Hello all! Thank you all for your reviews! There are only a few chapters left, about two to be exact. Oh, guess what? I discovered that we have a Word Processor thing on the computer that does spell check and everything, so hopefully there won't be anymore of those dumb typos. I'm sorry about that….it's like no matter how many times that I check over stuff, there's always something wrong. T.T Anyway, this chapter is quite a doozy….you all are gonna hate me for this LOL. I apologize and run for my life in advance. XD Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Chobits or any of the characters. Also, the story I lightly based this fic on doesn't belong to me either.

Chapter 8- The Day

Chi sat quietly at the window with her arm up on the windowsill and her legs tucked comfortably underneath. It was a beautiful sunny day outside, the temperature a perfect blend of warm and cool only felt between seasons. The bliss outside went completely unnoticed to the amber eyes of the small woman gazing out past the buildings.

Chi sighed and held her head with the hand previously on the windowsill. Hideki had been acting so strange this morning…He had been happy when he left for work the day before, but when he came home, he was distracted and distant. He had hardly spoken to her this morning when he left.

A horrible thought came to mind: what if he was upset with her about the kiss? Maybe he had been happy in the morning because he was leaving her, and had been so distant because he was around her again. Maybe he had met someone else and was trying to forget her. Had she been to assertive the other night? After all, the man usually kissed the girl on their first kiss, not the other way around.

She furiously blinked away tears that had welled up in her eyes, but several drops had already fallen down to darken the front of her T-shirt. She sniffed and tried to push away such thoughts, but it was no use.

Plum jumped up in her lap, startling her a little bit, and placed her small hands on Chi's. "Miss Chi, are you okay?"

She nodded and noticed Kotoko standing to her left. The little purple laptop crossed her arms and frowned. "You're crying. Do you require medical attention, or perhaps psychological aid?"

Chi wiped her eyes once more and gave them a half-hearted smile. "I'm fine, thanks."

Plum jumped down and the young woman stood up to busy herself with chores around the house, trying to rid herself of the depressing thoughts. The simple chores didn't distract her enough, so she saved them for when it would be close to when Hideki would come home. She did all the harder chores, except wash the dirty laundry- he still didn't feel that is was safe for her to go outside the room, even though they had gone out into public, and she would honor that wish. This made her smile, and she felt a little less stressed afterwards.

When there was only an hour until he would come home, she began to make dinner. Plum and Kotoko set the table for her when she finished cooking and she sat anxiously. A part of her expected him to not show up at all, but after agonizing minutes, she heard his footsteps approaching.

She sat up eagerly and noticed immediately how tired he looked when he entered the small apartment. "Hideki, welcome back!" She smiled brightly and was rewarded to see him return her smile.

He sniffed the air and exhaled mightily, then noticed the tasty meal set out on the table. "That smells great! Thanks Chi! I'm starving!"

Her worries lessened and she sat down with him at the table. She watched him eat for a few minutes and slowly followed his example. She didn't have much of an appetite, and put her chopsticks and bowl down quietly. Chi looked up to see that Hideki had already done so and was staring her straight in the eye.

"Chi, I have to talk to you," he said quietly.

All of her worries and anxiety rushed back to her in a dizzying blur, finally settling in her stomach and cramping her muscles. She grimaced slightly.

"Hideki, I didn't mean to be so forward the other night! I shouldn't have forced myself on you like that. I know I should have let you kiss me first, but I …"she said frantically at first until she ran out of breath and trailed off. Her eyes dropped to her lap, unable to look at him anymore.

His eyes widened. "Why would you say that?"

She did not look back up at him. "Hideki has been acting strangely since yesterday when you came home from work. Chi thought you were angry with me…"

He sighed quietly and smiled gently, crawling over on his knees to her. She looked up when she felt him nearby to have him tilt her chin up towards him and place his lips tenderly over hers. Her cheeks darkened and she felt herself go limp as he wrapped his arms around her. He broke their kiss to pull her into his lap.

"I'm not mad at you. It's just…there's been a lot on my mind lately. I've been worried about you, and that's what I need to talk to you about. " She looked up at him questioningly. He suddenly felt grateful that she was so securely in his arms and close to him, feeling as though he wouldn't have been able to talk to her unless she was. "Um, do you really like being like this?"

She blinked, "Yes. Is there something wrong with me?"

He shook his head. "No. It's just…it's something that Blue told me, or rather what she wants me to do. I'm not entirely sure which one it is. " He chuckled nervously. "Anyway, she asked me to give her something as precious to me that you are in exchange for making you real. She wants whatever it is-"

"..by tomorrow," she cut him off with a mysterious tone. Chi suddenly jerked back and placed a hand to her mouth.

"How did you know that?" Hideki gaped.

"I don't know. I didn't know about it before, but suddenly, I did."

His eyes widened. Things were becoming weirder and weirder…

Chi took his hand softly in her own, "Did you think of anything?"

"Kind of. I couldn't think of anything for so long that I was about to give up until I asked Yumi about it." She cocked her head. "Don't worry, I didn't tell her that much. Anyway, when I talked to her, things cleared up." He took a deep breath and exhaled shakily. When he spoke again, his voice was strong and steady. "There isn't anything as precious to me as you, Chi."

"Oh, Hideki!" She hugged him mightily and buried her head in his shoulder. He heard a muffled "Thank you" and he put a hand on top of her head. She suddenly sat back and he saw that her eyes had turned the slightest shade of pink, as though she had been about to cry.

"Sorry. Continue please," she grinned.

He beamed. "Well, um, Blue pretty much asked me a trick question, or at least I hope so. This is the only thing I could come up with. If it's right, then you get to stay like this, but if not…"

His smile had disappeared, and he was surprised to see that hers only grew wider. "Hideki…" she hugged him tightly. "I don't care if I'm real or not as long as I can be with you."

His heart soared and he squeezed her tightly against him. He wished that they could stay in this wonderful little world forever.

He suddenly heard his name muffled and coming from beneath him, realizing that he might have been squeezing her too hard. He flushed brightly with embarrassment and let her go. She giggled and he mumbled, "Sorry."

She nodded, "So when will you tell her? Will you wait 'till tomorrow?"

"Probably. I was thinking that if I was wrong, at least we'd be together until then."

"Right," she said softly. She unexpectedly hugged him tightly, burying her head this time in his chest and breathing in his wonderful scent.

He didn't understand why.

XXX

They spent the night wrapped in each other's arms and basking in each other's warmth. He prayed silently after she went to sleep that everything would go well the next day.

That morning they were silent as they ate breakfast until Hideki spoke, his voice echoing off the walls. "I'm gonna call off today."

She looked up in surprise. "But…" It dawned on her and she bobbed her head up and down.

She listened as he used the phone and noted how everything become so silent as he finished. She was beginning to hate that suffocating silence. It was bad enough that she was anxious about Blue, but the silence made it seem as though the Earth was anxious as well.

Even though he had called off and they were together, the hours crawled by. When lunch time came close she started to cook, but she kept dropping everything. Finally she heated up the leftovers from the night before. Even then neither one seemed to have much of an appetite.

Chi set her chopsticks down. "Hideki, I can't take this anymore. Can we go over a little early?"

He surprised her by genuinely laughing. "I was thinking the same thing! I'm going crazy in here!"

She felt so relieved that she too began to laugh- Plum and Kotoko stared at them, not understanding what was so funny.

Chi put away their food and went to change. When she finished and returned to the room to find him asking Plum to come along because she knew the directions, she stopped him. "Don't worry. I know how to get there."

He nodded and followed her out the door; as he started to close the door behind him, he stopped and looked back into the small room. When he returned, would things be different? Would one human return, or would two?

He quickly closed and locked the door, running up to meet her a few feet in front of him. They walked out of the complex quickly, and as they reached the sidewalk, they slowed down a considerable amount. Chi took his hand firmly and met his eyes with her own. He was filled with new strength and squeezed her hand.

While they walked, he noticed that on her finger was the ring she had bought for them some time ago. He cracked a tired smile. Hopefully they would bring them good luck.

She led them along carefully towards the one place he truthfully wanted nothing to do with, but it had to be done. There wasn't much traffic out despite the early hours of the day. He was grateful regardless.

Finally they were almost there- he could see the top of the old building he had visited a week earlier and gulped. They crossed the street quickly, but all of a sudden, Chi felt something wrong and let go of his hand. He didn't seem to notice at first, mesmerized by the building they were headed for.

Chi stood still, trying to understand what exactly was wrong. Then, with a gasp, she knew what it was. She checked her finger and was dismayed to find that her ring was missing. She frantically searched the ground beneath and around her, but it was gone. Something glittered out of the corner of her eye and she whirled around to face the street.

Hideki finally noticed that she did not have her hand in his and turned to see her run out into the street. He saw her bend down and pick up something, and he could make out the ridges and glitters of the ring that had been on her finger. A horn blared to his and her right, and he swung his head in the direction of the speeding truck headed right for her.

She didn't seem to notice it at first. Chi put her ring back on her finger and smiled. When the truck honked again, she rotated her head toward it and her eyes widened in surprise. She was a deer stuck in the headlights, too afraid to move.

He didn't realize that he was moving, screaming her name until it was too late. Without warning Hideki pushed into her.

A horrifying screech and bones crushing shattered the peace, followed by a deafening scream.

A/N OO Quite a cliffhanger, huh? XD You guys are gonna kill me, aren't you? (runs and hides) Anyway, this was a little lovey-dovey, and I think that's mostly because I've been watching Ah! My Goddess recently. Well, that's all for now folks! Until next time, review please!