I must have lost consciousness afterward, because I wake up in my bed, a hand gripping mine. I look to my left and see Koujaku sitting there, smiling down at me warmly.
"Yo, Aoba. How you feeling?" Noiz questions, standing at the bottom of my bed.
"Fine." I smile, ignoring my throbbing head and knuckles.
"You don't sound that convincing." Mink sniffs out. That's when I remember my attack on him.
"Mink, I'm really sorry for hitting you!" I apologise, guilt striking my chest. He holds up a hand and dismisses my apology.
"Don't worry about it. It didn't hurt." He replies, almost tauntingly.
"Hey, watch it." Koujaku warns, baring his teeth slightly.
"Ha, it's fine, he's only joking." I grin, squeezing Koujaku's hand slightly.
"Aoba." Ren calls as he licks my face.
"Ren, are you on? Did they hurt you?" I question, picking the small allmate up and placing him lightly on my chest.
"I'm fine. But I apologise, I showed everyone the recording of what happened." He replies.
"What do you mean?" I question, confused at what he's reffering to.
"Before Ren came and found me to save you, he recited what happened to you as he knew it would be important." Mink explains. I rub Rens head lightly, in thanks. Without his help... Who knows what Virus and Trip would've done with me.
"I shouldve walked home with Master!" Clear cries.
"It's not your fault." Noiz assures.
"Those bastards! Aoba, I swear I will kill them for what they did to you!" Koujaku growls.
"Koujaku, I won't have that talk in my house." Grams scolds.
"Eh, aha, sorry about that Tae-San." He apologises, rubbing his hand on the back of his neck, smiling embarrassed.
"Aoba, how are you feeling?" She questions.
"Fine, thanks Grams." I reply, moving to sit up.
"Be careful." Koujaku warns, standing slightly, supporting me.
"I'm fine." I smile warmly.

"Happy Birthday." Everyone grins at me. After confirming my health was stable, grams permitted everyone to stay and continue celebrating my birthday. There was food played out on the table and drink. Koujaku was sitting next to me and leant into me slightly, his lips coming close to my ear.
"Tae-San has allowed me to take you out after this. Want to stay at mine for the night?" He asks, his hand sliding from my knee up slightly. I can feel an intense blush spread over my cheeks.
"K-koujaku?" I question, slightly stunned at his sudden offer. I wasn't rare for us to stay over at each other's houses and... Do stuff... But it was still embarresing for me to hear him ask.
"C'Mon, it's your birthday after all." He grins, kissing my cheek lightly.
"S-still. It's embarrassing to ask those kind of things." I answer, turning my head to look at him. His lips press against mine for a second and he grins at me.
"I know, but you're face is so cute when you're embarrassed." He tells me. I scratch Rens head as he sits down beside me.
"Aoba, there was a disturbance outside." Ren informs me.
"What was it?" I ask, worry begining to burn in my gut.
"There was nothing there but I've put a full scan on the building." He replies.
"Aoba..." Koujaku sighs slightly, "you're safe now, you need to calm down. Those two won't try it when we're around. Please try and relax." He finishes, pulling my head close to him and making me rest it on his shoulder.

It was pretty late now, so everyone had headed home. Me and Koujaku are walking toward his house. Before, I would've brought an overnight bag, but because my visits had become frequent, I had things kept permanently at his. My hand entwined with his, we walk down the dimly lit street. Ever so slightly I would pull away from the alleyways a little, a seed of fear reminind me about Trip and Viruses attack from the shadows. I know Koujaku notices it, but he would continue walking and keep his eyes facing forward, as if trying to stop himself saying anything that he might regret.
"I'm sorry." I apologize, understanding how awkward the air is because of me.
"What for?" He chuckles, pulling a confused face towards me. I know he knows what I'm apologizing for, but he probably doesn't want to make it seem like my anxiety is obvious.
"For being so... Jumpy." I reply, unsure how to explain myself.
"You shouldn't be so nervous of everything. I'm here now and I've promised to protect you. Don't you believe me?" He questions.
"No, I mean of course I trust you, but after going through something like that... It keeps replaying in my head and I can ease myself..." I breathe, suddenly feeling shaky. He quickly pulls me into his arms and holds me in a strong embrace.
"You can't let it rule your life. All the things you've gone through in the past year, and all the ways you've overcome them... I'm right here and always will be, please try and forget and I'll make sure they never get to you again." He whispers softly. And just like that, I felt safe again. Hearing Koujaku say that to me, reassures me that I'm protected. I have my friends as well now. I know they would protect me from Trip and Virus with everything they've got. I take hold of Koujaku's hand and continue walking with him to his house.
"Beni." Aoba greets, seeing the small allmate bird perched outside Koujakus home.
"Ren." Beni repliease, flying over and landing on the Pomeranians back.
"Aoba, how are you feeling?" Beni asks, clearly referring to the incident.
"I'm fine now thanks." I smile warmly, walking up the steps and slipping my shoes off in the porch. I walk to the lounge, getting Rens spare bed from the cupboard on the way, and let out some blankets and pillows for the two allmates.
"Ren." I call, patting the puffed pillow dog bed. He happily bounds over and settles, Beni ready to nap on his head, and I stroke down his back a little.
"Goodnight." I smile warmly.
"Goodnight, Aoba." He replies, snuggling his nose under his paw.

Koujaku is already relaxed in bed. Pillows behind his back, to keep him propped up a little, he watches me brush my teeth. When I finish, I walk over to the bed and climb on. Before, I used to be really embarresed by walking around in front of him in just my boxers, but now it felt almost natural. I clamber onto him, straddling my legs over his and begin to kiss him, pushing as much passionate into it as I can muster. He joins me, his hand slipping slowly, almost cautiously, into my hair.
"What's this all of a sudden?" He asks me, when we finally pull away from each other.
"I thought this is what you meant?" I questions, cocking my head to the side slightly.
"You don't have to look like its forced," he laughs, "after what happened today, I wouldn't ask you to do anything like this until you feel like you're ready to again. Things like what Trip and Virus were going to do... Even though it'd be with me, it might bring back an unpleasant reminder." He explains, honestly, running his hand softly through my hair.
"But earlier you said-?" I begin, reffering to his rather suggestive offer at my birthday party.
"That reminds me." He says, reaching to the side drawn and pulling out a carefully wrapped gift, "I asked if you wanted to come over because it was you're birthday, I wanted to give you this specially." He grins. I hesitantly look down at the box in my hands. He didn't have to buy me anything, I wouldve been happy with just a card and this time with him. Carefully I begin to unwrap it and slide the box lid off. A silver chain falls into my hand, the charm in the shape of a dog tag which opens up to reveal two pictures on each side. One was a photograph of me surrounded by everyone. Koujaku, Noiz and I were pulling sully faces at the camera, Clear pulled up the iconic peace sign and even Mink managed to crack a smirk on his face. The other Photo was of me and Koujaku, his arms wrap around me, pressing and kiss to my cheek, as I smile warmly to the camera. Almost instantly, I bury my face in Koujaku's shoulder, hugging him tightly and trying to stop the tears that are pricking at my eyes from falling.
"Thanks you."I breathe.
"Happy Birthday, Aoba." I feel him grin, taking the chain from me and fastening it around my neck. Settling down, not ever breaking the embrace, he pulls the covers over us and I'm lulled to sleep by his gentle heartbeat.