A/N: Have you guys seen the latest chapters? Is it just me or are we just never going to see their moms? :(

Life after the first week of moving in with the Shima's became pretty normal. Mamushi had signed up for nursing classes after that so she had something to focus on, while Juuzo continued to do his job as an exorcist.

Every evening after dinner, the two would get together, sometimes go out for an evening stroll, sometimes go watch a movie—

"Ane-sama, that sounds super boring!" Ao proclaimed.

The three sisters had gotten together for lunch over the weekend; Juuzo had politely declined the girl's day out.

"What! What do you mean super boring? I-it's nice to have someone just to do stuff with without needing to force anything to happen." Mamushi protested. She honestly did enjoy their time together. It made coming home at the end of the day really nice.

"But don't you want more?" Nishiki asked. "Like have you guys even kissed yet?"

Mamushi swatted at her sister, surprised she'd ask for such personal info.

"I'm waiting on him okay! He said we can take it slow, so I'm waiting for the perfect opportunity."

"But Ane-sama, if you want to kiss him, why don't you just do it then? I'm sure he wouldn't mind."

"That's so embarrassing though! Too many factors can go wrong if I attempt it."

"Wouldn't he be facing the same amount of factors?!"

"What if the two of you are both too embarrassed to do it?" Ao asked.

"Ugh, ew Ao, don't say the words "do it." We're just trying to get them to kiss."

"Why are both of you making it seem like it's not a big deal whatsoever?" Mamushi asked. As far as she knows, her sisters never really had a relationship either.

"Becauseee," Ao dragged out. "You two are like the only thing people talk about at work. It'd be like, "oh man did you hear about the giant demon in Odaiba?" "yea but what did you place your bets for in Juuzo and Mamushi's relationship?""

"They're placing bets at work about us?!"

"Ah, Juu-ni doesn't know. It's mostly that idiot Kinzou who started it. Although he was kind enough to bet that your marriage would survive. Oh, and he bet you guys would have five kids, and he— "

"Exactly how many bets are going on about us?" Mamushi squeaked. Was exorcist life that boring in Kyoto? Wasn't there the whole Impure King aftermath to deal with?

"Around five or so?" Nishiki replied.

"That many… Wait! Is there a bet going around about us kissing? Is this why you want me to kiss him so badly?"

Ao and Nishiki both looked nervous. Not wanting to confirm whether or not it was true, Ao replied, "well, half the proceeds go to funding your future house…"

"I can't believe you guys!"

"You don't understanddd," Nishiki whined. "Most of the sect are just old farts, this was the one thing everyone has fun talking about together."

"I don't want everyone knowing our business," Mamushi hissed. "And don't refer to the higher exorcists as old farts!"

"I'm letting Juuzo know about this tonight." Mamushi got up and placed a few bills on the table.

"Are you leaving now? You're not that mad are you?" Ao asked.

"I'm annoyed. But I also have to go to a study group right now, so I will yell at the two of you some more next time."

"You're making friends at school?" Nishiki asked. It wasn't a question to make fun of her older sister. Everyone knew Mamushi had trouble making friends. It was an honest concern with the family.

"Sorta," Mamushi sighed. "We're all just trying to survive our classes. Midterms are already approaching and I feel like I haven't learned anything at all."

"Well, good luck Ane-sama!"

After Mamushi left, the two younger sisters pondered about their older one.

"You know," Nishiki began, "It's kinda weird to think Mamushi would be in school while we're not anymore."

"Yeaa," Ao agreed. "School was pretty fun. My study group never got anything done though. We'd try for like half an hour and then someone would suggest karaoke and next thing we know we all bombed our test."

"Nursing school must be different though right?" Nishiki asked. "Plus I can't imagine Ane-sama goofing off with other people."

"Hey, Ao, Nishiki, I thought you two were with Mamushi today."

The two turned around to see Juuzo and Kinzou enter the same cafe as them.

"Ah, she was just here…."

An idea popped into both of their heads so suddenly, as if a lightbulb just popped on top of their heads.

"Ane-sama went to a study session with a classmate just now." Nishiki said.

"Yea, yea, she didn't tell you this at all Juu-ni?" Ao asked, emphasizing.

"No," Juuzo replied. "She's been busy with school work so I just try to catch her in the evenings."

'Ah, she just told us how much fun she was having at school. She's been making friends with a lot of people." Nishiki lied through her teeth.

"I can't believe she didn't tell you she was meeting with them today. She sure seemed super excited when she left."

"Okayyy, that's nice to know, I'm going to go order some food." Kinzou replied, not getting why the girls were talking in such a roundabout manner.

Juuzo politely waved before turning to leave as well before Ao stopped him.

"Aren't you curious to know who Ane-sama hangs out with most of the week?" She asked.

Juuzo paused, before shaking his head no.

"If Mamushi really met someone she became friends with, then I'd be happy all the same. I'm not going to hover all over her business if she doesn't want me to."

"Well maybe you should," Nishiki countered. "She's waiting for you, you know. She's trying her best as it is, but she's still shy around you."

Juuzo was surprised to hear that. He and Mamushi talked everyday. She even shyly held his hand every now and then when she worked up the courage to.

One night when she was so tired from studying, she even ignored all the boundaries and snuggled right next to him in bed! Her face was priceless when she woke up the next day, which made him laugh, but it then also took him a long time to convince her that he really did not mind it at all.

"While I appreciate your concern over your sister, maybe next time talk to me in a more direct manner? You two just look silly talking slowly."

"Hey!"

"That's not nice!"

When Mamushi finally left the library, it was almost hitting close to dinner time. She knew she was going to have to hurry home if she wanted to help with dinner.

She was moving so quickly, that she even missed Juuzo waiting for her right at the entrance.

"O-oi!"

He grabbed her hand before she could take off, and turned her around so she would notice him.

"Saru!" She yelled, surprised that he was here.

"What are you doing here?"

"What, your fiance can't walk you home every now and then?"

Mamushi blushed, still not used to the word even though it had already been two months since the engagement.

"But I didn't tell you I was here… I thought you were resting today?"

"Kinzou and I bumped into your sisters at the cafe and they said you would be here. They were trying something funny and I guess they wanted me to go get you." He said, rubbing his neck.

"Oh no, what did they say?"

"Nothing really, I think they were trying to make me jealous? I'm not really sure, they were really bad at it."

"Oh my god, I can't believe those two. Did you know, there's a bet going on at the sect? They said Kinzou started it, but at this rate, I'm sure my sisters had something to do with it as well. I can't believe they'd make a game out of our relationship!"

"Whoa, slow down! What bet?"

Mamushi took a deep breath before starting her rant.

"There are apparently multiple bets going on about stupid milepoints in our relationship. Like when we'll kiss, or how many kids we'll have, and stupid stuff like that! As if they don't have an important job to do to help mankind. I don't want every one of our closest friends knowing every step in our relationship! If they're so desperate, they should go find their own romance instead."

"Okay, I'll talk to Kinzou tonight about the bets. We can have them call it off and I'll make sure no one talks about us at work. Is there something else bothering you?" He put his hand on her shoulder, reassuring her with a smile, but was surprised when it looked like she was going to cry instead.

"Whoa, whoa, what's wrong? Did I do something? Does your stomach hurt? Let's go sit down somewhere…"

He led her to an area off to the side of the library and let her sit by one of the outdoor seating the library offered.

"Are you happy with me?" She demanded.

Juuzo looked surprised. He couldn't remember ever voicing discontent even when they got into their arguments.

"Of course I am. Does it seem like I'm not?"

"No… But it also doesn't seem like you are either. You're not angered by their gossip? Do you not care about our relationship?"

"Hold on, hold on. Being angry about gossip and caring about our relationship is two different things. I don't care what people think about our relationship as long as we have a relationship! They can make all the bets they want, it's not going to change how I think of you. Why do you care so much about them?"

"Because we haven't done anything that they're betting on!"

Mamushi was internally screaming. This was not how she wanted this discussion to go. Why did they even need to talk about this in the first place?

"Do you… want to do the stuff they're betting on?" His voice was so low but it was his eyes Mamushi was blushing from. She both loved and hated it when he looked at her like she was gold in his eyes.

"I-I— Some of it, maybe?" She confessed.

"Why didn't you say anything before?"

"You said we should take it slow!"

"Mamushi… you freaked out the last time I tried to put my arm around you."

Not wanting to remember that horrible situation, Mamushi all but shoved his face away. She wasn't ready that time! She was reading and he just sat next to her and tried to cuddle out of nowhere and she was startled. Of course she was going to jump!

"Oi, stop pushing me." He grabbed both her hands, intertwining their fingers. He then shifted forward, lightly touching his head against her forehead.

"Is this okay?" He asked.

She quickly nodded, unsure if she could trust her voice at this point.

"How about this?" He whispered, bringing his lips carefully to the side of her eye.

She squeezed her eye shut then, but once again nodded.

"Just tell me when you want me to stop."

And he quickly went down the side of her face, dropping cute, little kisses until he got down to her jaw and paused a moment just to catch her expression.

His breath on her was strangely a familiar feeling since they slept together, but in this situation, it just made her even more aware of what was going on.

He took one of his hands and carefully touched her cheek, making her turn towards him more. He hovered again, his lips so close to hers that the anticipation was killing her. But he didn't kiss her.

Instead, he nudged their noses together, their lips brushing just the slightest, causing Mamushi to act instead. She grabbed the top of his shirt and dragged him over that one centimeter distance and fully placed his lips on hers.

She felt him laugh due to her impatience, making a note how nice that felt, but saved it for later as she was currently busy trying to romance the guy in front of her. Taking a small breath, she leaned in again, parting her lips this time to kiss him again, hard. She wrapped her arms around his neck, happy to touch him as she sucked on his bottom lip, causing him to shudder.

Juuzo seemed to have finally caught up when he wrapped his hands around her waist. He started kissing back just as hard, causing her to feel a bit dizzy. But it was when he moved his kiss down her neck did she realize how wonderful he made her feel.

That is… until she opened her eyes and realized a) they were still outside and b) she was supposed to be making dinner.

Shooting up from her seat, she realized it probably looked like she just rejected him, but she grabbed his hands and made him stand up as well, kissing him again lightly she spoke.

"We have to go home. I have to help with dinner."

But Juuzo seemed to be pretty fine with staying where they were. He began to kiss her again once he realized there was nothing wrong.

"Hey, no more kisses." She said, although even she could tell how poorly she was saying it.

"But Mamushiii," he continued without a care.

"We haven't gone through all the bets yet…"

Annoyed by his stupid joke, she pulled his ear, causing the kisses to stop.

"As if we can do everything at once! And you're not the one that's going to get in trouble by your mother for coming back late. We need to go now!"

Rubbing his ear, Juuzo pouted since their fun activity was put on hold. But he noticed she held her hand out to him and he happily walked with her, hands joined together.

It was as they were settling in for the night did Mamushi realize what a mistake she made, letting Juuzo know she was open to moving forward with their relationship.

"I'm trying to study!" She yelled, as she tried to push Juuzo's wandering hands away from her stomach.

"I just want to hold you! I won't distract you at all." He promised as he reached for her again, this time nudging his head towards her as well.

"No! You're completely distracting me." She felt him kiss her hair this time, and she nearly just gave up.

"How about this. Give me one hour, just one hour to finish studying, and we can go to bed after that."

"Go to bed?" She'd never seen his eyes light up so quickly.

"We're keeping things PG-13 you perv."

He gave her one last squeeze around the waist before letting go.

"That's fine, whatever you want, I want too. I'll go watch some TV, I'll be back in an hour!"

He snuck one last kiss and gave her a big smile, like a little boy who just got the biggest prize ever.

Mamushi melted on her desk, wondering how she was ever going to get anything done now.