A/N: Thanks to all of you who dropped messages ;)

I never intended this story to be serious through and through, as you have seen in the second half of the previous chapter. The first half was just to emphasize how much Misaki was affected, that's why it was written the way it was. But what I want (and did) for this story is a mixture of seriousness, romance and humour. Oh, and did I mention naughty, too? Expect that in the next two chapters, particularly in the last one ;) Just need to re-read and edit that second half of the story. Depending on how I will revised what I've written in the last chapter, the rating will either remain as it is, or it will go up, how about that, yuukuzuri and the rest of you, folks? :)

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Chapter 2

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USUI was seated comfortably at the couch when Misaki emerged from her shower. She hesitated at first as she stood a couple of feet away from the couch. She would have sat down had it not been for the fact that Usui occupied the middle of the couch that if she sat, she'd be at his side. However, she threw her reluctance away when she saw his thoughtful face. She sat beside him, though she did her best not to let their skin touch, and looked at him with concern and curiosity. Despite the slight movements of the couch when she sat down, he didn't stir at all. He didn't acknowledge her presence and instead continued to contemplate whatever was in his mind. She waited for him to break the silence, but became impatient as seconds ticked by.

"What's wrong?" She finally asked, a tint of worry in her tone.

"Hmm...?"

As if she had just roused him from a dream, he turned, and was almost surprised at her presence beside him. Instead of giving her a response, his eyes swept her form. She looked fresh, and small at his large clothes. The surge of warmth and pleasure at the sight of her in his clothes surprised him. He blinked, and then focused his eyes on her face. Whatever bothered him minutes ago were washed away. A smirk formed in his lips at the sight of her red cheeks which without a doubt, was due to him and not due to the warm bath that she just had. Still, he refrained from commenting and instead waited for her next words as she squirmed under his gaze. She seemed to have an internal debate first as her eyes narrowed into a glare while his smirk widened. Her expression challenged him to say anything, anything to prove that his mind was once again in the gutter judging by the smirk plastered in his lips. However, he didn't give her the satisfaction as his lips remained sealed, his unblinking eyes trained on hers until they hurt.

It was no question that the both of them were very stubborn. Misaki disliked losing and was very competitive especially when it came to Usui, while he loved getting a rise out of her and see her fiery reactions. Thus, it was no surprise that the gazing turned into a battle of who could last longer without blinking. It was still no surprise that they lasted longer than normal, because that was just like them, always better than an average person, always at the top fighting for dominance. But in the end, Usui still won, much to Misaki's chagrin. Thus, with an annoyed sigh, she gave him one of her customary words as they blinked repeatedly to alleviate the discomfort in their eyes.

"Alien."

"Ah. The food didn't help your vocabulary, I can see," he teased. He didn't want her to run away again like she did earlier, but the compulsion to tease was so hard to resist because she just made it so damn easy.

As expected, she glared at him fiercely. He returned the glare with teasing eyes, which seemed to annoy her more.

"You know what, I'm tired. I think I'm going to sleep now," she said through gritted teeth as she stood. She was tempted to scream or be violent again, which she knew would further amuse him. The alien was really annoying when he wanted to be. And she just couldn't stop herself from falling to his trap. Every. Single. Time.

"What a coincidence. I was just thinking about the same thing," he commented as he caught her waist and pulled her to him. He pulled her until he was on his back with her on top of him, trapped in his arms.

"U-Usui!" Misaki exclaimed. She squirmed to get off him, but he wouldn't let her.

"Shh. I thought we're going to sleep," he said with laughter in his voice. His mirth didn't escape her so she struggled harder.

"Not like this, you pervert!"

He chuckled and tightened his hold for good measure before he loosened his hands around her. As soon as he did, she jumped off the couch as if it was on fire. She walked away until she was at the glass walls far from the couch and then curled herself there with complete disregard to the cold floor. But it didn't take half a minute before Misaki found herself airborne. She flailed her arms and kicked her legs until she was dropped unceremoniously on the couch where she bounced a couple of times before she managed to steady herself.

"You..."

"Calm down. I'm letting you sleep now, I promise," he said with his hands raised in surrender.

She wasn't placated by his words. She eyed him suspiciously as she sat on the couch defensively. True, he had his hands raised in surrender, but the glint in his eyes spoke different thing. Her eyes narrowed. She glanced at the balled fists on her lap and then to him. She eyed his jaw for good measure, letting the implication linger in the air around them.

Usui smirked at the silent threat. He wasn't scared, not one bit, to be punched by his girl. Nonetheless, he didn't want to get a bruise tonight. He knew she'd get guilty tomorrow if she hurt him that bad. He could avoid her punch, sure. He could even block it if he wanted to. But that would only annoy her more, considering the angry set of her jaw. For tonight, he'd go easy on her.

Misaki flinched when Usui finally moved. However, he didn't do as she expected, which was to attack her. Instead, he gave her a blanket, turned off the light, and then went around the couch.

"Where are you going?" Misaki asked despite herself.

"To sleep. Unless you want to join me," he remarked as he made himself comfortable behind the couch. He chuckled when her response was the characteristic 'pervert'.

Silence enveloped the room afterwards. He closed his eyes as he continued his train of thought before Misaki came. Unknown to his girlfriend, he called her mother so that the latter wouldn't worry about her daughter's whereabouts. He detected worry in the older Ayuzawa's voice throughout their talk. The latter also enlightened him to what his girlfriend hadn't told him yet. As he had expected, the appearance of the Ayuzawa patriarch had created quite a stir in his girlfriend's household. He wondered what Misaki intended to do at this situation. He wanted to hate the man that hurt Misaki, but because he knew there were always two sides in a coin, he didn't want to just make his own assumption without sufficient basis. Still, the thought of leaving a wife and daughters, and in debt at that, was not something that he condoned. Just the thought of doing the same to Misaki and to their possible children - oh how he wished to have Misaki by his side and to have children with her - hurt his chest like no other he had experienced before.

"No, Misaki. I will not sacrifice you for anything else. I will do everything I can, I promise you that," he vowed quietly. His fists clenched so hard that his knuckles hurt. His eyes flashed dangerously at the thought of the people that would be in their way. He was sure who they were. Suddenly, his chest ached to hold Misaki in his arms and never let go. He was tempted to walk around and join her in the couch, but he forced himself to stay put.

With a resigned sigh, Usui thumped his head on the back of the coach and shut his eyes tight. He imagined having Misaki in his arms as he tried to sleep. After awhile, he chuckled.

"Even in my imaginations, you're still struggling to get free. You're really sly."

He let Misaki's feisty image lull him to sleep.

MISAKI couldn't sleep. There was so much going on that she was restless. Still, despite the disturbance that the man who called himself her father had created, that wasn't what at the forefront of her mind at the moment. She was concerned about Usui. He hadn't persisted like he normally did whenever he didn't have his way, which surprised her. She knew though that he did it for her benefit. He probably thought that she had so much in her plate right now that his teasing would only add to the chaos in her life.

But Usui was wrong. His presence alone was enough to ease her burdens.

"Idiot."

Whether she referred the word to her or to him, she wasn't sure.

"I don't like this."

Quickly but quietly, she threw the blanket away from her form. She wondered if Usui was already asleep. She heard mutterings earlier, but there was nothing anymore except silence in the room. In stealth movements, she peeked behind the couch and through the moonlight that streamed through the glass walls, she saw his stretched legs with his back rested on the back of the couch. Guilt and yearning filled her. Without thinking of the consequences anymore and whether he was awake or not, she stood and went around the couch. She sat a couple of feet away from him.

"Usui?" She whispered softly. If he was already asleep, she didn't want to wake him. She let out a surprised squeak when his hands shot and pulled her to him. Her right side collided with his left side. "What was that for, you idiot?" She hissed as soon as her brain processed what just happened.

"Missed me?" He asked teasingly.

"Who?" She deadpanned.

"As expected of you," he commented with a chuckle.

Silence enveloped the room once more, though this time, it was a comfortable silence. After a moment or two, Misaki cautiously rested her head on his shoulder. He squeezed her side in response. After another minute of silence, she felt his gaze on her. She lifted her head and looked at him.

Despite the lack of clear image of each, Usui knew that Misaki was curious.

"How are you feeling?" He whispered in the dark.

"I'm not thinking about anything right now except..." Misaki trailed off as her cheeks warmed.

"Me?"

There was no teasing in his voice, and it encouraged Misaki to admit the truth. She nodded her head on his shoulder, her face buried on his shirt. Even though it was dark and most likely he couldn't see her blush, she was still compelled to hide her face at the admission. Of course, due to the darkness and to her face tucked in his shirt, she missed the gentle smile that graced his lips. However, she didn't miss the tender kiss on the crown of her head.

Again, silence enveloped the room, until Usui decided to break it and bring the sore subject.

"Ayuzawa, do you want to talk about him?"

Usui didn't want to say those things, but he knew they needed to talk about it somehow, especially when they had the chance considering that they didn't see each other every day anymore. However, since her long lost father appeared, he made it a point to be at Maid Latte every day during her shift even if only for short amounts of time.

Though Misaki didn't say a word, Usui felt her fingers tightened on his shirt and her body stiffened. As he did earlier, he drew soothing circles on her back until her muscles relaxed.

"He's been talking to Mom and Suzuna..." Misaki started after a few minutes of silence. "He tried to talk to me, too..."

"But you didn't want to."

"...Yes. Honestly, I don't know how I really feel. I'm angry at him. He left us. He didn't just leave us to fend for ourselves, he also left us to deal with the mess he had created. How could he do that? How could a husband do that to his sickly wife? How could he do that to his two young daughters?"

For every word that left Misaki's lips, the volume of her voice increased and she had difficulty breathing.

"I can't understand how he could do that to us! And then he comes back and acts like he never left us, that he didn't hurt us, that he didn't..."

And then Misaki broke into angry tears, though she wiped them with her knuckles irritably.

"Sorry..."

"There's nothing to apologize for, Ayu...Misaki."

There was silence after Usui boldly called her by her first name. Even Misaki's tears halted. Her surprised, wide eyes gazed at him. She desperately wanted to get a clear reading of the expression on his face, but sadly, the darkness served as an obstacle to her purpose.

"D-did...my...you..."

Despite everything, a chuckle escaped Usui's lips at her stuttering. His chuckle continued when she slapped his chest crossly.

"Stop laughing, you idiot," she chastised.

"You didn't like it?" He asked after he controlled his laughter.

"No, not that. It's just...don't surprise me like that, you idiot! Suddenly saying my name like we're very close! It's intimate and..."

"We are close," he said with humour. To emphasize his point, he squeezed her with the hand around her waist. "And very intimate," he added as he buried his face on her neck.

"Pervert," she commented with a shiver.

He didn't say anything, though he made a noise that sounded like affirmation in Misaki's ears. She rolled her eyes but otherwise didn't push him away.

"Just don't expect me to start calling you by your first name."

"Why not?" He whined.

"Becau-gah! Usui, you pervert!" She exclaimed when he licked her neck. She pushed his head away from her and her hand covered her damp neck protectively.

He chuckled in response. Then he rested his head on the couch and pulled Misaki's head to his shoulder.

"You know, you're giving me headache," she complained as she grudgingly let him position her.

"How so?"

"First I was angry and frustrated and then you shocked me and then you annoy me and now you make me feel comfortable all I want is to close my eyes and sleep," she explained. Once again, he had distracted her.

"Really? Sleep then, my Misaki."

"Idiot."

Misaki felt like her chest expanded with happiness. She didn't know that being called by him by her first name would bring her this feeling. She liked being called by him in her first name, though. It spoke of familiarity and closeness. It sounded like a gentle caress coming from his lips. Still, her acceptance, and more importantly fondness, of his possessiveness somewhat disgruntled her.

"You lost again, Misaki," he commented after a couple minutes of silence. His words chased her sleepiness away.

"What? Where?" She snapped. Her mind whirled as she thought of ways that he had defeated her. She wondered if crying in front of him counted. After all, this was the first time that he witnessed her cry. In fact, he was the only one who had witnessed her crying ever since she had steeled herself that she would never shed a single tear again because of the male population.

"I called you by your first name first," he taunted.

"When did it become a contest?"

"And I've done it three times, and I'm going to do it over and over again, while you can't do it, not even once. I didn't know my name was that hard to pronounce. Or is it because Misaki is embarrassed?" He continued to taunt.

"S-shut up, you alien! I can do it and you know that!" She exclaimed as competitiveness coursed through her veins.

"Say it then, Mi-sa-ki. Come on, say my name? Can you? You can't and you know it, right?"

Usui fought the chuckle that threatened to erupt from his lips as he noticed through the faint moonlight the dark aura that engulfed them. He continued to taunt her, his voice the monotone that annoyed her so much. He even mentioned things that were just fat lies and had no relation to the topic at hand, which further enraged the competitive girl with him. He slackened his hold on her when she pulled away. But surprised, surprised, she didn't left. Instead, she planted her knees on both sides of his legs and grabbed the neckline of his shirt furiously.

And then there was silence. It stretched for awhile. Usui waited expectantly. On the other hand, Misaki tried to force herself to say his first name, but surprisingly had difficulty doing it.

"T-Ta...Taku...Stop smiling, you idiot!"

If anything, her annoyed command only made him smile broadly, tauntingly. She gritted her teeth angrily, more because of her failure than his taunts.

"You think I can't say your name, you idiot, T-Takumi," she challenged angrily. It would have been perfect, if only she didn't stammer.

'Darn it.'

Usui felt her annoyed glare. Instead of teasing her more, he patted Misaki's head.

"Well done, Misaki."

"Idiot Takumi."

Saying it the second time was easier, Misaki realized.

"There. You can't say now that I can't say your name, huh, idiot alien," she said victoriously, proud with herself.

"I expected nothing less from my Misaki," he answered, pride in his voice. She had made him happy. He didn't know that his name coming from Misaki's lips would cause tenderness to spring in his chest. "You are really sly, Misaki." And he liked saying her name repeatedly. He smiled broadly at their accomplishment.

Usui's praise made Misaki inexplicably happy. Then, she finally noticed her position. She flushed once more. However, instead of clumsily scrambling away, she balanced herself on his shoulders and carefully and gracefully climbed off his lap.

"Ah. And I was just enjoying having Misaki in my lap," he whined, as expected.

She didn't comment. Instead, she sat beside him, their sides glued together, and then she rested her head on his shoulder once more.

"Let's get some sleep, idiot Takumi," she commented tiredly. The events of the previous days finally took their toll on her and she felt drained of energy. But she still had the energy to do one more thing because she felt like doing it, or maybe it was just the tiredness in her system. She lifted her hand towards his face. She hesitated for a moment as heat pooled in her cheeks, her hand suspended in the air, before she slowly touched his right cheek and gently guided him to rest his left cheek on top of her head. After which, her hand dropped to her side tiredly and her eyelids fluttered close.

Usui's eyes, however, had widened with shock at the gesture. He didn't expect it. Trust her to always give him surprises. A gentle smile broke his lips, as gentle as the touch he had just received.

"Goodnight, Misaki," he murmured as he laced his fingers with hers. He squeezed her reassuringly before he, too, closed his eyes.

"Hmmm...Night."

And just like that, they both fell asleep, the smallest of smiles plastered in their lips.

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A/N: When I wrote this chapter along with the first and the third and fourth, it was only around 2,700 words. When I re-read it, I managed to increase it into 3,000+. And then I was like, "Hey, this is getting too long! I have to stop!" Why? Because if this gets even longer, then I have to do the same thing for the last two chapters which have 2,700+ and 2,800+ words, respectively. And I thought before that the last chapter was already long! Haha I guess sometimes I can hardly stop myself. That's why though I've got a number of ideas in my head, I am not writing anything ever since I wrote I'll Be Your Support.

On other matters, I was looking at some statistics. I've noticed that among my KWMS stories, Takumi and Misaki's Alphabet has the smallest average number of reviews. I guess people are too busy to be bothered to drop some comments for that huh :( Giving In follows. Meanwhile, the most reviewed story is Warmth :)

Well then, until next time, my dear folks. Take care and thanks again! ;)

- - - Arvendell - - -

28 April 2012

9:50 PM