A/N: Back with another UkyoxHeroine fic written for sirmightymuffin over on Tumblr.

Even with Trust

"It's melting."

"Hm?"

Ukyo looked up as her voice effortlessly broke through his self-inflicted distraction, and saw that, indeed, the mountain of mocha-flavored soft-serve was slowly dissolving into a puddle. Ah, summer. It was both the best and worst time to go out on an ice-cream date.

"Is something the matter?" she tentatively pressed when he only stared in absent acknowledgement at the ice-cream trail dripping over the lip of the styrofoam cup.

Waiting for him to reply, she consciously dipped her plastic spoon into her strawberry and green tea ice-cream swirl – hesitating for a moment before placing it in her mouth.

Had she missed something? When Ukyo had met her after work at Meido no Hitsuji to walk over to the nearby ice-cream parlor, he hadn't seemed particularly bothered by anything. However, when they had ordered and then sat down, she became increasingly aware of his gloomy disposition.

"Did something happen at the photo shoot yesterday evening?" she gently asked, discarding her spoon in the pink and green dessert in favor of focusing all of her attention on him. He had yet to answer her – instead staring off into space while clenching his hands into fists in front of him on the table – something she was sure he didn't realize he was doing.

Shaking his head, he regained some sense of awareness and answered, "No. Actually that shoot went rather well and I wound up getting a lot more shots than I thought I would."

"Oh! That's great!" She spoke with a level of enthusiasm that was probably far too chipper than was necessary, but she wanted to pull him out of his slump.

"It is," Ukyo agreed, indulging her with a forced smile. "I can show you them at the apartment later."

This answer seemed to satisfy her as her smile grew wider – somewhat lifting the fog around his heart. Still, there was a lingering unease settled over him as he glanced around them – taking stock of the other customers sitting under umbrella-covered tables with their ice-cream. Most of the people, to his relief, were minding their own business, but in the far corner, he saw him – the same young man he had noticed come out of Meido no Hitsuji seconds after she had.

Ukyo had already come to terms with the fact that his precious girlfriend was more than pretty enough to catch wandering eyes. But it was when people stopped looking and started acting on their attraction to her that Ukyo could feel himself becoming undone. It wasn't that he didn't trust her; she was the one person that he trusted with all of his heart. He trusted her even more than he trusted himself because he couldn't trust himself to keep his cool. Even in that moment, he could feel that guy stirring in his mind – agitated by the negative feelings disrupting his rest. He firmly refused to give him control though – fearing what he might do when he discovered the source of his anxiety.

"…kyo, can you hear me?" Again, his salvation came when she called to him. Her voice was soft and patient – soothing his flustered nerves. The way she was gazing up at him from across the table made his chest tighten in that way that was only reserved for her, and he began to feel him relax again.

"What's the matter?" she asked him. She was still at a loss for why he seemed to be so down. "I'm worried about you. It seems like something is really bothering you, so please tell me what it is."

And so he told her. He explained how one of her customers had followed her out of the café when they met and how he had followed them to the ice-cream parlor and was making no secret of ogling her from the corner. He confessed that even though he trusted her with every ounce of his being, it still drove him crazy whenever someone made an obvious attempt at pursuing her. His confidence often took a hit, and he began to doubt if he was really good enough for her when there were so many other men – all who were superior to him – vying for her attention.

"It's just the usual, I suppose," he concluded with a sheepish smile, feeling dejected by the weight of his own insecurity pressing down on him.

"Ukyo." She had collected his hands in hers and was surveying him thoughtfully as he kept his eyes fixed on her – never once looking to the corner to see which customer had followed them. "I get jealous, too," she assured him after a short silence. She saw him visibly relax and continued, "Whenever you go to work and I know – and even when I don't know – that you are working closely to attractive women, I become so worried. And it's not that I don't trust you because I know you would never betray me, but it's because I don't know what those women's intentions might be."

As she spoke, he squeezed her hands comfortingly – knowing now that she understood exactly how he felt each time another man looked at her with interest in his eyes. Even if it was a harmless sort of intrigue, it still bothered him and it put him on edge.

"I don't like thinking so suspiciously of other people – especially when I've never even met them, but sometimes I drive myself crazy thinking about it that the only way I can calm down is texting or calling Sawa to get out all of those feelings." She was blushing now, but he only nodded and his silence urged her to go on. "I'd say ask her, but well— Honestly, I'd rather you didn't because…" And her embarrassment became a force too strong for her to contain as she trailed off and lowered her eyes.

Jealousy forgotten, Ukyo fondly gazed at her – warmth consuming his heart as he came to the realization that this woman – this kind, composed, gentle woman who loved him as much as he loved her – understood the anxiety he felt whenever the possibility of someone threatening their relationship began to feel like a reality. They both knew these feelings were irrational and unfounded and felt embarrassed because they existed, but it also comforted Ukyo to know it was just another thing they shared.

"You," she had started to say, bringing his hands closer to her.

Ukyo didn't struggle as she pulled him in closer to her – watching as she lifted his right hand and pressed it to her lips. Baffled by this sudden gesture, Ukyo had to fight back the urge to snatch back his hand when her tongue lightly glided over his skin.

"Wh-what?" he stammered as she looked up and released his hands.

"You didn't notice?"

He hadn't, and said as much.

"Your ice-cream – or what used to be your ice-cream – melted on your hand and I was just cleaning it off for you." She looked quite satisfied with herself as she delicately ran her tongue along her bottom lip – tasting lingering traces of the mocha on her mouth.

She had expected – hoped – he would lean over and softly kiss her in reply, but once again, he appeared to be distracted. "What is it?" she tried, but he didn't answer.

"Ah!" He waved his hand in greeting. "It's Sawa-chan!"

"very funny," she pouted, not even bothering to turn around. Instead, she picked up her spoon and helped herself to a mouthful of his melted mocha ice-cream.

"Oh~! You two decided to come here as well?"

The voice – distinctly female and unquestionably belonging to Sawa – startled her so much that she dropped her spoon and spun around in her seat to see her friend approaching their table with Kent begrudgingly lagging behind her.

"We're on a date," Ukyo explained, observing how his girlfriend shrunk back in her chair. "Would you like to join us? We can make it a double date," he suggested, briefly glancing over at Kent before focusing on Sawa again. "I was told we have a lot to talk about."

It was clear from her momentary confusion that Sawa had no idea what Ukyo was talking about, but as she excused herself so that she and Kent could order their ice-cream, she hadn't failed to notice the dangerous look that passed through her friend's usually serene gaze.