Revya felt her body being shaken slightly as she stirred from her sleep. The shaking grew rougher in response to her attempt to fall asleep again.

"Hey, kid. Kid!" A voice whispered loudly. An all too familiar voice. Revya possibly couldn't forget. "Kid, wake up!" The voice repeated, aggravated.

Revya knitted her eyebrows, preferring to sleep rather than deal with Gig. She tiredly waved his hands on her off. "What, Gig? I'm sleeping..." She murmured, though, her voice clearly hoarse. She rolled over on her other side, clutching the blankets against her.

"Would you get up already?" Gig grabbed Revya's shoulders and lifted her into a sitting position. Revya's eyes were still closed as she rubbed on of them with her hand. "Are you up yet?"

"I am now," Revya said with a yawn. She looked at Gig sleepily, unable to feel irate at Gig for waking her from her sleep. It must be hours before the sun would even rise. "Now what's so important you have to wake me up, Gig?" She squinted in the dark to make out Gig.

Revya heard a quiet spark nose as Gig lit a match, lighting the slumped, melted candle on the nearby nightstand. Everything was now visible with a yellowish glow. Gig turned back to Revya, shaking the flame off the match. "My back friggin' hurts!" Gig said a little louder.

Staring at Gig with a sleepy face for a moment, Revya then fell back into the bed, pulling her blanket over her. "That's far from important, Gig. Now, good night."

Gig pulled her up from her shoulders again. "Don't dismiss this like it's some common occurence! My back's hurting like a bitch, man!" He said, rubbing his back. Revya couldn't tell if it he did it for emphasis or if it really did hurt. "It's kept me up for three goddamn hours now. I can't sleep. Do something!"

Revya facepalmed. "Aw, Gig, what do you want me to do? I want to sleep..."

"And I care how?" Gig said. Revya noticed Gig had dark circles beneath his eyes, but he otherwise looked wide awake. "Now massage my back already! It's not gonna do ittself."

Revya shook her head. Normally, maybe she would be a little flustered at the thought of massaging Gig. After all, quite a lot of touching is involved. Revya supposed the desire to sleep overpowered everything. With a sigh, she adjusted herself on the bed to give Gig more room to lay down on. "Get on."

Gig tugged his shirt over his head and threw it on the floor, which wakened Revya a little more. "What are you doing?" She said nervously, the hoarseness in her voice gone.

"What?" Gig asked, laying himself on his stomach on her bed. "Isn't it easier to massage me without my shirt on?"

"I-I guess..." Revya positioned her slightly above him from his side.

"Ha ha ha, does it make you nervous I'm half naked waist up?" Gig said teasingly.

"Why say it like that?" Revya's face reddened.

"Because it gets me a reaction like that from you. Heh heh."

She then placed her hands on his upper back and began rubbing in a circular motion. She leaned over his back to look at him. "Is that good?"

"Ah... Let one hand rub lower. My entire back is killing me." Gig closed his eyes, feeling relaxed already.

"Okay..." Revya did so, contemplating on, of course, Gig and the fact that she's massaging him. Well, Revya tried to think of Gig, rather than the massage, which was hard to do. It's not everyday the boy you're in love with comes into your room at night asking for a massage.

Revya in love with Gig?

Aside from the thoughts of playing masseuse, her love for the arrogant, former Master of Death crossed her mind the most. Many aspects of it as well, such as why was she in love with this selfish man, how deeply does she feel for him, when the time would be to tell him, wondering if he felt the same... And etc.

"Hey, are you doing this from my side?" Gig said after what felt like hours of massaging to him. He opened his eyes slightly, turning his neck to see Revya.

"Huh?" Revya looked back at Gig, getting a hold of herself from her pondering. "Uh, yeah. Why?"

He looked up thoughtfully a moment, then back to her. "Wouldn't it be easier to just sit on me and massage?"

"W-What?" Revya stopped her movements, looking at Gig embarrassed. Why does he always do stuff like that to her?

"Sit on top of me and massage," Gig repeated, like this was normal, like he was telling a little kid something that should be obvious even to them. "Come on, my back's achin' here."

Reluctant, Revya stretched her leg over Gig and did as she was told: sit on him and massage. Continuing the massage, with more awkwardness, her face blushed as seconds passed. "I'm not heavy, am I?"

"Hey, hey, hey. Less talky, more massage-y," Gig turned his neck again. "But yeah, you're kind of heavy. Not like it bothers me."

Having enough of the uncomfortable situation, she said, "Okay, that's it. Is your back better now?" She put her hands on her hips and looked down at him, and his back...

"Kid, don't stop! It still hurts. Come on, keep massaging."

"Uh! No," Revya said, fed up and apprehensive. She quickly moved herself off Gig and laid beside him, her back to him. She touched her face. Yup. Blushing. As if touching Gig like that wasn't enough, their conversation could easily be taken sexually. Honestly.

"Aw, that was barely enough time!" Gig sat himself up and looked down at Revya. "What's with you? Oh, I know. Being allowed to actually touch me overwhelming for you? Or maybe you felt exhilarated sitting on me? Ha ha ha, you're a riot, kid. Getting all anxious from simple gestures like that. You just can't get enough of me, can you?" Gig rolled on his back, put his hands behind his head and laughed.

Simple gestures? Revya repeated in her head. Easy for him to say. She wondered how Gig would react if he was the one put in the awkward situations he's put her in.

"You know, I'm feeling really unloved right now," Gig said. Revya searched for the sarcasm that was normally in his speech, but found naught. "My back is hurting so much I can just cry," There it is. "and you're refusing me my right to have this pain relieved! That's low, kid. Low even for you."

She left her back turned to him. "Hmph. I'll 'relieve you of your pain' when I think you deserve it."

"Aw, I'm hurt," Gig put a hand to his heart and another on his head dramatically. "Emotionally AND physically. I hope you're happy, kid! Hope you're happy knowing your one, true, soulmate is in excruciating pain. Give yourself a pat on the back," Gig made a gasping noise. "Speaking of backs, OOOH, the paaaaaaaaain..."

Gig's sarcasm once in awhile made Revya smile to herself, as it did now. Sure, his sarcasm is rude, maybe uncalled for sometimes (or a lot). But they were amusing, heck, funny even. And Revya just has a feeling that Gig intended not to be taken seriously when he throws sarcastic jabs. Big stress on 'has a feeling'. On the other hand, Gig could be dead serious. More often than not, Revya thinks to herself, "Quite the guy I've fallen for...".

For once, Revya concluded her thoughts, but found she was stuck in silence with Gig. In her bed. Her bed. With her back turned, she couldn't see what Gig was doing or the look on his face. Not that there was much he could actually do.

Unable to stand the silence any longer, she turned to her other side to face Gig, and looked up at him. His eyes were closed. He fell asleep on her? In her bed? Revya lifted herself slightly, propped on her elbow, to get a better look at him. He couldn't be asleep. But he looked like it. His features were relaxed, he looked almost innocent. "Gig?"

"What?" Gig muttered, eyes unopened. He wasn't asleep, though, appeared burnt out. Can't blame a guy for trying to sleep in a girl's bed, right?

Revya laid herself back down, still facing Gig. "Don't fall asleep here, Gig."

"Eeeh... I'm too tired to go back to my room. Too far away."

"... Gig, I have a question." Revya said after a brief moment of silence. Is it odd for a girl to feel to comfortable lying in bed with a boy? Not if that boy's the one you like, right? How would Danette respond to that question?

"Shoot, kid." Gig didn't bother opening his eyes as his face turned to Revya's direction. His eyebrows were furrowed slightly, evidence as to how he normally looks wide awake.

"Do you think..." She couldn't believe she was asking him this. Gig cracked one eye open slightly. She looked up at him. "Do you think that I'm pretty?" Revya's heart pounded.

Gig opened the other eye now, highly confused, of course. He rose up slightly, balancing himself on his hands and looked down at Revya. She got up as well, never looking away from him, examining his every action. "... Do I think you're pretty?" Gig's voice seemed almost playful as he repeated her question.

Revya put her hands over her eyes and looked away from him. "Ugh, just make fun of me now, already."

"Ha ha ha, I should! I mean, what kind of question is that? Not only that, it's just really random." Gig laughed. "Do I think you're pretty...?" He asked again, a certain freeness in his tone. Revya looked back at him, her feelings of embarrassment fading for the most part. Gig rested his elbow on his knee and placed his chin in his palm. He looked at Revya with an oh-so familiar look, the cocky smile, the furrowed brows. "Sure. Yeah, I think you're pretty."

She hadn't actually thought of how he would respond to the question, rather, she had a feeling he'd make fun of him. Anything could have surprised her. "Uh, um, really?"

"Of course! Would I lie to you? Heh heh."

This made her laugh. "You answered your own question," she said, referencing to the signature chuckle.

"Look, that's beside the point!" Gig said quickly. "And didn't I already tell you you're not fugly before?"

"That doesn't mean you won't think I'm pretty."

"Whatever. What's with the sudden question, anyway?" Gig returned to his position on the bed, hands behind his head, head tilted to see Revya.

"I don't know, really," Revya said. "It's just that, lately, whenever I look at my reflection, I imagine a Drazilian women, rather than me. I mean, pretty much everybody on Haephnes has a face that's exclusive to them. But this isn't so with the Drazilians. And I'm in the same boat as them." Revya brought up her knees, rested her arms upon them and let her face down.

Gig said nothing, intently listening, though, Revya couldn't see his expression. "And so," Revya continued, lifting her head back up. "Whether I'm pretty or not, it doesn't matter. I essentially look like every Drazilian girl."

"Listen, kiddo," Gig got back up and wrapped an arm around Revya's shoulders. "Are you implying I'd go for any of those Drazilian conformists over you?"

"Uh, conformist?" Revya asked, noting how this is actually quite the opposite now. "And I didn't imply anything. I was just saying..."

"Uh huh," Gig interrupted. "Just saying that I'd pick up some random Drazilian floozies. You know kid, I think put yourself down way too low."

Revya put her hands over her face. "Gig, it's not like that... Seriously." A smile creeped on her face.

"Yeah, yeah, you know I'm just screwin' with you. Calm yourself, kid." Gig found a lock of light red hair upon her head and twiddled with it between his fingers. He received no worthwhile response from her. Darn. "Didn't we discuss this before? You're you and they're them," He said in disgust. "no matter how you look. Don't get all depressed on me or I'll get pissed! Then we'll both be unhappy."

"Yeah, yeah, but that doesn't exactly help, Gig..." Revya averted her eyes the opposite direction Gig was.

Gig, for once, didn't know what to say. Or rather, for once as well, didn't want to say anything. He moved his arm off her shoulder and just sat there, staring at Revya.

"But you know Gig," Revya said suddenly. She turned back to Gig and smiled at him. "It does make me happy you think I'm pretty."

"Hmph." Gig smirked again. "You know, if that made my back feel any better, I'd be just as happy that you feel that way."

Saying nothing, she looked at Gig a moment, thinking. She turned her body to face him. "Um, does it make you happy to think that I think you're incredibly good looking?"

"Understatement of the century," Gig said cockily. "Oh. But it makes me ecstatic to hear you say that. No, really."

"I mean it though," Revya said. "Um, would it make sense to say you're handsome, rather than good looking?"

Gig thought a moment. "I... Don't know." Gig admitted. "Depends on which has more impact..."

She laughed at his serious approach to her question. "Maybe attractive would be a better word?" Revya suggested.

Gig shook his head. "How about all of the above apply?"

"Your conceited nature never ceases to amaze me, Gig."

"That just means I'm doing my job."

Revya patted Gig's back. "Are you okay now?"

With a sigh, Gig closed his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, I guess. The aching's mostly gone, anyway."

"Well that's good..." She trailed off, beginning to wonder how to tell Gig to leave, or that he can't sleep with her. Only because guys don't sleep with girl, right?

"What about you?" Gig said, interrupting her thoughts.

"Mm? What?" She watched as Gig fell on the bed, closing his eyes. "Hey..."

"Are you gonna be okay?"

Assuming he was referring to her troubles concerning her looks (which sounds conceited to her now), she nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks."

Snores escaped Gig's lips.

"Hey!"

Yeah, I know, it's iffy in some places... I kind of wrote this straight through one day.

Soulmates... I don't know when I'll update it. Hopefully soon. Apologies to anyway that was enjoying reading it... I'm truly sorry... But I don't want to give up on that fanfiction.

In the meantime, I hope you enjoyed Aching. God knows I enjoy(ed) Aching. In fact, I'm Aching right now. IKUTSUKI MODE IS GO.