Chapter dedicated to Trosario who'd been a constant since I joined this fandom. I love reading your PMs. Thanks. I miss your updates, seriously. ;)

Darien didn't take her to the new restaurant for dinner as promised, not quite ready yet to share her to the outside world. They were lying on the couch, holding her to him, his legs draped possessively over her. "Tell me about Holmewood. What's it like to be a Special Education teacher?"

"What's this, a job interview?"

"Of sorts," he teased.

"A professor hooked me up at Holmewood as an assistant, a teaching buddy; I fell in love with the place and I never considered leaving even after I got my degree. It's tough, frustrating sometimes. You begin the day believing you have everything well-planned out only to end up with a mayhem. But it's rewarding to watch the kids progress, doing things on their own that they used to need help with before. And the best thing is, after seeing that, you challenge yourself to come up with better ways, unique and more effective methods for next lessons. Holmewood's like a family to me. I never considered what I do there as a job."

"You really love kids."

"That I do," she replied instantly.

"You'd make a good mother, minus the cooking skills, of course."

"If I ever find someone to marry and have a family with. And I know how to cook, not just as illegal as you do."

"Last time I checked, you're married."

"Stop fooling with me, you know what I mean," she elbowed his ribs, her tone playful, not noticing the dark look on the face of the man behind her.

Darien grimaced, not with the contact but because of his foolishness, making a mental note to steer the conversation clear from things that would mess up with his lucidity. "Do you miss it? London?"

"Not as much as I missed Japan. This place will always be my home."

"So you have no plans...of going back?"

"Dad and I once talked about moving there for good before he got ill, but I haven't given the idea much thought lately."

"I see," he did his best to remain unruffled, hugging her closer to seek comfort. That's never going to happen. "But why did it...take you ten years...to return here?" His tone was cautious; one hand gently rubbing her shoulders, assuring her, reassuring himself that it was not an accusation.

"Difficult was a feeble word to describe my relationship with dad after I left. I can't remember when I began hating him or when I stopped caring about what he says. He said he came to his senses when he found out I was working to support myself, not touching the money he was sending me. He had his reasons, but I guess I needed that long time to lick my wounds in peace."

He understood her, and yet he wanted to hear more, to seek his spot in the picture, to ask if she ever thought of him even once, if he still had a place somewhere, so much to ask but he held his tongue, filtered his thoughts-restrained himself.

Impatience had always been his enemy when it came to her, their wedding night when he almost raped her was a bitter reminder of that. It haunted him, awake or asleep, even if she seemed already over the incident. And he couldn't afford to make another colossal mistake as such, or any mistake for that matter. One misstep and he's done for.

"I hope you find it in you to forgive my dad. He really regrets what he did."

"I already have. It's easier to understand where he's coming from especially when I've made my fair share of irrational decisions. Your dad's very lucky, you gave him a second chance. Not everyone gets that, I'm not certain about mine."

"You'll get your second chance, you deserve it."

"Frankly, I don't give a damn if I deserve it or not. I'm taking back what's mine, whatever the cost, Serena," he said, pressing his face against her hair, his personal heaven when he's not touching her intimately. "Do you remember those things I said...when we met at—"

"At Tenko Restaurant?"

"Yeah," he confirmed, reaching for her hand to tangle with his. "I've been a jerk. I never meant any of whatever bullshit I said to you, never meant to insult you in any way." He left the bit that their reunion never should have played that way in the first place, silently asking himself whether it was really Serena who wasn't ready for that or him. "I'm really sorry; I'd take that day back, do it all differently, if I could."

"I'm not gonna lie and tell you that I took everything well, Darien. I found a hard time believing that day really happened. But anger towards you... it's not something I'm really good at keeping inside me for too long."

Darien had nothing to say, his tongue stuck in his throat. Her words, like the smile she was giving him, were very reassuring, which only made him feel more dreadful of the day she would find out about everything. How far can her forgiving heart take if she found out I manipulated her into this set-up? Took her from her seemingly peaceful life in London and dragged her into this mess of a marriage?

Probably confusing his silence for guilt over something that was far less drastic, she squeezed his hand and added. "Hey, if it helps, I'll say it. You're forgiven."

"It helps, but I don't think I'll ever deserve it. My mind was clouded with too much resentment before; I wasn't thinking that day."

"I figured that much," she kidded and he chuckled lightly.

There was pregnant silence, much less awkward than before. They now find comfort in each other, even without the idle chat.

Darien was aware that something had changed between them.

A small progress.

And he was happy for that— grateful even. But he still had to tiptoe around her, worried that one tiny slip, any unguarded remark will ruin his chances and drown them in the past; and that the lies and deception of the present would sink them to the bottom, or worse cast a huge wave that will permanently set them apart.

No future—an idea he'd been avoiding, denying even in his own head.

"You wanted to become a doctor..." She asked and took it back as quick as she said it. "I didn't mean to be so prying—"

"I went to business school because it was the fastest way I could think of to get what I wanted, Serena. There are...dreams that mattered more to me than my fascination with medicine. I've been bombarding you with personal questions since this morning and you're worried about being nosey? Do you hear me apologizing for it? I love learning and re-learning things about you so feel free to ask me anything, it gives me the impression that you're interested enough to know me, too. Again."

"I'll keep that in mind," she remarked as she turned to face him, inching closer as possble. "I like you more when you're like this, when you're not cranky and less scary. When you're not too much of a cray cray."

"Cray cray?"

"Yeah, sometimes you act as though you're completely mental, you know, too crazy to be called crazy."

He laughed hard, his chest rising and falling as he pulled her into a tight hug. "I like what I am when I'm with you, love. Don't ever think of leaving again. I barely made it out the first time, I'm damn sure I won't survive another blow."

"As long as you want me here."

It was already Sunday and the knot in Darien's stomach was growing as the minutes tick by. The idea of bursting their little bubble was doing insane things inside his head. Desperate times call for desperate measures, but in his case desperate times call for the games they usually play.

"Let's have a bet." He broke the silence as he whisked the batter for the cake he promised for dessert tonight.

Serena, who was perched on the counter absentmindedly playing with the measuring cups, tilted her head and arched a brow. "I'm not sure if it's the word 'bet' or the way you said it out of nowhere that's sending my alarm bells off."

"Afraid to lose?"

"What are you up to?" she asked, more like teasing than expressing real doubt. "Why do I feel like you're setting me up?"

"Come on. It's just a bet."

"No," she feigned disinterest.

He moved in front of her, reaching for her arms and resting them around his neck. "No?"

"Yes, no."

"Really?"

She stifled her laughter. "Darien, your attempt at a puppy look is really creepy."

"Pretty please?"

"You didn't just say that!"

"How can I convince you?"

"Maybe you can't," she didn't really need convincing but was clearly amused that she decided to drag it a little.

There was a brief silence and she thought he already gave up but he began sniffing around her, flaring his nose dramatically with a huge grin on his handsome face. "What's that? What's that smell, Serena?"

"What? What sme-" then her eyes almost budged out of their sockets, realizing what he's doing. "No. Don't pull that with me. You're seriously not gonna use my own trick against—" She couldn't continue; she was shaking her head and no longer holding her giggles. "Stop batting your eyelashes!"

Darien began talking in a high-pitched tone, failing miserably to imitate her. "Oh, I can smell...spoilt fun," he tried hard to look serious but failed as he grabbed a fistful of her hair, inhaling unnecessarily loud. "And a stench of a party-pooper here," he continued in his animated voice as he moved to her neck, pulling back before he gets too sidetracked. "Everything. Everything around here smells... Ugh... boring."

"Darien, stop it."

"Aww, Serena. You're. No. Fun. And you used to say I was the boring one. How can you be such—?"

"All right! Fine!" She exclaimed, holding both hands in the air. "Heavens, you're demented!"

He burst out laughing and she joined, both of them pulling serious faces when they thought they finally got over it, but one look at each other and they end up sniggering like fools yet again.

"You didn't even do me justice," said Serena when she finally managed to calm down.

"Hey! At least it worked."

"So what is it that you had to sacrifice your dignity for?"

"If I win, I get you to spend all your weekends with me."

She was close to telling him that he didn't need to make a fool of himself when she too wanted nothing more than that but decided to play along. "Okay. And if I win?"

"You get all my weekends," he replied. She just gave him a straight face and he chuckled. "No? I thought that would be enough incentive."

"You're so full of yourself."

"Oh, believe me, love. I'm looking forward to filling you to the hilt, but you'd have to wait a little. Seriously, what do you want if you win?"

"Let' see... All right. If I win you don't get to call me that endearment."

"That's not wager material, love. That's like telling me not to breathe."

"Okay, no sex then."

"Kill me now," he groaned when she just laughed. "Fine. I'll take my chances with the first one."

"And if you ever make a slip, you'll do whatever it is I tell you as retribution."

"You should've been a businesswoman. But sure, we have a deal."

"Great. So what will we do?"

"We'll bet over a teaspoon of cinnamon." He waited for her reaction, but she just furrowed her brows. He knew Serena wasn't into watching online videos or surfing the net to begin with. "Were you living under the rock these past few years, love?" He fetched for a glass of water then set it down in front of her. "It's simple; you stick a teaspoon full of cinnamon inside your mouth for a minute. If you spit it out, or drink the water, you lose."

"You serious? Cinnamon? Not black pepper, not chili powder? And just a teaspoon?" It didn't make any sense to her. What could go wrong with a teaspoon of cinnamon? It's not like it tastes bad. "And I'm not even gonna swallow it. You know this is going to be an easy win for me, right?"

"So you're going to do it?" He tried to look and sound nonchalant.

"Bring it on."

A few minutes of painful coughing, sneezing and wheezing and lots of water after, Serena was lashing at him. She was still sniffling and her face flushed as he swatted him repeatedly in the chest. "I can't believe you made me do that!"

Darien, for his part, stayed silent as he handed her another glass of water, but he was grinning like an idiot. Serena could screech as long as she wanted, nothing can put him in a bad mood.

"My throat is still burning! You baka-" she was surprised as he grabbed her by the nape and brought her face to his in a fierce kiss.

"I thought I'd never hear you call me that again."

Recovering from her daze, she blinked at him, "keep being a jerk and you'll hear that a lot. I feel like there's cinnamon inside my nose."

"Do you want some distraction, odango? Haven't I said something about satisfying you to the hilt earlier?"

"No."

"No I said nothing or no, you don't want a distraction?"

"No, I don't want a distract—"

He silenced her with a kiss, tracing the outlines of her lips with the tip of his tongue, his hands slipping inside her shirt, palming both breasts. "Still no?" he asked, rolling both nipples between his thumb and index fingers, tugging them gently, watching as her eyes fluttered as she arched her back and bit back a moan.

"You know I don't mean it when I say no," she said, panting.

His laughter echoed inside the kitchen as he hauled her top over her shoulders, immediately latching his mouth on one tight peak and kneading the other as soon as they were bared to him.

"Darien..." His touches were hasty, animalistic, possessive but never painful and the noises he was making as he paid attention to her only intensified the ache building up in her center. He massaged both globes roughly, pressing them together as he nipped the closest skin his mouth could reach. "Darien, please," she begged as she fumbled with his fly, her legs wrapped around him.

"Not yet, love." He reached for her hands and placed it alongside her hips, easing her out of the rest of her clothes. He gave her a chaste kiss before he pulled her legs up, resting them on the countertop, leaving her open to him, spread out like an offering. "I have no fucking idea how I survived all these years," he groaned as he slipped two deft fingers inside her, loving the way she was always ready for him, plundering her sweet mouth as he stroked her, worked her with so much adoration, taking pride with every moan that escaped her lips, his heart swelling upon hearing her whisper his name as she come undone.

His name.

Only his name, he'd make sure of that.

He didn't give her time to recover as he bent down and buried his face between her legs, her core suffering the same torture as her breasts had.

"Oh, Darien..." His name was the only comprehensible word she could rasp out as his tongue lapped her, parting her lips and delving his tongue inside while his thumb toyed with her nub. She was close to the edge once more when he stopped, lifting her to the dining table, her back pressed against the cold marble top and she shuddered at the contact.

"Look at me, Serena," he wasn't demanding, but his voice was urgent, filled with authority and yet managed to be pleading; another wall of defense crumbling, leaving her vulnerable but for some unfathomable reasons, she was far from terrified.

Deep blue eyes stared at her, sucking her in as he spoke, "You're not going to forget this weekend, every weekend we spend together. I'm going to undo you that the only thing you could think about if you ever dare to leave is coming home back to me."

She had no time to answer, nor did she have the will to think about anything as he surged inside in a frantic pace, moving in and out, her breasts bouncing as he rode her until she could take no more and cried out his name. "Again, Serena," he straightened himself, gaze never leaving hers as he pinned her hips in place and slowly pulled out and drove back deep inside, repeating the same torturous movements over and over.

"Fuck, love," he grunted, his fingers digging on her flesh as his movements became hurried, his thrusts harder as he neared his own climax. He was losing his rhythm, slamming inside her greedily, cursing loudly as he felt her tighten around him, milking him, watching her face contort with pleasure. And he was done for. His body collapsed on top of her, pulling her into a passionate kiss as he emptied himself inside her.

"I don't think I'll ever get enough of you," he said as the tremors subsided, his hand brushing away the sweaty strands from her lovely face.

The loud pounding of his heart had very little to do with the sex they just had but more on the way she was staring at him. A look so gentle and caring as the way her palm was caressing his face, a look raw and unguarded and he knew, just knew, that he got a tiny part of her back. "Do you have plans for tomorrow?"

"I'm meeting up with Molly. I'm not sure if you remember her; she's my best friend—"

"The friend who used to cover up for you whenever you spend the night at my old apartment. Of course, I never forget, Serena." His tone implied that he was not referring only about Molly; his brain must've momentarily freeze and being still buried inside her wasn't helping but he didn't want to move. He tried again for casual, "I'm glad to know you two are catching up. How is she?"

"She's good, married now with two kids. We've actually been seeing each other quite often; she's going to introduce me to her cousin tomorrow. I think his name is Alan and he's looking for a—"

"Alan? Is she setting you up with someone?" He couldn't hide his exasperation. Seriously, who wouldn't go ballistic upon hearing the words introduce, best friend's cousin, looking and a man's name all together?

"No, of course not." She laughed but he was in no way appeased. "Alan is looking for a private tutor for his son and Molly recommended me. I have several offers from English teaching schools but I'm still preoccupied with finding a donor for dad and this one just sort of fell on my lap."

"Love, taking care of your dad is already taking a toll on you. Is this something you really need to do?" He reached for her hand and hoped that he sounded sincere enough, without offending her. "Serena, if there's anything you need...anything at all, please..."

"Darien, I don't know if I can say it enough that I appreciate your help but eventually I have to find a job to support my dad when he gets better. Please. Don't..." She pressed a finger against his lips when he attempted to butt in. "No. That's not part of what we agreed for. Besides, it would just be two hours max, every morning before his son, Sora, goes to school."

"I'll drive you there tomorrow. I want to see for myself if I can trust this Alan."

"He's married!"

"I'm going with you."

"Fine, but can you move now?"

"Oh, you want me to move?" He jerked his hips lazily.

"I didn't mean move like that!" She giggled as she tried to push him half-heartedly.

"You could've just said you wanted it faster, love." He began to push himself up and did so.

"You're impossible!" But it didn't take long when her giggles turned into moans.

AN:

Chapter 14 is marked n my files as "Lifting the Fog" so for those who are waiting for confrontations, I hope I don't get you disappointed (I'm actually pressured because of the way I've dragged this story without that much needed conversation) but it's still a jumbled mess right now, like my mind. So I can't promise when it will be out.

Let me know what you think. If there's anything you wanted cleared up/included in next chapter. Your comments are very much appreciated. Doumo!