunted the darkness behind his eyes every night.

As he positioned himself to lie beside her, he almost laughed at how he tried desperately to catch him breath. He watched as her chest rose and fell with her own heavy breathing and as the rate at which it did so slowed. Her eyes were closed and her long eyelashes could be seen.

Kano smiled at her, knowing she couldn't see him at the moment, and he played with a strand of her hair. Within a moment, her eyes fluttered open and she turned her head to look at him, cheeks flushed brightly. She smirked gently and shifted her position so she was facing him.

"Ne, Kido…" he started quietly.

"Hm?"

"Aishiteru." The words were soft, barely making a sound as they exited his lips but she heard them. With a smile she replied, scooting closer to him.

"Aishiteru, Shuuya." She rested her head on his chest and quickly fell asleep, rather exhausted. It didn't take long for him to follow suit and the couple slept peacefully, entwined with each other like their fates had twisted long ago.

AN: I'm so sorry if this is really bad, I've never done this type of writing before! Also, if the rating needs to be changed to Mature, please let me know and I'll change it.

Happy Birthday to Kano!

I'm also super sorry if some of this fanfic doesn't make sense... I'm new to this kind of stuff... ^^"" I'd love to hear your comments though so that I can improve!

Thank you for reading.