AN: Please read all the AN at the bottom after enjoying the story, and please review, subscribe and bombard my email with messages that say I have received a review, makes me happy!

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"Hey Karis… I have a suggestion…" Matthew said.

"Mmm?"

"You wanna try French kissing?"

Karis grinned. "Sounds like a plan to me."

Their mouths moved closer and closer again…

###

But suddenly there was a loud banging on the door. "Is anyone in there?"

Karis and Matthew froze, their bodies slightly heaving against each other. They could hear each other's heartbeat. They both knew they had the fear that the person on the other side of the door could hear them, and knew it was unrealistic but it didn't stop them from worrying.

The unknown person at the door waited for a moment, then walked away, the creaking sounds of the floorboards diminishing as the person moved further and further away. The two of them sighed, and decided to get up and move about. They were quite turned off by the fact someone nearly entered the room while they were… yeah, it's like the moment where you're sharing a passionate moment with your dearly beloved and EVERYONE is watching. Seriously, why watch with glee as two of your friends kiss? And possibly they're squealing.

Matthew was quite tired, and there was nothing he would like to do better but to clean up and rest for an entire night. However, being the gentlemen he was, he offered Karis the shower first. "We better clean up. You can go first."

Karis smiled at him. "Aww, Matthew, ever the gentleman." She winked as she stepped into the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

Matthew reclined back onto the bed, alone for the first time with his thoughts since the hectic moments of this morning. He wondered where the rest of his party were, and he did feel slightly guilty on not having second thoughts about them. Then again, it was pretty difficult to think about anything when all you could think about was the soft feel of Karis's skin, her perfect lips, and their moment of passion-

He shook his head, and tried to clear the impure thoughts from his head. He knew he was filled with lust, and he wanted to convert that lust to love. He wanted this relationship to last. He knew it was pretty unrealistic, but he was attempting to fight against his own feelings.

He breathed a sigh of relief. If this was like any anime he had seen (don't ask, they had anime okay?) he would have nosebleeds every now and then due to those perverted thoughts. He then felt a trickle of liquid on his face, and put his hand up there. When it came back down, he saw it was red.

"Oh for %$#-"

###

Karis was enjoying the feel of warm water running over her body. It had been AGES since she had a nice, hot shower to cleanse herself of the muck that accumulated on her. Travelling the world was fun, sure, but you just felt the dirt accumulated everywhere and it just felt… disgusting.

She turned her attention to her feelings with Matthew. Was it love or lust? She had known him since childhood, and she always felt close to him. But once and every now and then, she had a burning desire in her heart to take him for herself. She felt jealous every time Matthew looked at Sveta. It pained her to see that he may have had feelings for Sveta instead of her. She told herself it was wrong, but her heart simply hurt even more.

Karis thought deeply. Matthew was never the type to actually use a girl for his own purpose. He was always gentlemanly, soft-spoken and kind. He didn't need to say anything to convey his feelings, all he needed to do was smile, or laugh, or frown to convey his feelings. She smiled shyly even though no-one was watching. She had fantasies before, where she and Matthew were in a moment of deeper passion, where he was making love to her and she was crying out his name and moaning in delight. Afterwards, she instantly turned red and attempted to divert her attention to something else, ignoring the feeling in her body and her burning fire in her heart. She was known for her cool attitude as a Wind Adept, but love/lust always turns people into jelly.

She turned off the water and stepped outside the shower, and grabbed the tower. It was so small, she frowned to herself. If she walked outside with it, it would barely cover her body and leave most of her legs exposed… she never thought she was pretty, but hey, maybe she should give Matthew a surprise. A very, very erotic surprise. She grinned. Who knew she could be this dirty?

As she was preparing to step out, there was a knock on the bathroom door. "Karis, I'm sorry to interrupt, but I've got an emergency and I need to use the sink quickly."

Considering it was a medium length sentence from Matthew, Karis knew it was an emergency and instantly opened the door. She gasped at the amount of blood that was flowing from Matthew's nose. Out of a category 5 nosebleed, this was close to a four.

Matthew ran over to the sink and started washing the blood off. Damn it, stupid anime nosebleeds, he thought to himself. In the mirror, he saw Karis walking to him with genuine concern in her eyes. "Here, let me help you" she said.

(Un)intentionally, she moved both of her hands to help Matthew, and she dropped her towel.

Matthew heard the sound of something dropping, and looked back at the mirror, and Karis was blushing like mad before she bent down and grabbed the towel quickly.

Right there and there, Matthew had a Category 6 nosebleed, accompanied with the fainting. Some sights were just too good.

###

Karis couldn't keep the redness off her face. Because Matthew was bleeding quite heavily, she removed all his clothes and put him in the bath… and yeah, she saw IT a couple of times.

By it, I mean his muscles. Seriously, how dirty are you girls and boys? What do you think I was talking about?

Karis couldn't help but admire Matthew's muscles. Although he wasn't excessively built, he didn't have too much fat either. After giving him a bath while trying to stare at his body, she dragged his body back into the bed and clothed it modestly while putting on clothes herself.

Boy, was she tired. It had been a pretty hectic day, and she was worried about the others. She knew it was in the back of her mind and regretted it, but she knew that they were all strong and tough. He was only worried about Tyrell, the stupid idiot. Knowing him, he would probably have floundered, drowned, and come back just to haunt Karis. She grinned and closed her eyes. She deserved a rest.

###

Isaac came in quietly. The hour duration had passed, and he was curious why the kids haven't come down yet. He peeked in the room, and saw that the bed was filled with two sleeping figures. He grinned. He said "good night" to them both, and slowly exited the room.

He was happy that Matthew had found a person to confide him. Matthew… Isaac was secretly worried about Matthew. Obviously, a father always wanted his son to be happy. To do what he wanted to do. It's an irrational fear that can never be controlled, and although Isaac had a multitude of powers, none of them could control this fear.

However, as he walked downside, he realised it was because Matthew's future was surrounded by darkness. Then again, if it took me two games to save the world, it should take him at least two as well. He wandered back downstairs and entered the restaurant again, where Jenna, Ivan and Garet were waiting.

"Old school meeting, huh?" Ivan grinned. "How's my daughter going with your son up there?"

Jenna grinned back with a knowing smile. "Knowing my son's fiery nature that he doesn't generally show to anyone, Karis is probably very, very tired.'

Isaac laughed. "And knowing my son's quiet nature, he probably stopped halfway through."

Garet then joined in. "And knowing Karis's forceful nature, she probably forced him to keep going." They all laughed at these suggestions. It felt good to have the old crew back together.

After the laughter died down slightly, Ivan looked at Isaac. "Seriously, you called us here for a proper purpose right? I'm pretty sure you wouldn't have tried to contact everyone so seriously if nothing was wrong."

Isaac sighed. "You're right. It's about those psyenergy vortexes."

Garet's expression darkened. "I thought so."

Jenna sighed. "That's the problem with the choices we made all those years ago. Do this, world goes boom. Do that, world goes boom in a couple of years. Doesn't it suck?"

"Not only are the psyenergy vortexes the problem, but it's also Matthew." Ivan's expression was serious. "His entire future… is covered with shadow."

Isaac and Jenna now looked apprehensive. "We tried getting Kraden to look into it, but I still have no idea what is going on, and to be honest they both looked pretty tired when I found them," Isaac said. "Kissing notwithstanding."

Ivan answered them. "I just read Karis's mind. Their boat capsized and everyone was scattered. It was coincidence that she pulled up onto the same place Matthew did."

Jenna's expression said it all, but she had to emphasise it. "Shit, we're in trouble now, aren't we?"

Isaac sighed. "Yeah, the words shit, creek and paddle come to mind. Look, we're not going to get too much discussed without Karis and Matthew present, and we do need to tell them what's going on."

Ivan shook his head. "We need to discuss it with our children, and find the others, but we can't tell Matthew what is going on. If he knows about it, he's probably going to do something that will get rid of it…"

Jenna and Isaac glared at Ivan. He put his hands up in surrender. "I'm just saying the truth. Your son is that kind of selfless person. Just like his parents." Ivan grinned.

Jenna and Isaac smiled back, knowing that their child was selfless and self-sacrificing. Isaac ran his hand through his hair. "You're right Ivan. That's one solution all right, and probably the only one at the moment, but I refuse to give my son the best chance of fighting it."

###

Matthew opened his eyes and saw through the window that the night was in the middle stages. He slowly turned his body as he felt another source of heat, the bed creaking in response. As he turned, he froze as he saw Karis's sleeping face. He smiled slightly to himself. She looked so cute when she's asleep, just like when she was young. She was moaning ever so slightly in her sleep, and these sounds turned Matthew on. He desperately tried to think of other thoughts, but it didn't really help when Karis was making these sounds.

"Kiss me Matthew…" she murmured. The bed creaked, and her face now faced his. She opened her eyes, and he saw the cloud of lust in her eyes. "Kiss me Matthew…"

Matthew leaned in and kissed her, and she moaned at the delightful feeling of it. She moved her hand and pulled him closer. Matthew responded by kissing faster and rubbing his hand on her thigh. She was enjoying it, he could tell, and his rational side just completely gave up. He pulled her closer, and kissed her even harder. Karis started running her hands completely up and down his body, and she hit spots that made Matthew groan with pleasure.

The bed was creaking rapidly with their bodies constantly shifting as they explored each others bodies and mouth.

Before they could take anything further, Matthew's head began to hurt. He pulled back slightly from Karis. Karis opened her eyes and looked at Matthew, concerned. "What's wrong?"

Matthew stopped because he was considering their position, and his brain suddenly told him that what he was doing was extremely wrong. He needed to go rescue his friends. Yes, he loved Karis, but they haven't even interchanged these words yet. Does that mean that Karis actually loved him, or was she using him merely as a stepping stone to keep moving?

Matthew turned away from Karis for a brief moment. Was he being an idiot just thinking about this? And the way he was acting… he turned back. "Sorry Karis, I was just thinking over a few things. Sorry, I don't think we should go that far yet."

Karis nodded. "Yeah, that's okay. Good night Matthew." Karis turned around, so she was facing away from Matthew.

Matthew couldn't help feeling that he did something wrong, but there was no other option that was right.

As much as Karis tried silencing her tears, Matthew heard them land on the pillows, and he turned around. "Karis, I'm so sorry, I should have thought what was going on before I opened my mouth and stopped…"

Karis turned around, tears running down her face and her eyes red. "I-i-t's j-j-ust t-t-that…" she clutched onto Matthew. Somehow, Matthew made her calm down, and her tears stopped. "It's just that sometimes, I'm afraid that you don't love me. I have thoughts as well, wondering whether you would have dated Sveta, or another girl."

Matthew's heart skipped a beat. She was thinking the exact thing I was thinking of her. And he felt immensely guilty. She said these words before I could.

Matthew hugged Karis. "I'm sorry Karis. I need to be honest with you…"

Karis started crying again. Matthew thought back to what he said, and decided to fix it.

"Let me start again Karis, I didn't mean it like that…"

Karis silenced him. "It's alright. If you don't love me in that way, it's fine. We'll keep this silent, okay?"

Matthew tried to explain. "No Karis, I mean…"

Karis cut him off again. "It's alright. If you don't love me, you don't, and there's nothing you can do to change that fact.

You know, the best way to convey my point across at the moment right now would be to make a scene. And you know how much I hate making a scene, Karis. Matthew just hoped it would work.

"Damn it Karis, I love you! I love you so much it hurts! I needed to be honest that those were the EXACT same feelings I felt! That was why I pulled away! But you said them first, and I was insanely guilty! I love you! I LOVE YOU!" He yelled at the top of his voice.

Needless to say, Karis was stunned.

"You… love… me?" Karis stammered.

Matthew nodded his head, his entire face deeply red.

"… WHY THE HECK DID YOU SAY "I NEED TO BE HONEST WITH YOU" LIKE THE FACT YOU DIDN'T LOVE ME!"

"I TRIED EXPLAINING! I DIDN'T THINK BEFORE I TALKED!"

"TRY THINKING THEN NEXT TIME, YOU DIM LIGHTBULB!"

"MAYBE YOU TRY LISTENING NEXT TIME, YOU… YOU… YOU INSANELY BEAUTIFUL ANGEL!"

"… That wasn't an insult."

"I love you too much to insult you." And with that Matthew kissed Karis.

"We have the worst communication skills between a couple," Karis murmured between the kisses.

There was a knock on the door. "Uh… as much as it was touching and loving to hear you two talk to each other with words of confession, please remember that this is an inn, and there are other people who need their sleep."

Karis and Matthew blushed. Oh… my… god.

###

Isaac, Jenna, Ivan, and Garet were all down in the restaurant, laughing at the "conversation" the kids had.

Ivan smiled. "Hey Garet, doesn't this remind you of something awfully familiar?"

Garet smirked. "Oh yeah, that incident…"

Isaac and Jenna both smiled. Except it really wasn't a smile. It was more of a say anything and expect your ability to make children gone within the second.

"Ever mention that incident to anyone, and your bodies would never be found. Not even with Sheba's mind reading ability," Jenna said.

Ivan and Garet turned cold. "H-h-heh, of course we won't."

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Previous AN notes: Something about romance, me being a seventeen year old and promising not to go too far (too late for that, my first lemon has been uploaded separately for this story).

AN: Ok, pretty much a pretty major change here. Before, I felt that the "love" between the two was just insanely forced. There wasn't much interaction, much logic behind the way that they acted. Hence, the story goes further this time explaining the rationale behind their reasoning. Additionally, I took away the mention of the shadow, hence making it less of a conspiracy plot, heeheehee. So no more of Matthew's shadow, if you read the story beforehand.

I hope you readers have enjoyed the chapter, and if you enjoyed it please rate and review! Thank you!