As much as he had wished that someone would come for him, that he would come for him, Slaine was afraid to accept that offered hand again.

Let's go? To what place and for how long? For him, hope was only a foolish pursuit that inevitably bred disappointment. Still, if it meant he could be with this person a little longer, it was well worth the risk.

"Where?" he asked, his face obscured. Perhaps he was going to be relocated as those officials had wanted. At least there they might actually put him out of his misery.

Inaho crouched by the bedside. "Home, of course."

Home… he had never had such a place. Home was somewhere that people belonged, but he had only ever been an undesirable guest wherever he went.

"Are you going to let me put this on you or not?" Inaho waved the anklet in front of his face. "Yuki-nee is waiting."

Slaine shifted in his cocoon. Slowly, he pushed back the blanket and sat up, his feet lightly touching the cold floor. Inaho took one of them into his lap and secured the anklet.

"Where are your shoes?" he asked, casting a glance about the room.

A little while later they were driving through the prison gates. Slaine leaned back in his seat and watched the scenery as it sped by. Today there was a warm, steady rain, with soft mists casting a melancholy shadow over the landscape. He followed the windshield wipers in their pendulum path, lulled by their calming rhythm. There were questions on his mind, but he didn't particularly want answers yet. This moment was too comfortable to lade with details and truths.

Eventually Inaho broke the silence. "By the way, since our vacation was ruined, in a few weeks when Yuki-nee's feeling up to it, we're going back to try again. If you'd like to, that is. It'll definitely be safe this time."

Slaine glanced at him. "Yeah. Sure."

Once they were at the house, Slaine ascended the stairs with nervous steps. He was both eager and reluctant to see Yuki. It had been so long since he had last laid eyes on her, though how long exactly he wasn't sure. His perception of time was warped from his prison stay. Most of all, he was worried that she might see him differently now. If only they could simply go on as before, when he was her harmless 'little brother'…

Inaho knocked lightly on the door. "Yuki-nee, we're home."

She called for them to come in, and Inaho turned the handle. Slaine peered in, hesitant to enter. She was sitting in bed reading a book, her back propped by several pillows. As they stepped in she closed it and looked up. Their eyes met, and a bright smile crossed her lips.

"Welcome home, Slaine-kun," she said cheerfully.

Over the past several years, Slaine had learnt to mask many of his emotions out of pure necessity, but there was one he could never hide. Relief.

As the tears began to fall, Yuki motioned for him to come closer to the bedside. She reached up and dried his cheeks with her slender fingers.

"I'm so sorry you had to stay in that place for three weeks," she said apologetically, "it was my fault, I held up the interrogations."

Slaine couldn't understand why she was apologizing. It wasn't her fault at all…

"A-are you better now?" he asked, his voice uneven.

She looked better. There was color in her cheeks and her hand was warm.

She nodded. "I'll be fine."

He clung to her hand. She was alive and well, and she was looking at him the way she always had. Nothing had changed - he would be able to remain by her side.

After a little while of visiting, they left her to rest and went downstairs. In the kitchen Inaho started preparing dinner.

"It's been a long time since I've seen her smile like that," he said as he set a pan on the stove, "her health is steadily returning because of the blood transfusions, but she was really upset that you couldn't visit."

"Will she be able to walk again soon?" asked Slaine. He took the vegetables Inaho had put out and began cleaning and cutting them. Somehow it felt like he had never actually left this place. The misery of that morning was quickly dissipating into a distant memory.

"The bullet didn't hit anything vital, thankfully, but it grazed her femur so it'll be several months before complete recovery. She's still in a lot of pain, though she tries to hide it. If she ever seems uncomfortable to you, let me know so I can give her more medication."

Slaine felt his hands form fists. His first thought was that he wanted to kill the person who hurt her, but then he remembered he already had. It was small consolation. She shouldn't be the one in pain. If anyone had deserved to be shot, it was him. In any case, he still didn't know why he had been allowed to leave the prison.

He watched as Inaho put fish into the pan. His own cooking was still at a beginner's level, but he was determined to improve.

"I guess I should explain what's been going on for the past three weeks," Inaho began, turning the stove down a touch, "I'm sorry I didn't visit, there was a lot going on and they didn't want me to see you until they had reached a decision. After hearing all of our testimonies, the general consensus is that you acted in self-defense against an armed aggressor…" he turned the fish in the pan, "they're not charging you with anything. It was never even an official case, which is probably why it was handled so bizarrely. Honestly I think they're just glad someone got rid of him for them. If things had persisted with a Martian criminal attacking Terran citizens, it would have become a serious problem between the UFE and Vers." He handed Slaine a plate to wash. "Though they can't officially say it, you essentially did everyone a favor."

Slaine ran soap over the dish thoughtfully. "So… nothing has changed, then? What about that guy's motive, did they find that out?"

"Ah, you mean who was after your head? They're still investigating, though I suspect it was someone within the UFE. No one else could have known you were there with us."

That wasn't surprising. Inaho had previously indicated that there were people who wanted him executed, so perhaps this was an underhanded way of making it happen. If it was a Vers citizen that killed him, the UFE would not be held responsible. It was a dirty move, but a clever one. Still, without evidence they could do nothing about it.

Inaho served the food onto plates. "Let's bring this upstairs. We'll eat with Yuki-nee."

Rain pattered against the windows of the little beach house. They had arrived at lunch time and, since it was raining again, spent the afternoon relaxing indoors. Now the two boys were playing their third game of chess while Yuki took her bath.

"Your move," said Slaine, leaning back in his chair.

Inaho put his hand to his chin and looked intently at the board. There was an unusually long pause as he contemplated his next move.

"I think you might actually win this one…" he said under his breath.

Slaine tried to hide his grin of triumph. He still hated this game but as long as Inaho continued winning he would continue playing. Not like Inaho would let him stop, regardless. He wondered who invented this wretched pastime and why it had become popular amongst Terrans. Was it meant to be fun or just humiliating?

At long last, the game came to an end.

"Congratulations," said Inaho, standing up. "You win."

"Wait, where are you going?" Slaine asked as he watched the other walk away. He would have gloated but it would only make him look more pathetic for being so excited over a single win.

Inaho looked over his shoulder, "I'm going to check on Yuki. Why, did you want to play again?"

Yes. He definitely wanted to play again. Somehow after winning it seemed much more fun.

He put the pieces back in the box. "Tomorrow."

A little while later, he went to say good night to Yuki before heading to their room to read. When he glanced in, Inaho was helping her into bed.

"Ah, Slaine-kun, could you hand me that book?" she asked, seeing him in the doorway.

As he handed her the volume, he noticed Inaho seemed a bit out of breath. He hadn't asked about Inaho's recovery because he had seemed fine, but now upon closer inspection he looked rather pale.

"You should go rest now, too."

Inaho looked at Slaine for a moment. "Okay," he said shortly, and left the room.

When he was gone, Yuki laughed. "I'm a little jealous. Nao-kun's so stubborn, he never listens to anyone. But look how easily he listens to you."

Slaine glanced at the door. "I don't know about that…"

"Oh he does," she confirmed. "He has a special kind of respect for you, you know. No one could ever keep up with him, but you were always one step ahead. And, even though it was war, I think he enjoyed the challenge a little."

In a strange way, he understood that feeling. There was a certain satisfaction that came from fighting a worthy opponent, regardless of the circumstances.

"Anyway, I'm grateful there's someone he'll take advice from. He refused a blood transfusion because he said there were others who needed it more. I can't fault him for that, but I wish he would at least rest. Can you believe last week he took exams as if nothing was wrong? He even passed out during one of them and refused to go to the nurse until after he had finished," she paused and took a deep breath, "so, thank you for taking care of him, Slaine-kun."

Slaine nodded, a bit bewildered. This was all news to him – why would Inaho listen to a person as pathetic as he? Someone who couldn't even take care of himself properly shouldn't be giving advice to others. But the affectionate look in Yuki's eyes was sincere. Perhaps he really was doing some good.

He looked away. "… i-it's nothing."

"You should go take your bath before the water's cold."

"Eh? But he's still in there."

She laughed. "It's a big bath. Don't let him use up all the hot water, go on."

a/n: Alright folks, I'm really thinking this will probably only have 1-3 more chapters (originally I had planned on 12), but if there's enough interest I may consider a sequel/continuation of sorts as a separate fic. I'd like to wrap this one up soon, though, and the continuation would have slower updates (like once a week), as I really need a breather. I'm a very slow and kind of obsessive writer and I'm not very good at balancing my life, so after I sort out my sleep schedule and get some things done that I've been neglecting, I'll start again. It's kind of a vicious cycle but.. no regrets!