"Remind me to never cross your mother." I say in to my cell phone as I hand the cashier my credit card.

"Why's that?" He sounds distracted, but I know he's listening to me. Naru always listens to what I have to say, no matter how irrelevant it is to what he's doing. I think it's because we've gotten closer since he's been sleeping in the same bed as me.

On more than one occasion, I find myself turned sideways on the bed, using the ark of his back as a pillow, with all the covers on me. Naru would have both of our pillows, with his arms crossed underneath them, and he'd be on his stomach.

It's kind of an odd position, but so comfortable.

"Because I just watched her beat up a sixteen year old for a pair designer jeans." I giggle, grabbing my bags, receipt, and card from the young man behind the counter. I smile gratefully as he holds open the door.

Naru does his adorable hiccup/laugh thing, "When Gene and I were younger, she'd force us to go shopping with her. By the time we were thirteen, mother had taught us how to take down the security guards."

I laugh, "That's horrible!"

"It was useful." Naru says, "I apparently always got on everyone's bad side in high school, and lots of people tried to fight me."

"Tried?" I ask, very curious as I walk down the halls of the shopping mall. This place is huge, no wonder Luella wanted to get here early. We waited for the stores to open at four, and we've been roaming the shops since then. I lost track of Luella after she ran off in to a children's store. We both agreed before hand that if we got lost, we'd meet up at the car.

"I'd avoid the fight if I could. Talking my way out of things is what got me out of plenty suspensions." By the tone of his voice, it sounded like a sour memory.

So, I go to my first distraction technique, "'Naru the Bad Boy?' Hmmmm. I don't know if I believe that or not." I can feel the goofy grin on my face.

Naru hiccups/laughs adorably, "Well, I wouldn't say that, exactly."

"I don't know, Naru. Tattoo, black clothing, menacing glare, and to top it off, you were almost suspended from school. That's pretty 'bad-boyish.'"

"'Bad-boyish?' Your way of naming things will never cease to amuse me, Mai."

"I'm glad I can amuse you, Professor Davis."

We're both quiet for a moment as I browse through another store. I begin to wonder if he's hung up, and I begin to pull the phone away from my ear to check, but the deep chime of his voice makes me return the small electronics device.

"Mai?"

"Yes?"

"Are you still at the mall?"

"Yes."

"Alright. I'll be there in ten minutes." And the line goes dead.

I look down at the expensive smart phone and roll my eyes. He's such an ass.


I'm handing the cashier my credit card when a hand lands on my shoulder. I jump and spin around to see Naru standing there with a raised eyebrow, "My mother is cleaning out your bank account, isn't she?"

I blush crimson, "I'm not broke, you jerk."

A throat clearing catches my attention, and I turn back to the cashier with a smile. I grab my receipt and credit card from her. I reach down for my other bags, but my hand grabs nothing. I look behind me to see Naru's hands now filled with all of my different color bags. I grin at him and grab the bag from on the top of the counter, and lead the way out of the clothing store.

"So is there any special reason you're here, or are you just feeling the beginning of cabin fever?" I ask as Naru walks next to me. Lots of people turn and look, but I don't think he notices. Well, he probably notices, but the handsome idiot is so used to it, that he just ignores all of them.

"I was bored." He says, rolling his eyes, "My mother refuses to let me accept any more cases, and I wholly blame you." He narrows his eyes accusingly at me.

I scoff, "What did I do?"

"What didn't you do?" He murmurs, grabbing my arm with his free hand and pulling me in to a souvenir store, "I need your help."

"With what?" I ask, ignoring the little butterflies that begin in my stomach from Naru the Narcissist asking me for help. He gives me a 'what-do-you-think' look, and I grin, "Who first? John?"

He seems to think for a moment, and then nods, "Yes, John." And that was how I learned that Naru likes to shop.


"Don't you have a budget or something?!" I exclaim, watching as all of the people Naru called move all of his bags inside. I turn to him in a huff, "You spent nearly three grand today, Naru!"

"And I plan to spend more tomorrow." He drawls, his arms crossed over his chest as he listens to me scold him, "Mai, I don't think you realize how much money I make."

I feel myself burn with a blush as I hiss out, "I don't want to know how much money you make."

His entire frame relaxes and he suddenly smiles at me, "I know that, but trust me, I can afford it." He reaches up and pushes my bangs behind my ear, "Now go upstairs and take a shower. I need to talk to you later on."

I grin up at him, "Alright. Don't run your mother ragged." He laughs adorably at me, and nods before leaning down slowly, and deliberately brushing his lips against my forehead. I smile, ignoring the butterflies in my stomach. I've gotten over being surprised at sweet gestures that Naru makes. I don't see him do these things to any one else and it makes me giddy that he doesn't.

I've also noticed that Naru is more inclined to touch me rather than another one else. Another words, if we both were squashed in an elevator, he'd move closer to me rather than be touched by others. I know about Naru's personal space issues and reservations, so that makes me feel special to him.

"Are you trying to catch a cold, idiot?" Naru's deep voice pulls me from the dark blue book that was currently in my lap. I look up at him as he makes his way across the room. He grabs my strewn towel from off of the chair, "Your hair is still dripping wet." He grabs the book from me gently, placing it on the side. He begins to dry my hair with the towel.

"What is it that you wanted to talk about?"

He pulls the towel off of my head and grabs my chin in his hand, "I want you to listen to me, and don't speak until I'm finished, understood?" At my nod, he sighs, releasing my chin, "My mother seems to think that reconnecting with her family is a must every year. So she scheduled the entire dinner yesterday, for tomorrow. So I need to know if you'll be attending or not."

"If I'll be—?" My mind is running a million miles per hour. Wait. A dinner?! With the rest of Naru's family?! I barely got through meeting his immediate family! Much less distant—

"Mai, breath." Naru says, brushing his thumb against my cheek. I look up in his eyes with my own wide gaze. He moves slightly closer, "I promise, it's nothing big. So quit it with the look."

"What look?" My voice is barely above a whisper, and even I can hear the inner panic in it.

"The look that makes me want to lock you up and hide you from the world." Naru was gazing at me with a calm and collected expression, but there it was. That look that he's been giving me lately. I can never place it, but I know that this is my Naru. My sweet, sarcastic, genius, idiot Naru.

It makes my racing heart calm in the fraction of a second. Yet, my heart begins to race all over again and a blush settles over my cheeks as I realize what he said. I reach blindly for my pillow, and when I find it, I slam it over my face. To which Naru does his silent chuckle thing,

"You don't have to answer me today, idiot. Just think about it. We have until tomorrow afternoon." Then, I feel him get up, and hear him moving around the room for a few minutes, before the bed dips. And it's then that I know, Naru's right there with me.


"Hey, Naru?" I ask, looking up at the ceiling from my position. The two of us are in that weird position again, the one where he sleeps on his stomach and I'm using his back as a pillow. It was nearly nine-thirty, and neither of us had gotten up yet.

This was new. Naru wasn't one to linger in bed. Normally, he'd wake up to his alarm at seven and get up silently. Yet, he was here when my alarm went off at eight. He wasn't watching me (or anything creepy like that); Naru was still sleeping. He seemed comfortable, so I let him sleep while I laid there. Eventually he woke up. And I know he woke up because the rise and fall of his back grew.

"Yes?" Comes his sleep-filled voice, and I blush. No matter how long Naru and I have been sleeping in the same bed, I will never ever get used to the utter sexiness of his voice first thing in the morning.

I wonder if all guys are like this, or if it's just a Naru thing?

"What kind of party is it?" My voice was light, but it had taken on an anxious air to it, matching my heart perfectly.

He shifts, and I have to lean up so he can roll over, but lay back down again as Naru stares down at me (Note-to-Self: ignore the embarrassment!). He brushes my bangs away from my face with his hand, "I think it's appropriately marked a Christmas party, idiot." His eyebrow raises.

"Hey!" I say in outrage, sitting up and back handing his shoulder playfully.

"Well, ask a stupid question, and I'll give a stupid answer." He smirks at me and I roll my eyes, annoyance flashing through me. Naru grows quiet for a few moments, and he begins to play with my hair. Immediately, my entire body melts and I feel a small smile slide on to my face as the memorable moment fills me with warmth.

I've really got to figure out how to tell him I love him. I need to have some way to get it through his thick skull that it's him I love, not his brother.

I stare up at his blue eyes, which are so calm and content as he watches my hair twirl and straighten to his will. Even the most untamable parts of my body are conquer by him. It's unsettling, yet I'm perfectly okay with being mastered by this man.

"Mai?" His voice draws me from my musings, and my eyes swing to meet his, which are roaming over my face with a questioning look, "What is it?"

I smile sheepishly up at him, and immediately go to my first tactic, "So the party, is it casual?"

Naru raises an eyebrow, but doesn't question me on the sudden subject change, "Yes. You may wear what ever you want, but I'd suggest dressing warm. My mother mentioned something about fireworks at the end of the dinner party."

"Fireworks?" I ask excitedly, a goofy grin coming to my face.

Naru silently chuckles, "Yes. Fireworks."

I grin at him, "I'll go, but only for the fireworks."

He smiles, "You idiot."


"Mai?" Naru calls from the door way. I look up from my book to find him making his way over to me. He takes the books from my hands and sets it aside, "Get dressed and be down stairs in fifteen minutes." And with that, he leaves.

What's with him and the abruptness lately? Is he intentionally trying to piss me off?

'No, that just means he's grown very comfortable with you.' Gene's voice makes me gasp.

Of course he'd be listening in.

'Get out of my head, stu~pid.' I say, exaggerating the 'stupid' to make him smile.

I sense his grin, 'Then stop making it so interesting.'

I mentally roll my eyes, but close off our conversation none the less. I'm finished getting dressed in five minutes, but considering I spent another five minutes talking to Gene, it wasn't that impressive. I'm putting on my jacket at the fifteen minute mark, which is when Naru walks out of his fathers study and right to me.

"I figured you'd think that I wouldn't make it on time." I tell him, buttoning up my warm black jacket. That was another thing I hated about winter. The cooler air meant thicker and darker clothing. Which means I buy anything that's cheap and dark in color, but most of the time, all the darker colors are taken. So I end up with all the black clothing.

Another words, I look like I'm the crypt keeper's daughter.

"I knew you'd make it on time. That's one of the things that you've changed about yourself over the years." Naru's deep voice makes me look at him, and I see the professor is, as always, clad in black.

Or maybe his wife… My subconscious whispers without my say so.

My face heats involuntarily, and Naru looks at me strangely. I quickly push the thought in to the back of my head, and try to cover up for my embarrassment, "Like you would know, Naru! I've just matured is all it is!"

Naru smirks, "Mai, I'm convinced you will always be immature. No matter how business-like you like to act."

My face heats up read again, "You jerk!" I throw the door open, and step out in to the frosty December air. I can sense Naru's smirk a he closes the door behind us, and he's soon walking on side of me.

Soundlessly, he leads me to the garage on the side of the Davis household, and hits a button on some type of remote that is connected to his key ring, which he pulled from his pocket. Three sleek muscle cars appear before me. One dark blue, one black, and one red.

"Pick one." Naru's voice rings strong in the silence. I look up at him, and he nods, as if confirming that it's okay. I turn back to the cars and watch all three of them for a moment. I look down at our clothes and then back up. Well, if we're going black, might as well keep to the color scheme. Naru suddenly sighs as I turn to tell him my decision, "Your thoughts are written on your face, you know." He begins to make his way to the black muscle car.

I stare at his back, a sense of sadness filling me, "If only that we're true, Naru." I glance down at my boots as anger fills me, "But nooooo, you're an idiot." I roll my eyes to myself, giggling as I skip behind him.

The car is very comfortable. The leather seats are soft, and Naru shifts the gears smoothly as we roll down the high way. I still haven't asked where we are going, but then again, I don't care enough to. I trust Naru with everything I have, so I know he won't bring me anywhere suspicious.

The silence, however, is annoying.

"Is this your parents' car?" I ask, looking over at the dark haired man.

"No, this is mine." Naru says, glancing vet at me briefly, "Gene picked it out. He said that this car matched my personality."

I look around the interior. Cool leathers seats that had a certain softness to it, with clear glass and perfect plastic. I suddenly get why Gene chose this vehicle for Naru, because the outside is what everyone sees, but the inside is so much better, but you have to really pay attention.

"Gene knew you better than anyone, huh?" I murmur, rubbing my hand on the leather. A sense of nostalgia fills me as I think about the man that has basically become my best friend (not like either of us really had a choice. He is my spirit guide), and suddenly, I wish it was Gene sitting here by Naru and not me. Naru misses Gene way more than I do.

I'd never even met him in person.

"He did." Naru says, glancing over at me again, "But you know me pretty well too, Mai."

My face turns scarlet and all of my depression is replaced with embarrassment, "R-really?"

Naru smiles, "Yes you do. The only other person who's been in this car is Gene."

My jaw drops. Oh my God.

I am special.

"Lately, it seems all of my days end with you scolding me, Mai." Naru mumbles as he moves in to the kitchen, which is wear a bunch of servers and cooks are running about. Luella grins at us and begins to make her way over.

But I don't really care at the moment.

"You can not spend that much money, Naru!" I shriek, my face a shade of red that I'm nearly positive isn't on the color spectrum, "Especially not on me!"

Naru rolls his eyes, which are staring down at me, "Mai, it was one outfit, with a pair of shoes. It's not that serious."

I glare, "Naru, you spent an amount that is equivalent to five hundred American dollars!"

"Wow," Luella says, standing next to us, "Oliver, I thought I told you to buy her whatever she wanted."

"She didn't want anything." Naru tells his mother, not taking his eyes off of me.

"Then why so little money?" Luella places her hands on her hips.

"So little, she says." I mumble. I run a hand through my hair as a nervous habit that I've picked up from the one and only Narcissist.

"Mai doesn't like to spend money." Naru tells his mother, still staring down at me, "One moment please, mother." Luella shakes her head and smiles at me. Naru grabs my arm and hauls me up the stares and to my room. In one easy step, he tosses me on the bed.

"Naru, what are you—?" I shriek, embarrassment filling me.

"Shut up." Naru growls, "You listen to me Mai. Here's what you're going to do, you're going to accept the clothes, and you're going to wear them to the dinner party tonight. My mother will use you as her play thing for the night, and after, if you still want, I'll bring the clothes back."

I open my mouth to argue, but think better of it, and with a sigh, I nod, "Yes, Naru."

He looks pleased momentarily, then walks over to sit down next to me. In a slow move, he lays and puts his head in my lap. On some type of new instinct, my hand immediately goes to his hair, and I start playing in it.

"What do you have against large amounts of money, anyway?" Naru's eyes are closed, and he's relaxed. He doesn't seem to mind that my hand is so far buried in his hair, that I'm sure I'll find Narnia soon.

"Before my mom died, we weren't the richest, but we got along. Mom used to work dead end jobs, with as much pay as she could get." My hand stops as I lose myself in my memories, "We didn't always have enough food, but I remember, no matter how little food we ever had, Mom would take half of her own, and bring it to my fathers shrine." I smile at the memories, "That was always my favorite time of the day. She was always her happiest when talking to my father. Even if it was from beyond the grave."

"Your mother sounds like a hard worker." Naru says, his voice quiet. I look down at him, and it's then that I notice that he spoke as if she was still alive. But he knows my parents are both dead. I smile at him, it must be his way of making me feel better.

"She was." I say, my hand continuing to find it's way through Naru's insanely thick hair.

"We need to get up and get dressed." Naru murmurs, "Mother will be angry if we aren't ready in time." His eyes open and he looks up at me; suddenly, he smiles, "But another five minutes wouldn't hurt." His eyes close again as my giggle echoes around the room.


"Your hair is positively evil." Luella whines as she continues to try to tame my beast. My hair is straight for the most part (if you don't count how the ends curl towards my face and the fact that the underneath of my hair waves once in a while), but it's always getting knotted. Luella has brushed it six times already.

"I'm aware." I say, sitting on the chair in my shorts and tank top as Luella attempts to do my hair and make up. I bite my lip as my scalp throbs again from the consistent yanking of the brush.

A knock on the door makes both of us look up, and Martin's head pokes through, "Luella, Oliver is looking for you." Luella sighs, glancing back down at me, as if contemplating what to do. That's when Martin steps in side the room and takes the brush from Luella, giving her a soft push towards the door. Luella smiles at him from over her shoulder before making her way out, closing the door softly behind her. Martin turns to me, and holds up the brush, "May I?"

I smile, "You can try."

Martin grabs my hair in one hand and begins to brush it from the bottom, "You know, Mai, I've haven't seen Oliver like this in a long time."

I look at the dark haired man through the mirror, "I'm not sure I know what you mean."

Martin adopts a small smile on his face, "Oliver has always been in his own world. Luella calls it his bubble," he rolls his dark eyes.

"Naru does live in a bubble," I agree, "But it's not an ordinary bubble. Naru is easy to understand once you get pass the sarcastic remarks and the narcissistism."

Martin chuckles, "Be that as it may, he changed when Gene died." Martin smile fades, "Oliver became the definition of a recluse, and then one day, he was barging in to my office stating that he wanted to go to Japan. At first, he said it was for learning purposes, but then he called about a year later and in formed us that Gene's body was found at the bottom of a lake. I don't think I need to explain to you what type of state he was in, do I?"

I shake my head, "No sir." My voice is barely above a whisper.

Martin drops my hair, and begins to run the brush through it again, "After, he moved back to England. At first, he was in horrible shape, and then Madoka video called one day to show us some paper work. The so called 'paper work' were your SATs and ACTs."

My jaw drops, "She showed you?"

Martin give a dry and humorless chuckle, "I'd required it. As much as I know about you now, that didn't change the fact that at the time, you were a sixteen year old girl with no work experience, no back ground of ghost hunting, and no recommendations." Martin sighs, "I barely allowed Oliver to hire you."

As much as I think I should be outraged, I'm not. Because I know that if I were in Martin's place, I'd do the same thing. I nod, "I understand."

He smiles at me, then continues with his story, "With a thirty on the ACT, and a twenty-thousand on the SAT, Luella and I both agreed that Madoka should continue your training. Oliver so happened to walk in at that time, and the first words out of his mouth were, 'Where's Mai?'" My face turns red, and Martin smiles at me, "Imagine my surprise as well. Madoka didn't seem so surprised though. She informed him that you were well, and would be graduating high school soon. Oliver seemed to smile and then he said, 'So the idiot can think.' Luella was in an outrage, but I found it quite amusing.

"Oliver had always had this belief that if you aren't as smart as him, then you are an idiot. So when Madoka told him your test scores, he smiled. Luella was staring at him in wonder by then, but I pretty much knew at that point that you are a special person to him. Then Oliver said, 'Expect a parcel at the office soon, and don't open it, Madoka.' Then he walked out and went in to his study.

"Slowly after that, his mood began to change. His mother was able to hold conversations with him again, and he started to take days off, rather than work for thirteen hours everyday. I was thrilled as a boss, I wouldn't have to explain that to the labor laws. However, as a father, I was beyond ecstatic. And then, a while later, he was informing us that he was moving back to Japan. This time, he was renting an apartment. By then, we'd sent Lin to help Madoka with your training, although at the time, we weren't informed of your PK. Luella cried, but at the same time she was happy.

"The next thing I know, my son is walking back in the door with a small little brown haired girl in his arms. It wasn't until then that I realized you are more than just a special person to him." Martin chuckles at my reddening face, "And then Luella thought you two were having sex—"

"Lalalalala~" I exclaim, putting my fingers in my ears.

Martin's loud laugh booms around the room and I grin up at him. He calms down and places the brush on the table next to me as I spin around and look up at him. He pats me on my head, "The entire point of my rambling, is to say that you are welcomed here at any time, no matter the terms you and Oliver are on. I hope you don't mind that I think of you as my third adopted child." He smiles down at me, "In the short time I've known you, I think you are one of the best people that have ever walked in to my boys' life. I hope you plan to stick around for a while."

His admission is a revelation. Martin adores both of his sons. He may be an aloof person, but I get the feeling that Martin is more sensitive than Luella on most things. While Luella takes on things head first and plows through it, Martin thinks it over and considers every little detail. I don't feel ashamed to say that I have a celebrity crush on this man.

I smile softly, a blush filling my cheeks as my eyes sting. He's everything I ever hoped my own father was, "Thank you, Martin. And don't worry. Those two nincompoops aren't getting rid of me any time soon."

He chuckles, "Good."

The door opens and Luella steps through with a smile, "What did I miss?"

"Nothing." The two of us chime together. Luella simply glares at us and I giggle while Martin smile at his wife. Oh, I really do love Naru's parents.


Naru knocks harshly on my door for the fifth time, "Mai. You've got fifteen minutes. Hurry."

"You said that fifteen minutes ago." My voice sounds strangled as I stare at my reflection. I'm not used to this. My eyes have always been my best feature, but Luella made everything my best feature with these globs of make up. My hair is long and curly, falling delicately on the shoulders of the dusty pink blouse. The black skinny jeans are tucked into the black boots. The entire outfit was bought by Naru. All designer and all seriously expensive.

Why, oh why, did I agree to this dinner?

"Mai. If you don't come out right now, I'm breaking the door."

Eyeliner, mascara, powder, and lip gloss is all Luella put on before she declared me done. Martin had some how brushed my locks to perfection, so Luella thought it was a good idea to take two hours to curl it all.

"Mai!" He bangs again.

'He really will break that door, you know.' Gene says gently to me, 'Just open the door, and go with Noll. He'll take care of everything. I promise nothing bad will happen.'

I swing the door open as Naru raises his hand to beat again. He opens his mouth to say something, but stops when he seems my panicked expression. He looks me over, and then he yanks me in to his embrace, "Calm down. You look like you're about to have a panic attack."

"That's because I am." I grumble, burying my face in to his black button up shirt.

He sighs, rubbing my back, "Stop being an idiot. You'll be fine." Coming from Naru, it's so much more comforting than hearing it from Gene.

'Hey!' Gene exclaims, hearing my thoughts. I shut down our link.

I nod, pulling away from the scientist, only to see his tie. I grin up at him and he rolls his eyes. He grabs my hand and yanks me along with unnecessary force, but I don't mind, because I think it's funny. I clear my throat, "Um, Naru?"

He's quiet for a moment, but answers me when I tug on his arm, "What, Mai?"

"I didn't think that pink was your color."

Cue giggle overload from me, and death glare from Naru.