I said this last chapter (and have since gone back to edit, ha!), but the rating is going up in the next chapter! (for real.) Thanks for sticking with me!

Kana

"Kana Kijimuta, you are formally invited to the first annual fundraising event for...hm?" I muttered to myself, opening the fancy wax-sealed envelope I received in the mail. My eyes widening, I noticed it was the very same charity Natsuki had helped me design the logo for. "Aah! Why are they inviting me..?" There wasn't a reason, but the address and the date instead. "December 25…? Christmas!" I smiled to myself, reading over the address to keep in mind. I'd definitely have to hang this on the refrigerator. It was still a little over two months away, but it was nice to have it in advance. The RSVP card fell from the envelope, and I picked it up, looking over it. My design shone on the back, outlined and accented in gold, and my eyes welled up with tears. This is awesome!

Flipping the card over, it had the normal yes/no, a blank for the name of your +1 if you had one, and the date to return it by. Underneath that, I noticed that STARISH was the live band invited to play, but they'd have a back-up DJ if they weren't able to. In the case that STARISH wouldn't make it, please list a song for the DJ's list, and they would review it. I smiled. I had the feeling they'd definitely make it-at Natsuki's insistence, I'm sure-since he'd helped design their logo. I went ahead to fill it out, adding Miruka as my +1 instead of Natsuki. I'd be silly to add him if they'd already planned to be there.

Setting the envelope and card down on the island counter, I looked at the Piyo-chan covered key in my hand and smiled. He was on his way over now to get it and have dinner with me, now that we were both finished with work. He had tomorrow off, so he was likely going to spend the night again and we'd go back to the dorm together tomorrow. I had my normal piano lesson with Masato, along with a brief rehearsal for their choreography. The concert was coming up soon, and I wondered vaguely if they were going to be using any of it for the upcoming charity event. Shaking my head at myself, I set the key down on the counter and turned toward my refrigerator. "Dinner's not going to make itself, is it…?"

Frowning slightly, I tilted my head to the side. We hadn't discussed anything specific though I knew Natsuki would eat anything I cooked. Pulling out some random vegetables and ground beef, I decided to go with a pasta with meat sauce, veggies to go on the side. It had been a while since I'd had any kind of pasta, anyway. I grinned to myself. Ruka would be sad she missed it.

Right about the time I got the water on to boil, the meat frying over a medium temp on the stove, the doorbell rang. I ran to answer, being swooped into big, warm arms and a hug tight enough to take my breath away. "Mm, smells good already!"

"Thanks," I laughed, walking to the stove to stir the meat. "We've still got a little bit to wait, so you're more than welcome to sit down somewhere."

He walked up behind me, slipping his arms around my waist to rest his chin o- the top of my head. "I think I like doing this better," he said softly. "Is it okay?"

I nodded. "It's fine. Comfortable. How was work?"

"I was looking forward to coming to see you all day," he said. "So it went by quickly."

"Mm, same," I said with a laugh. "I actually was productive today." I tapped his arms so I could move around the kitchen and he let go for a moment. I walked around him, grabbing the key in my hand. "Here, by the way. It's yours."

"Aa~! It's so cute," he said with a wide grin. He put the key on the Piyo-chan keychain I'd bought for him the night of the last concert and smiled when it clinked the other ones. "Thank you so much."

"You're welcome," I said. "I'm glad you like it." Resuming my position at the stove, he leaned against the counter as I stirred everything. "I'm glad you don't think I'm too weird for giving it to you."

"Not at all," he said. "If I lived alone, I think I'd do the same thing."

I laughed to myself, pulling the beef off the stove to drain the grease before putting the pre-made pasta sauce in with it. The vegetables were done at this point, so I moved them before dumping the noodles in the now-boiling water and finishing up the beef. After adding the sauce, I cut up extra tomatoes to throw in the sauce, followed by fresh basil and a little bit of garlic. Letting that sit, I picked a place to sit on the island right across from Natsuki, grinning at him. "It's gonna be nice having you here more often, I think."

"I'll still call before I come over," he said.

"Mm-mm," I said shaking my head. "Just come over. I'll either be watching TV or working, so you can just drop in. It'll be okay."I snickered to myself. "If I'm out, I'm usually at the grocery store or with STARISH, anyway."

"Okay," He said. He walked up to me, taking my face in his hands and placing a kiss on my lips with a smile. "I didn't get to do that when I came in."

I put my hands over his, enjoying his warmth. "You can do that anytime you want." After a moment of thought, I laughed to myself. "Well, with the exception of right this minute. I still have to finish dinner. Overcooked noodles are the worst." He chuckled along with me, letting me hop up and stir the pot of noodles, noticing with satisfaction they were almost done. I took the meat off the burner so it would cool just a very little bit before putting them on the noodles. I grabbed a colander, putting it in the sink and turning the burners off the stove before grabbing the noodles and flipping the faucet handle for the cold water. Once I drained them, they were dumped in the pan with my sauce and after flipping them around for a minute, I grinned at Natsuki. "I'm done now~!"

"It looks so good," he said, and I heard his stomach growl in agreement. He laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. "I really like your cooking."

"I'm glad to hear it," I said as I busied myself getting plates for the two of us. A moment later, he sneezed, making me snicker before I heard the clatter of something hitting the floor. Eyes widening, I turned around to come face-to-face with none other than Satsuki, narrowing his brilliant green eyes at me-eyes that had only moments before been filled with happiness at being with me. "Oh, God."

"Not happy to see me?" He murmured, looking down at me from where he towered, bending over me and effectively trapping me against the counter.

"It has been a while," I admitted. I met his eyes where I stood, my elbows holding me up so I didn't feel totally bent over the countertop. "Um. I don't suppose I should ask you how you've been?"

He snorted, and I watched in fascination at the way his jaw worked as he gritted his teeth. He really was dangerous, and something I should have been very afraid of… "I told you to stay away from him, didn't I?"

"Well, I...couldn't really help that," I said, avoiding his intense gaze. I bit my lip. "I kind of fell in love with him. You know that, right? That I love him?" I paused for a second. "You know he loves me, too, right…?"

"He does," he said softly, his lips thinning in a line. "And I was hoping you'd leave him the fuck alone."

"But I haven't hurt him, have I?" I asked, putting a hand on his chest despite my own pounding heart, and my gut absolutely screaming at me not to. "I'd like it if you'd trust me a little bit."

"I'm not going to trust you," he said lowly, the necklace I'd given him dangling around his collarbones, swinging slightly with his steady breathing. "I'm not going to let you hurt him." He grabbed my hand roughly, squeezing against his chest so closely I could feel his heartbeat. Wait...was it beating that quickly because of me? Was this from Natsuki or…?

Slowly I met his eyes, furrowing my eyebrows a little bit. "I think I'd rather die than hurt him," I said. I put my other hand over my own heart. "And I swear by that. I've never had such intense feelings for anyone in my life." It was a little embarrassing to be saying things like this out loud, but I hoped he understood a little. "I really, really care about him."

He looked at me a long time, expression unreadable and I began to get a little nervous. What's going through his head? He still had my hand in his, the feel of his heartbeat under my fingertips a small comfort to the weird situation I found myself in. His other hand found its' way into my hair, almost painfully when he wrapped his fingers around the short locks at the back of my head, pulling my face up to his as far as I could reach. I caught myself on the counter as I stumbled back slightly as he captured my mouth in a bruising kiss, my eyes widening as I let out a small yelp in the back of my throat. I felt his heartbeat increase under my palm before he let go of that hand, wrapping his arm tightly around my back, squashing my arm between us as he pulled me closer to him. After a moment, the grip on my hair eased a little, the kiss becoming a little more gentle than it had been. He's really...really good at this… I started to relax, closing my eyes and melting into him as he deepened it by nipping a my bottom lip. I let out a contented sigh against his lips, the arm that wasn't squashed between us going to rest around his shoulders.

He slanted his mouth over mine again; once, twice, running his tongue over my lips, over the back of my teeth, sucking mine into his mouth to tease me. It was so completely different than the gentleness of Natsuki's kisses, the gentle prodding as he asked permission, the way he ran his fingers through my hair. The taste of him was the same, the smell, the warmth and I had to admit that as much as it should have thrown me off, it was still ultimately Natsuki, and I didn't mind this. Sometimes, a little aggression was nice. God, Satsuki is hot.

The hand buried in my hair loosened completely, traveling down my side and my back, lifting the hem of my shirt and slipping inside, flattening against the small of my back. I arched into him, whining softly against his lips. The arm already around my waist found its way lower, his fingers digging into my ass as he pulled me closer. An embarrassing moan escaped my mouth and he laughed, lips trailing down my jaw and to the side of my throat. "You sound like you're enjoying yourself, woman."

The use of the word "woman" jarred me from my aroused haze, bringing a little awareness to the position I was in, though it was hard to completely concentrate with the way he was licking and biting at me. "Satsuki…"

"Say it again," he whispered, running his tongue on the shell of my ear, sending shivers down my spine. "Say my name."

"You…"

He bit my ear a little more firmly. "Say it."

"Satsuki," I said, the name a little more breathy and wanton than I meant for it to be. He laughed against my ear, pulling back from me, smirking as he looked down at me. I must have been a mess from the way that he was grinning, and I put a hand on my chest as I tried to catch the breath that he'd kissed away. "Um. My dinner is going to get cold."

"I think I'd rather eat you," he said. My eyes widened, making him chuckle lowly, leaning forward to kiss my lips softly. The sound of his stomach growling made him grit his teeth, narrowing his eyes as he stood up abruptly. "I'll give him back to you, since he's expecting dinner with you."

"That's...considerate of you." I rubbed my arm with the opposite hand, a little awkward around such a cool person. "For what it's worth...this time seeing you wasn't...unpleasant? I like you, Satsuki."

"Don't try to flatter me just because I kissed you," he said dismissively, glasses in hand. Without anything further, he slipped them on, Natsuki immediately taking his place. I threw my arms around his waist and he patted my back awkwardly. "Kana? Are you okay?"

"You um...you spaced for a second," I said with an awkward smile at him. "Sorry. Anyway, dinner is ready for you."

"Aa~! I'm so hungry," he said with a laugh. I handed him a plate, grabbing one for myself along with a couple of forks and something to get the pasta out of the pan. He kissed me as he took the fork from my hand, walking around to the other side of the island to sit down. I laughed, getting my own food and sitting beside him.

Sitting in silence for a moment, I frowned to myself. "Want to listen to some music?" I asked. "I can put something on in the living room for us."

"Mm, sounds good," he said with a nod. "This is so good!"

"Thank you." I touched his back as I got up to turn the playstation on and put on a favorite playlist from my favorite streaming service. "I think I have STARISH in here too…" I let out a little nervous laughter.

"I don't mind," He said. "I like hearing Haru's songs."

Dinner went by quickly, chatting amongst ourselves about how his day had gone. When one of his songs came on (YELL!), he grabbed my hand, pulling me up and to the middle of my living room, grinning widely as he began to sing along. I blinked at him, mesmerized by the happiness on his face. "Dance with me!"

I laughed in spite of myself. "Don't you remember the last time you walked in on me dancing? It was terrible."

"I can hold you," he said, wrapping his arm around my waist and pulling me close, lacing the fingers of his free hand in mine. "We don't have to dance quickly. This is fine, right?"

I put my other hand on his shoulder, nodding at him. "Yeah," I said. "This is great."

"I think I could spend forever like this," he said softly. "With you."

I nodded, my face turning bright red. "Yeah. Me too." I toyed with his collar, hand brushing his wavy hair as I did as we swayed slowly around the living room. A slower song came on-this time something in English-and we adjusted the pace to the beat of the song. "This is the first time I've ever danced with anyone like this."

"I...don't do it much," he said. "I've danced with Haru. But...I think I like doing it better with you."

I smiled, not wanting to ruin the moment with awkward words, content with the feeling of his chest pushed against mine, the rush of our heartbeats echoing each other. The personality change in him was astounding, though I knew they were essentially two different people sharing the same body. He was so soft, gentle, even when he squeezed my hand as we danced. The same arm that had squashed me to him earlier was strong, firm, but not harsh or aggressive, and I melted into him much quicker than I had before.

I have to accept him, though.

The thought forced itself to the front of my mind. It was true. I did have to accept Satsuki along with Natsuki. And I wanted to. I wanted to love Satsuki just as much as I did Natsuki, if he'd let me. I planned to be in this for the long haul-I'd never had such an intense feeling toward anyone else. Not even Takeru. At the thought, I squeezed Natsuki's hand without realizing it, pushing my face into his shoulder. Takeru never would have danced with me like this.

"Kana? Is everything okay?" Natsuki asked, his voice dragging me back to the present.

"I...yeah. I'm okay," I smiled at him. "Just...hit with the past, is all. I'm fine."

"I...don't want you to think of anyone else right now," he said softly. "Just me. Is that okay?"

I nodded, looking up at him. "More than okay."

As the song ended, he leaned over, kissing me gently. Natsuki is not Satsuki. Natsuki is not Takeru. I can't forget that.

"What is that?"

"I baked an apple pie for my favorite piano teacher," I said with a grin, setting the still-warm pie on a table in the corner of the music room before making my way to the bench to sit with him. "Apples were too cliche. Also, way too simple for the effort you're spending on me."

"Thank you," He said, smiling softly at me. "You don't have to make me things."

"I'm not going to argue with you but yes, I do. Teaching isn't easy! I don't know how you stay so patient with me." I grinned at him. "It's the least I could do."

"May I ask you a question?" he said after a moment. "Did Natsuki help..?"

I blinked at him before laughing out loud, covering my mouth with my hand. "No, this was solely me. The only thing Natsuki did to help was keep me company while I did everything else. He understood how important it was to me that I make this for you alone." I paused. "Now, the batch of cookies afterwards were a different story... "

He laughed with me. "Ah, I see." He looked at the piano, putting his hands on the keys. "Good. Ready to begin?"

Two hours and three and a half songs later, we had finished the lesson. I was shocked at how far I'd come since the first day, reading the music in front of me, and sometimes accompanied by him singing along with me. I'd learned two simple songs-Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star (and the English ABC song), and the 'Once Upon A Dream' from Disney's Sleeping Beauty. It wasn't something he had been familiar with, but once I brought it in and he'd played it a couple times, it was something he could embellish on and make his own. I'd learned the basic song, then played along with his version. Once I mastered that, we moved on to something a little harder. Amazing Grace was the next thing on my list, and I had been surprised to hear Tokiya and Ren singing along with us outside the piano room. I sang along, too, quietly, and saw Masa's look at me from the corner of my eye. I felt my face turn red as I hit the wrong note on the piano keys, trying to get the expression off my mind. He looked really surprised.

"So," I said, plinking at a key once we were finished with practice. "Natsuki asked me to come with you guys to the amusement park on Halloween." I grinned at him. "I'm looking forward to it!"

He grimaced to himself, making me smile. "I'd rather we didn't."

"Ohh, you don't like haunted houses?" I asked. "I'm really wimpy, to be honest. Ruka and I really like those really terrible, old horror movies even though we end up curled up next to each other under a blanket because neither of us wants to move." I snickered at myself. "It's really stupid, but we have a lot of fun. You can join us next time, if you want."

He looked at me, eyes widening a little. "I...That sounds like fun."

"I'll invite everybody," I said with a laugh. "If that will help you feel better."

He nodded. "I'll be there."

"Aah, I'm so excited!" I said, throwing my arms around him. I let go quickly after he stiffened, realizing what I'd done, and laughing in embarrassment. "I, um...I must be hanging around Natsuki too much. Sorry if I weird you out with random hugs."

"It...it's okay," he said, his face a little pink. "Just surprising."

"You can hug me anytime you want, lady," I heard from the doorway, as a chuckle and heavy footsteps fell. "Hey."

"Hey, Ren," I said. "Not hugging you, though."

He put a hand over his chest in mock hurt. "You wound me."

"You're a big boy," I teased, patting his hand as I grabbed my bag and made my way toward the door. I paused, looking back. "Oh, before I forget. I'm not sure how much you heard but I'm going to organize a crappy horror movie night sometime soon. Don't forget, I'm gonna make Ruka come too."

He laughed. "Sounds like fun," he said. He looked at Masato. "You're going to come too, right?"

Masato nodded. "Yes, I planned to."

"I just have to tell everybody else," I said. "I'll make snacks, too." I walked out of the room toward Natsuki's room. I had only planned to leave my things and come right back out, but stopped at the doorway when I noticed him laying down on his bed, reading a book. He peeked around it when I did, smiling brightly and waving me over.

"Come on! You can come in here with me," he said.

"O-okay," I said, stepping in and sitting on the edge of the bed. Almost at once, I was pulled back into his huge chest, his arms tightening around me and his nose nuzzled in my shoulder. "Ah, Natsuki!"

He chuckled, letting me go and scooting so I could lay down beside him. "Do you want to lay with me?"

"Of course I do," I said, my face darkening in a blush. I kicked my shoes off and curled up on my side next to him, peeking at the book in his hands. It was a cute romance novel I'd seen on my last trip to the bookstore. I smiled to myself, pulling my phone from my pocket to surf the internet for a moment or two. Stealthily bringing up the camera, I snuck a shot of his face, forgetting the flash was on and startling him for a moment. Laughing, he took the phone from me, putting his arm around me and taking a picture of us together. A moment later, he still had the phone out for a photo, and he turned his face toward me, pressing a kiss to my lips at the same time he snapped a picture. He handed it back, his face pink (matching mine, I'm sure). "You're sneaky, mister."

"I love you," he murmured softly, brushing another kiss on my lips before letting me go. "I wish I could hold you like that forever."

"I'll make you a deal," I whispered in case Syo came into the room. "The next time you're at my house, you can."

He laughed, nodding. "I'll hold you to it."