"You know… you'll have to face it someday, Kuro-burro. You should get it over with, accept it, and deal with it, before you give the poor girl a heart attack." Fai casually said, as Kurogane came back into the house for his shower.

"I don't know what the hell you're talking about!" Kurogane snapped back, adding a dirty look for good measure as he strode past him headed for the bathroom and a cold shower.

"Yes you do… You just can't bring yourself to admit it, YET. But don't string her along… it's not fair to either of you. Best to get it out in the open and then deal with what comes of it." Fai sighed, annoyed that the two of them could be such hard-headed, blind, idiots when it came to each other. Just get it over with already, kiss, and move on with life! GAHHH!

Kurogane pretended to just ignore Fai's advice as he continued down the hall, but his mind was filled with nothing but the thoughts of her and the promise of relief he might feel once he just confronted it all. If he even could. ARGH! Get outa my damn head, girl! But it was no use… his mind wouldn't let her go so easily. Even the ice cold shower did little to alter his thoughts as his aggravation over it all increased. Maybe that stupid idiot of a wizard might actually be right. He fought back the urge to punch the tiled wall of the shower, and tried to force himself to accept what he didn't want to, what he had fought for so long… the simple fact that he really did love her.

As he dried off and dressed from the shower, he steeled himself for the confrontation he knew was the right thing to do. He had to do it. It was past time to. The damn mage was RIGHT… it wasn't fair to go on like this. He threw on his pants and draped the towel over his shoulders, drying his coal-black hair as he left the bathroom.

Jessi had waited under the tree for a good while, trying to let her mind go blank and not wanting to seem too eager to follow him back into the house. That would be too embarrassing to bear. She got up, brushed the leaves off her pants and wandered back into the house, trying to act nonchalant about the whole thing.

As she headed down the hall to her room, the one person she didn't want to see walked out of the bathroom, drying his hair with a towel and magnificently SHIRTLESS. She almost ran into him, but managed to slam on the breaks just in time to avoid an embarrassing collision.

"Oi! Watchit!" he shouted, reacting instinctively.

"Agh! "she yelled back in surprise, dropping her book in the process and turning beet-red.

He bent over and retrieved the book for her, pausing to look at the cover art before handing it back to her. "Sorry about that." he said as he offered her the book. "Didn't mean to startle ya. Another romance?" he asked, not even thinking about what he just said until it was too late. AGH! What the hell! Ya IDIOT! You'll just embarrass her even MORE!

She bowed her head almost shamefully, allowing her long hair to shield her red face from his sight before snatching the book from his hand. "So what if it is or isn't! Why would YOU care anyway?" she snapped at him, her nerves gluing her to the spot when she so desperately wanted to flee to her room.

He was a little shocked at the strength of her response, but couldn't blame her for being embarrassed or mad. HE was the idiot this time, and he knew it.

"HEY! I just…" he started to say, but then paused. "I didn't mean-" but she cut him off mid-thought.

"Just… leave me alone!" she yelled. Finally able to move her feet, she turned to escape to the safety of her room, but Kurogane had other plans.

His hand shot out and slammed the wall just in front of her as she turned to run. "Wait!" he forcefully said. "Just… don't run." He added, his voice softening to almost a plead. "I hate it when you run."

She stopped just shy of his arm and froze, not daring to turn or look at him as she felt tears begin to form and her heart raced dangerously yet again. He smelled wonderfully clean with a slight hint of soap and shampoo. She bit her lip and squeezed her eyes shut; trying to maintain her already slipping control yet said nothing in response. She simply stood there, looking every bit as defeated as she felt, arms hanging by her side, the book in her hand forgotten.

He tried to find the words he wanted to say, but they eluded him, dancing away just as he thought he could say them. He started to speak but stopped before any words came out several times. He finally took a deep breath and sighed, all the frustration draining from him and taking most of his energy with it.

"Turn around and look at me…" he asked gently, reaching up and taking her chin in his rough hand as if to guide her. He felt her resistance, but didn't force the point; he simply kept a light pressure so as to not push her as he waited. "Please."

She fought his hand but for a moment before giving in and slowly turning to face her greatest fear.

With his other hand, he reached down from where he had hit the wall and gently moved her hair back from her face, tucking it gently behind her ear before lifting her chin so he could see her beautiful light hazel eyes that were now brimming with tears.

Even though some part of her allowed him to do these things, her eyes still refused to look at him, choosing instead to focus on the power outlet on the wall behind him, as if focusing there could cause this all to just go away by sheer will alone.

"Jessica… " he gently said, as his thumb tenderly brushed away the first tear to fall. He sighed again and leaned towards her, his forehead coming to a rest propping him against the wall just over her shoulder.

Suddenly her whole world consisted of nothing but his presence… everything else fell away to oblivion. She had felt the first tear slip from the corner of her eye and she feared it would let loose the flood of tears that were piling up behind it. Then the tenderness with which he brushed it away as he said her name caused her heart to skip a beat. She could feel the warmth of his bare chest as he leaned towards her, heightening the internal conflict between her overriding panic and the love that she had denied herself for too long.

He took her into his arms, tenderly embracing her as if she were the finest, most delicate, and precious thing in the world that might shatter into a million pieces at any moment. He was surprised when she didn't fight him but instead melted into his arms, her long forgotten book clattering to the floor.

In that single moment of his embrace, something inside her snapped, and she felt her willpower dissolve away. She leaned into his embrace, her repressed feelings washing over her in a sudden wave threatening to drown her in her own love for him. The dam broke, and her tears began to fall silently onto his bare shoulder, and a sob caught in her throat.

"I can't deny it any longer… he gently whispered into her ear. "I love you."