A/N: Alright, if you are young and do not like even the slightest suggestive themes, please don't read. This is a sappy and short one-shot based on Aya and Souichiro so if you don't like that, don't read. I don't want immature flames based on characters or pairings. Constructive criticism allowed. Also, I haven't read the entire series (only 1-5 and the anime) so it's based around that timeline. If you understand, then read on )

By Your Side

She was having a hard time sleeping, constantly tossing and turning. She wanted to wake up; to go get herself a glass of water but the nightmare wasn't over yet. No, it wasn't anywhere close to the end. She would just have to endure it, like the many times before. She'd just have to witness every act of passion all over again and try desperately not to cry. She just didn't want to cry. She didn't want to wake up in bed with all those sick feelings twisting in her stomach. She didn't want to experience those emotions again. But she knew she would from the second she knew that the nightmare had come back.

Everything was coming in the exact order she knew it would come. There was the passionate kiss under the moon light, the loving and gentle contact, the heartfelt comments, the mindless flirting and the cold hard fact that it wasn't she whom he wanted. It wasn't she whom he wanted to protect; it wasn't she whom he longed to become stronger for. And then more of the deep fervent kissing followed shortly by the tender devotion and dedication. Last but not least came the rejection and the tears. Oh, the tears. That was when she knew it was over.

She awoke with a start, gasping desperately for air as the sweat dripped down her body, her entire back feeling wet and slick as well as her exposed legs and her face. The hot tears slid down her cheeks continuously and no matter how hard she tried to stop them, they still flowed. She wiped at her honey brown eyes and tried to calm her beating heart. But the feelings that she dreaded had returned and she felt sick to her stomach. She needed a glass of cold water to help her relax and then maybe she'd curl up in front of the TV until she would fall asleep on the couch. She stood up and slid the screen door open, allowing her feet to guide her to the kitchen.

The images of the nightmare were still fresh on her mind and the tears threatened to spill at the mere memory of them. Instead, she transfixed her gaze at the flowing water coming from the tap. When the glass overflowed and she felt her hand become engulfed with shocks from the sudden contact of cold water, she quickly turned the tap off and gulped down every single drop, not caring for the few that squirmed down her neck. The feeling of chilled water making contact with her sweaty skin was nice anyways.

"You're up, too?"

She practically jumped out of her skin when she heard the familiar voice. She turned around abruptly but couldn't really make out the man's face in the darkness. She did see his masculine form in the faint moon light coming from the open window though. When she recognized him, she felt her heart skip a beat and her cheeks begin to flush.

"Souichiro-sama…Why are you up this late in the night? You should be getting your sleep if you want to keep up with Onee-chan's drills in the morning."

She spoke softly, smiling at the thought of having company for the long and dreadful night. He, however, began making his way past her and towards the sink where he grabbed a clean glass and began filling it to the brim with cold water. It was then that she was able to see him clearly. She made out his long and lean arms as well as the toned muscles of his stomach and the glint of his tanned skin in the moonlight. His blonde hair was matted down and looked messy; signs of a bed head. But it looked pretty good on him, she concluded. His pants were low and baggy and his brown eyes seemed hazy with sleep.

She blushed warmly and almost forgot about all the things she had seen him do with her sister in her horrifying nightmare. She longed to run one of her delicate and pale fingers down his chest, just to feel the texture of his golden skin. Or to taste his lips again, like the day they first met. As she continued to stare dreamily at him, he looked at her, pondering the strange silence while quirking up an eyebrow. She snapped out of her reverie and greeted him with another warm smile, clutching the ends of her tight little night gown.

"Why are you up, Aya?"

He had caught her off guard and she looked startled. Then she looked away, remembering the nightmare. Did she really want to tell him about it? Would he even understand or would he just look at her with a blush and a confused expression, like he always did when she brought up the subject of his feelings? She sighed and then looked back at him. He was staring at her with his sleepy eyes, awaiting an answer.

"Well…I had a nightmare…It was really rather terrible…"

She seemed to fade off, her gaze once again returning to the floor as she tried to forget the awful images she had dreamt of. She also felt the sting of tears again and knew that if she looked at him, they would spill for sure. She hugged herself, feeling cold suddenly as goose bumps covered her soft skin. For some reason, she felt lonely, too.

"What? Still afraid of the boogeyman or something?"

He was mocking her, a soft chuckle following his remark. She bit down on her bottom lip and quivered as the chills continued to spread through her body. She was afraid to go back to sleep; afraid that the nightmare would come back as soon as she did. And then, like a speeding bullet, every memory of the moments came back and she couldn't fight off the images, remembering the kissing, the words of devotion and finally the painful fact that it wasn't her he thought of, dreamt of, longed to protect or become stronger for.

Here she was, so sure that she was fighting for him all along; that he was the reason why she needed to become stronger. And yet, she had nobody to protect her; she had nobody to rely on. Sure she had her sister, but she didn't know exactly how tight their bond even was. Not to mention, she was too engulfed in her past and Mitsuomi to care much about her. Then there was Masataka and Bob, but Masataka was dedicated to her sister as well and Bob had his girlfriend to watch over. So who did she have? Who was left for her? Who would hug her and kiss her after nightmares like these? Who would comfort her when she needed to be comforted?

She was at a loss now, the sick feeling growing and she clutched her stomach, not able to keep the tears at bay any longer. She had lost sight of her reasons; her purpose and she no longer knew who or what she was fighting for. She felt herself breaking out into a cold sweat and tried desperately to regain her posture so that Souichiro wouldn't worry. But it was too late for that.

"Aya?! What the hell is wrong? Look, I'm sorry about what I said! Please don't cry! Please stop crying! You know I'm not good at this!"

He had already taken notice of her strange stance but hadn't paid much attention to it until he heard her moan in pain. He held her arms and tried to shake her out of it before anyone woke up and blamed him for anything. When that didn't work and she had fallen to the floor on her knees, still clutching her stomach in excruciating pain, he began to panic. He crouched down next to her, hesitantly placing a hand on her back and patting it gently.

Then, almost like a reflex, he placed the other hand on her forehead only to retreat it just as quickly. It seemed that it was on fire and he figured that she was probably having a fever. But he didn't really know how to handle situations like these; he wasn't any kind of doctor. It was when he had begun to pat her back firmly that she had bent over and puked all over the kitchen floor. She had also managed to get some on his pants as well which caused him to stand up and back away in disgust. And he probably would have retreated to the safety of his room if she hadn't fainted just then, her long black hair lying dormant on the floor.

"Shit! Just my goddamn luck! Aya! Aya, get up!"

When she did not move, he tiptoed himself around the pile of vomit and ran into his room to throw on a clean pair of pants, muttering along the way. He then quietly came back and picked her up gently, figuring he should probably take her to his room so that he could make sure she'd be okay and so her sister wouldn't kill him for abandoning her on the kitchen floor. She stirred softly in his arms and he carefully placed her on his bed, resting her head on his pillow.

Now he had to figure out how to clean the pile of puke in the kitchen without puking himself. He grabbed a towel and let it soak under the running tap and then made a horrible attempt at wiping at the puke while holding his breath. When he figured he'd done a good enough job and was running out of air, he disposed of the towel as quickly as possible and got a smaller and newer one. After filling up a bowl with fresh, cold water, he dunked the towel in it and made his way back to his room where she lay.

He then bent down and gripped the towel so that it wasn't extremely wet and slowly placed it neatly on her forehead. Her eyes shot open as she felt the cold water touch her warm skin. When she saw that he was sitting next to her, she tried to give him an apologetic smile.

"So-Souichiro-sama…I'm so sorry. I hope…I didn't get anything on you…"

"Don't worry about it. If I can handle big and strong guys, a girl's puke can't really bother me. What do you take me for? A wussy?"

She smiled at him and he let out a deep sigh, not knowing what he was going to do with her.

"If you don't mind…could you get me some water, please?"

He was about to retort some kind of smart ass remark about not being her slave but felt guilty when she looked up at him sweetly. He grumbled and got back up to his feet, leaving her alone in his room for a few seconds. She sighed and tried to sit up, feeling a little dizzy, embarrassed and sleepy. She couldn't believe she actually puked this time. The nightmare was really starting to get to her. But she was also secretly happy about having him look after her like this, even though she knew she probably shouldn't be. He was only doing it to impress her sister or something. All of a sudden the memories came back and she felt sick again. No. She had to fight them off. No more puking for today.

He had come back into the room with a glass of cool water in his hand and he gently gave it to her, sitting down beside her while she drank it all down. She was probably going to have to go to the bathroom tomorrow morning at this rate. When she was done, she looked at him quizzically.

"Souichiro-sama?"

"Yeah?"

"How come you put a cold towel on my forehead? I mean, how did you know? I thought you were bad at handling situations like these…"

He turned his head and focused his gaze on her, giving her a glare while she blinked in confusion. He looked away and sighed, closing his tired eyes while he scratched his arm.

"When I was younger and I would get a fever, my mother did it for me…"

"Oh…Well, that's sweet…"

She looked away from him, recalling the image of his beautiful mother from when she had met her before.

"So, was it really this nightmare that made you puke or that pathetic excuse for a nightgown?"

She looked at him to see him staring at the end of her short satin red dress. She felt the heat rise to her cheeks when she realized that he may have been right. She tugged at it and fixed up the thin spaghetti straps that had slid off her shoulders. She couldn't believe that she was alone with him in his room. It was rare that she was ever alone with him in the first place, never mind in here. His scent was everywhere and she seemed to bask in it delightedly.

"So…what kind of nightmare did you have, anyways? It must have been pretty bad if you puked because of it…"

He wasn't looking at her but she didn't know what to say to him. She didn't like to lie but what would his reaction be to the truth? She did want to be completely honest with him though. Of that much she was sure. After all, she was madly in love with him and she was serious in her mission to become his wife. And the key to a healthy relationship was honesty...

"…It was about you and Onee-chan. All the moments you had together…The kiss, the devotion…All the stuff you've done for her and said about her…"

She made sure she wasn't looking at him because she was pretty sure his expression was one of pure confusion. He didn't say anything; she didn't even hear a peep escape his lips whatsoever. She just heard him inhale and exhale, as if he had gotten tired of the whole love triangle.

"Aya…Aya, Aya, Aya, Aya, Aya…Ayahhh…Your sister is right about you when she says you're still only a child…"

She looked up at him, her eyes wide in shock and confusion. Exactly what was that supposed to mean? He wasn't older than her by that much.

"Well, if I recall correctly, you thought of Onee-chan every time you transformed because she's the one you want to become stronger for! And, like some kind of love-sick puppy, you do anything she asks you to do! You don't even care if it's right or wrong; as long as she's requesting it, it doesn't matter to you! Is it so childish that I want you to direct the smallest of that love to me?! Just a tiny portion of that respect, of that devotion is all I ask! Just a bit of acknowledgement! Is that what makes me so childish? The fact that I long to love and be loved back? Is that it?!"

She had gotten angry and he detected a hint of rage in her voice even though she did not raise it very much so that she would not wake any of the others. He stared, dumbfounded, once again shocked by her. She was just full of surprises. Just when he thought he had her figured out, she does or says something that he just never understands. She looked away from him when he didn't respond and pouted, her eyebrows still slightly furrowed, but more in sadness than anger.

"Maybe…I'm childish because I'm too blind to see that no matter what I do for you or say to you, you'll never feel that way about me. If anything, that's the only childish quality that I have. At least, that's the only one I can think of…"

She still didn't look at him and remained silent so that she could make sure the tears didn't fall for the third time that night. But just then, he had done something completely surprising that took her aback. He had wrapped a strong arm around her shoulders, pushing her closer towards him so that her head lay on his chest. She felt her heart begin to beat faster as the heat from his body began to sink into her, warming her up in an instant.

"Fine, I take it back. You're not childish, you're an idiot."

She blushed, feeling his heartbeat against her cheek. She hated that he made her so weak. She forgot all about that though when he began caressing her back, causing her to practically melt in his arms.

"And exactly how am I an idiot then?"

He laughed, his chest heaving as she placed a soft hand on his exposed torso. For the first time that day, she felt safe.

"You're an idiot because you're so weird! You say some pretty crazy things. But since I'm so sleepy, I'm willing to forget them…As long as you don't go around bragging about me taking care of you tonight."

"You call placing a cold towel on my feverish forehead 'taking care of me'?!"

"Hey! I did more than just that! I cleaned your puke off the kitchen floor, I carried you to my room, I got you a glass of water, I kept you company and I got your chunks on my pants! I think I deserve a little bit more respect!"

She giggled and looked up at him, smiling cutely as her cheeks flushed. He sighed and looked away, hiding his own evident blush. How could she have such a heavy impact on him like this?

"Can I sleep with you tonight, Souichiro-sama?"

He froze. For about two seconds, he completely froze. The way her voice had sounded in that instant seemed to indicate heavily at something else…And then he backed away from her, letting her go so that she had to catch herself before falling on the floor. He was in the corner of his room, almost clutching at the wall while giving her the same nervous look he had given her in the shower room. His face seemed to be on fire and she looked up and glared at him.

"What was that for?! You can be so mean sometimes, Souichiro-sama!"

She had sat back up, although she did have to catch herself a few times since her fever was still causing her to be a little dizzy.

"Wh-What the hell is the matter with you?!" He cried, losing control of the volume of his voice.

"What's the matter with me? You're the one clinging to a wall! What's wrong with you?! All I asked was if I could spend the night with you! Geez, if you hate me that much, you could have just said no instead of running away as if something bit you in between the legs…"

Her voice had also seemed to have gained an edge and she was glaring at him furiously. He seemed to relax a little, but continued staring at her like she was speaking to him in a totally different language. He was also still blushing.

"Why would you want to spend the night with me?!"

She paused, not understanding his question.

"I…I just don't want to be alone tonight."

He stared at her curiously, his expression becoming more serious. He then stood up and began making his way past her so that he could get into bed. He lay down and placed his head on the pillow, not saying a word. It was then that she finally understood what he had thought when she had requested such a thing. She sat herself around to face him and felt the heat rise up to her cheeks as a short glimpse of the act entered her mind.

"Souichiro-sama…You little pervert!"

She giggled softly and he turned his head to look at her, eyes wide in stupor. She reached out a gentle hand to stroke his cheek lovingly, making him uncomfortable. She then lay down next to him, grabbing some blanket to cover her own body. As she scooted closer to him, he moved back slightly, taken aback by her random actions.

"Hey, I don't remember saying yes!"

But it was too late; she had already snuggled closer to him, resting her head on the nape of his neck, her hands tangled in his hair. He felt himself turning a vibrant red as he made contact with her body, not exactly knowing what to do with his own hands. He felt her soft, long hair against him and her slow breathing tickling him. He also felt the slight push of her soft breasts against his chest as her legs tangled themselves with his own.

"A-Aya, what are you doing?!"

He was sweating now, feeling extremely uncomfortable as he placed an arm on her hip. She, on the other hand, had purred in ease as if to have answered his question. After quite an effort to move away without leaving the bed, he decided to give up since it only caused her to come closer, if that was even possible.

"Maybe if I succeed in becoming your wife…"

He waited for her to finish her statement but when he heard nothing but only felt her soft breathing on his exposed chest, he looked down at her. She had fallen asleep, her eyes shut and her face of pure comfort. His expression softened and he placed a hand on her head, feeling her soft, silky strands of hair beneath his fingertips. He then closed his eyes and decided to let sleep take over his own body. Just for tonight, he'd let her sleep by his side…