A/N: This gets un poco (a little in Spanish; I just tried watching the Spanish version of the BF5 movie and understood maybe about five words? XD) more M-rated, but not for the reason that you think. I put a lot of work into this chapter to make it all cute and emotional and lovey-dovey and I think I did a decent job for someone whose romantic experience…hasn't happened yet. Song of the day/chapter: 'Tell Me That You Love Me' from Victorious. Just 'case I'm corny. XD Disclaimer: Again, borrowing the whole 'Vert's-mom-in-Brush-Hollow' plot from Fenrir's Daughter.

The screen didn't change; it simply stayed black.

"What the…" Vert muttered, hitting the button again. Agura had already realized the problem.

"Vert…"

"Hold on, I think I got it-"

"Vert."

"Maybe it's the wrong night?"

"Vert!"

"Yes?" He looked to her innocently, and Agura took a deep breath.

"The security cameras in our rooms turn on and off for privacy." She began slowly. "You must have forgotten to activate yours."

"Oh." Vert was crestfallen. "That's a problem, then."

"Yup." She sighed uncomfortably.

"So then…"

"Basically I have no idea if you deflowered me." Agura, in an effort to ease the tension, gave him a smirk.

"Oh my God, you were a virgin?!" Vert gaped, then facepalmed in despair. "I am seriously going to hell."

"No you're not." Agura rolled her eyes playfully. "We don't even know what happened-"

"A virgin! Frick! That would have been useful information to know before I dragged you half-drunk into my bedroom! God!" Vert groaned, sinking to the floor.

"Will you calm down?" Agura rolled her eyes. "It's not like I carry it around on a card! This is not your fault."

"Wait…Are you sure you're a virgin?" Vert tilted his head, and Agura blushed. "Because, I mean, don't get me wrong, but…I remember a couple things, and…"

"And?" Agura raised her eyebrow, egging him on.

"Virgins don't bend like that." Vert muttered awkwardly, trying to hide his blush, and Agura's eyes widened, slapping a palm to her mouth.

"Oh…my God." She realized. "We totally screwed each other."

"Screwed each other over!" Vert added in exasperation. "Do you know how bad I feel? I seduced you when you were drunk! That's like, the ultimate sign of a douchebag!"

"Okay, I'm pretty sure you did not 'seduce' me." Agura laughed, taking a seat next to him on the floor.

"Really?" Vert looked to her in interest. "I can be very seductive."

"I'm pretty sure I would be the one seducing." Agura stopped him. "You would just be the seduced."

"I prefer to think of it as joint seduction." Vert remarked.

"Nope. I'm definitely sexier than you." Agura shook her head.

"Please." Vert held up a hand.

Agura raised an eyebrow, smirking to indicate she had won. "Come on, Vert, I think we both know that if we went out there right now and asked all the guys on the team who was sexier, I would win six-zero."

"Hey! I might get Tezz's vote." Vert pointed out, causing both of them to laugh.

"Tezz's vote doesn't count; he doesn't have emotions." Agura finally retorted, nudging him with her elbow.

"Okay, well in terms of things that shouldn't count, winning when the surveyed group is full of males certainly falls into that category." Vert folded his arms, and Agura laughed. "But I have to be honest, I'd pick you over me too." He admitted.

"Well thanks." Agura winked. "So would I." Vert pretended to roll his eyes in exasperation, nudging her lovingly with his elbow. Without a better retort, they sat in a comfortable silence for a few moments, sides touching and leaning against each other just the slightest. Agura was finally the one to break the silence.

"Vert." She began quietly. "What is this?"

Roused from the pleasant tranquility, Vert looked at her closely. "What do you mean?"

"This. Us." She sighed. "I mean, we can't talk to each other to save our lives one minute, and then times like this we just connect." She leaned her head against his shoulder, and Vert smiled softly. "I mean…I'm just so confused! I don't know if we have a relationship, or if we're just trying to sort this mess out."

Vert was deeply touched. He loved seeing this new side of Agura; the pure, raw emotion that she usually hid. It made him feel as though they shared something special, something the rest of the team didn't see.

"You give me these feelings that I don't even have words for, Vert." Agura sighed. "I just…don't know what to do with you sometimes."

"I think that's called love." He said softly. He hadn't really thought about saying it, it had simply come out. But he meant it, every word. Agura lifted her head from his shoulder to meet his eyes, and Vert realized that it was at these moments he felt closest to her, most wanted to make the extraordinary huntress his. Their faces were close now, each waiting for the other to break the fragile silence. This time it was Vert who spoke.

"Would it be okay," he asked softly slowly, afraid to scare the moment away, "If I kissed you?"

Her reply was quiet but immediate. "Yes."

He moved to kiss her, their lips just barely touching. Emotion surged through her being at the tiniest point of contact, and she involuntarily gasped at the flood. Vert stopped, pulled back in surprise and dejection, but she was already pulling him closer to her, so that their lips collided. It was a new, almost shocking kind of feeling for her, the sudden hunger for him. Maybe he was right. Maybe it was love. But there was something more profound to it, a pulsing, erogenous desire that made her want to surrender the control she normally strived to keep over to him. It was a strange sensation for Agura and she wasn't quite sure what to do about it. All she knew was that, at that moment, she wanted to be as close to Vert as possible. He was more experienced than her at this sort of thing, and every move he made only heightened her desire. She found herself pushing at him, exploring every inch of his lips and even his mouth as their tongues found each other. She was breathing heavily as they kissed, more and more frenzied, and now they weren't just sitting up face-to-face, but tangled up in each other. She was in his lap, she was on his waist, she was lying on top of him in an ongoing battle for dominance. Agura knew he was struggling, trying to decide if what they were doing was truly right, but she was beginning to realize that it had been him all along. She had always felt affection for him, and now things between them were finally heating up, which is why she was so startled when he stopped her.

"What are you…" She trailed off, confused. Things had escalated, to say the least, and she was straddling him, with Vert's back against the cyan wall and each with their arms wrapped tightly around the other, pulling them closer. Both were panting heavily, and Agura slowly let her arms fall to her side, feeling embarrassed and ashamed. He didn't want her, and she had pushed him too far. She was no better than any one of the girls at that party, and she made an attempt to move off of his waist in humiliation.

"Don't." He said quietly, placing his hand on her leg to keep her there.

"But you…" She trailed off again, unable to find words to describe his actions. "You don't want me." She fought back a tear.

"Agura…I've wanted you for two years." He said softly. "I just need to know something."

"What?" She lifted her head, her voice quiet, hopeful even. His next words shocked her to the core.

"Do you love me?" His eyes searched her for any sign of an answer. "I can't do this if you don't."

She was so taken aback by the question that it took her moments to find the obvious response. Did she truly love him? What did he mean, love? She had always felt something for him. Was love really so different?

Of course it was. Love was real, and true, nothing small about it. Love was how her stomach did back handsprings whenever he walked into the room. Love was every awkward glance, blush and exchange they had shared. Love was the look in his eyes when Mason had grabbed her at the party. Love was…

Something they had for each other.

He was waiting for her to answer, she realized with a start, and she knew exactly what to tell him.

"Yes."

He pulled her into a long kiss, only breaking long enough to whisper two words against her lips, as soft and sweet as the summer breeze.

"Thank you."

He kissed her for a long time, until they finally came up for air.

"I do love you. You know that, right?" She asked quietly, looking into blue eyes.

He pulled her close. "I've wanted to hear you say that for so long." She still sat on his hips, but there was nothing sexual about it. Each only wanted to be as close to the other as possible, but not wanting to ruin what had just begun to heal, she moved off, taking her place next to him and leaning against the wall. There was a satisfied silence for a few minutes, but it didn't last long.

"Do you remember how we talked?"

"Hmm?" She looked to him in curiosity, and Vert sighed deeply.

"All I remember from that night, other than wanting to touch you in as many ways as possible, was just lying there and talking." He said wistfully, as if trying to remember. "Am I crazy?" He looked to her for validation, and Agura looked thoughtful.

"No…I remember too." She furrowed her brow as if struggling to recall. "You…" Agura narrowed her eyes in concentration one last time. A particular memory was calling to her, begging to be brought up, and suddenly her eyes widened with realization.

"You told me about your mom."

Vert felt like the wind had been knocked out of him. All the memories came flooding back, how she had been so caring, and understanding, and how with the help of alcohol he had just wanted to pour everything out to someone, share the weight he had been bearing alone for so long. Dark pasts and hidden secrets had tumbled out of him, and she had listened to every word.

"Oh my God…I did." The full weight of the truth of his statement hit him. "You must think I'm insane."

"You're not insane."

"Don't lie to me!" His shaking voice rose. "My dad disappeared and my mother is locked up and you can sit here telling me I'm perfectly normal?!"

"Vert, don't do this to yourself-"

"How can I not?!" Vert demanded, knowing he was being unreasonable but too hysterical to care. He loathed that she knew this thing about him; his mortifying, horrible past. "After everything that happened; after everything I told you? I don't know how you can even look at me without seeing a freak." Vert shook his head in shame.

"Because I love you!" Agura cried. Seeing him hurt so badly hurts her even more. "I don't see you as a freak and I hate that you even think of yourself that way! I don't care about your past or what your parents did, I only care about you, and I can't stand seeing you do this to yourself!" She realized how she had made an outburst and paused, taking a deep breath. "Your parent's choices don't make you who you are, Vert." She wrapped her arms around him and kissed his cheek, and there was silence.

"You're kind of broken, aren't you?" Agura asked quietly.

"I don't even know. I mean, when this whole thing…between us, started, I was such a coward about it. I was scared to talk to you, I was scared to even look at you the wrong way in case you thought I had taken advantage of you, and I just felt so terrible, and guilty, and embarrassed-"

"Stop." Agura put her finger to his lips, and he looked at her in curiosity. She could see all of the pain in his eyes.

"Just stop, and be here. Forget about the past and just be here with me."

This left him silent for a long time.

"How can you possibly be so good to me?" He finally shook his head, not meeting her eyes. "After everything that happened? After me sleeping with you and refusing to even talk about it? Even when you knew about my parents and didn't tell a soul?"

"I don't know." Agura shook her head. "But there was never a part of me that wanted to hate you for it. In a way…I kind of understood. And then we just didn't talk about it, didn't talk at all for a while, and suddenly everything was normal again. I guess I kind of felt the same way you did; not wanting to ruin it all over again."

"You're not the one who ruined it." Vert muttered to himself, and she sighed. "Can you forgive me?" He asked suddenly, desperately, and she was shocked into silence.

"Forgive you for what?"

"For this. For that. For everything." He spoke in riddles that somehow made perfect sense. "I just need to know that we're okay. That you're okay."

"I'm more than okay." Agura rested her head on his shoulder. "In fact…" She continued as he wrapped an arm around her. "I'm perfect."