I'M BACK BABY! FINALLY!

For You and I

Everyone, I'm so sorry for taking so long, but I got writer's block, and also my first year of high school started, and I've been super busy lately, also with Gaiaonline…but that's another story. But I'm back, and trying to get this finished, and I am super happy because of all of you! I got an all time number of 47 reviews for chapter 13 and over 300 for my story! You don't know how happy you've all made me, and I love you all just so much, free cookies for everyone! And carrots for the health nuts! I love all you guys!

And for those of you who noticed the change in the title with the addition of the words "and I," you're very smart for noticing. But the truth is this was supposed to be the title of the story all along, coming from the song "If We Hold On Together" by Diana Ross. This song inspired the story as well, along with the Avril Lavigne CD I was listening to…but that's not really important, is it? Well, just wanted to let you all know that.

Heero Kashu89, I'm going to get around to reading your story, I promise! I've taken a peek at it, and it looks very nice! And I've come to realize what happens when I'm gone for a long time, PEOPLE STEAL MY THUNDER! Like Heero and revenantangel94! Nah, I'm just joking, I love you guys! I just need to start updating faster to stay in line with my competition. Seriously, everyone, these two are both awesome writers, and you should check out their stories.

aunandaun, soon, my precious reviewer, soon…(translation: yes!) And I'm glad that you've read Heero Kashu's story.

Despiration, I had that exact same thought…but I decided not to use that, it's amazing that we both had the same initial idea, though…

muibadah, you didn't hurt my feelings at all! In fact, I didn't even realize your review had anything that possibly

Chapter 14 Until I Fall Asleep (Had something else planned originally, but it was all boring and useless, so I made this one instead cause I'm awesome and would rather get more in on the plot.)

The mattress against his stomach and no pressure on his back whatsoever was like a small slice of heaven to his beaten body. But it was unfortunately a bit uncomfortable for his belly, seeing as how he'd taken quite a hit to the stomach near the beginning of Muruta's raging blows. Closing his eyes for a moment, he lifted himself a bit on the side, his hand traveling underneath his body to ghost over his skin towards his stomach, and he cringed and inwardly winced when he pressed his fingertips against the beginning formation of the bruise, or one of the many to rise up, anyway.

He removed his hand, then, and lifted it to his face where he brushed his bangs out of his eyes, an expression of mild annoyance crossing his face when perspiration stuck to his fingers and forehead. He was a little warm and also a bit sweaty after having to drag himself from the kitchen to his bedroom, though he was glad that Cagalli hadn't rushed out to see what was going on. She'd been in the shower, he knew so because he'd heard the water running, and with that, combined with a closed bathroom and bedroom door, she wouldn't have heard a thing. He could feel his shoulders slump slightly, he really wished she didn't have to see any of these, have to deal with any of this. He knew she struggled to hold it all inside, especially when she had to see him hurt, and told that she couldn't do anything.

Kira knew his sister was a strong girl, a girl who only wanted to help him because she loved him, but he loved her too. And it was because of that love that he didn't want her involved any more than she was, because he'd never be able to bear it if she were hurt because of him. He'd only be failing his promise to his mother even more.

Burying his face in his pillow, Kira inhaled slowly, catching the scent of fresh laundry from his pillow case. The smell calmed him, and he felt a little more relaxed, though the pain still shot through his body and seemingly random joints and other locations. Turning his head just enough to glance over towards the nightstand that stood just beside his bed, it took his eyes a moment to focus on the glowing red numbers on the digital clock that sat just on the edge of the stand.

It was facing him in a way that from nearly every angle on his bed, he could see the time. This was essential when he was too sore to move for nothing, such as when he woke up a bit too early and wanted to make sure it wasn't necessary for him to be awake any longer. He needed his sleep more than anyone else, really, though that wasn't his reasoning. The little red numbers read twelve thirty six, and though just reading the time made him feel tired, the brunette couldn't help but feel restless at the same time.

Groaning gently as he sat up, he rested a moment, breathing a bit heavily as though trying to catch his breath. He ground his teeth as he straightened up, a searing pain tearing up through his back as he did so. Lavender eyes closed tightly as he tried to endure the pain for a few moments to get used to it quickly, much like testing the water in a pool or bath, and he then quickly stood up from his bed after pulling his legs over the side. It was too fast, though, because he teetered as he stood, and his right knee seemed to be becoming paralyzed or lame, he wasn't quite sure it happened so fast, but he spilled to the floor on his right side, his hip and shoulder hitting the floorboards with a surprisingly soft sound, but the brown haired male uttered a curse just after a sharp yelp of pain.

Pulling his limbs closer to his body, tucking his knees to his chest, he brought his left hand to clutch at his shoulder tightly, bringing more pain that was enough to even make him cry out softly, but ultimately speeding up the impending sense of numbness that he desperately craved. Breathing just a little heavily, just a little shakily, Kira bit down as hard as he could on his lip as he tried to stand. He could have thrown his head back from the pain such an otherwise simple action was bringing him, but instead, his teeth merely bit through the skin of his lip, filling his mouth with the coppery taste of blood that he was so familiar with.

When he'd finally pulled himself up into a standing position, Kira found himself shaking terribly, as though he were naked standing atop an iceberg. Closing his eyes for a second, Kira shook off the sudden chill he felt his body trying to make him feel, and chastised himself for even thinking such a stupid thought. He should have known thinking of something so stupid would make his mental body state react, such as when one thought of the hair on a spider's legs and they shivered, or thought of a cake baking and could feel the warmth of the fluffy treat fresh out of the oven…

Now why couldn't he have thought of that? Then he wouldn't be shaking from pain and imaginary cold, but would be thinking of some sort of sweet. But, even then…his thoughts didn't bring him to pastries and other confectionary, but to thoughts of the pink haired girl whom he couldn't think of a time his heart hadn't pounded against his chest when he thought of her.

If he hadn't stubbed his toe, along with nearly ramming his shoulder against the doorframe, the brown haired boy wouldn't have realized that he'd reached his bedroom's bathroom door. The actual reason he kept the door closed escaped him, but he was a bit relieved, along with surprised, when he saw that he'd made it across the rest of his room, and didn't even remember stumbling or falling from the small shocks of pain that intensified in his joints as he moved. He felt as though he was reminding himself of Lacus, and a familiar warm feeling settled in his stomach, and seemed to send a temporary moment of peace from his pain.

Bowing his head, Kira reached forward and gripped the doorknob tightly, turning it and opening the door into the dark bathroom before stumbling inside, closing the door behind him as he groped along the wall for the light switch. Thoughts of the girl always seemed to make him feel jittery, or numb with warmth, or feel an anxiousness within his heart, body and mind-all over-that just wouldn't go away.

But though they were annoying and even unbearable at times, Kira found that he loved them just as much as well. They made him remember the stories he'd read with his sister as a small child, back when their parents were still alive and their mother would sit and read with them till Cagalli fell asleep, and then she'd carry him back to his room, only to have to read another story. But she didn't mind, and Kira loved the stories, despite the fact that they were "girly" or "mushy." It wasn't like he had to tell the boys at school.

But his mother would sometimes tell him the story about a boy and girl who loved each other so much, but had never once met each other, or even seen each other. In fact, they lived on separate ends of the world. Kira had asked his mother how they could have loved each other, then. You could only love someone you've met before, right? But her answer had confused the little boy so much, yet left a warm feeling in his chest as he drifted off to sleep.

"You may not know who, and they might not even know, but there's always at least one person that cares about you,"

Those were the same words he'd told that little girl in his dream…Kira felt his eyes widen just a bit as his heart leapt, a startled gasp emitting from his lips as he could just barely recall that dream. But, for some reason, when he tried to picture the little girl, he saw a flash of Lacus, and the smile she'd given him just as she'd started walking away that afternoon. That smile…that girl…his dream…his words…

Glancing up, Kira looked through his bangs at his reflection in the mirror, though the image was distorted since his hair was in the way. A light blush was on his cheeks, and he felt the strange urge, or wish, really, to smile. Even the smallest bit. 'At least one person…' he thought silently to himself, and the corners of his lips slowly began to lift. Maybe…Lacus could be…

But the moment his hair was out of his eyes and Kira could fully see his reflected image in the glass; he felt that small smile and any warmth in his body fade fast. His pain seemed to double, realizing the boy was now vulnerable to it, and the brown haired teen winced from the biting pain in his right side and the burning ache on his stomach. While he was off in his own thoughts, he'd been undressing himself for his shower, but now that he could see him, all of him, he felt a sickness in his body unrelated to the bruises and pains that Muruta had caused.

His body was slim and dull, the skin weak and easily marked. He didn't have any sort of overly muscular build, and his arms and legs almost seemed scrawny, or lanky. His body was bruised and scarred all over, almost every part of his body marked or claimed by some sort of mark or bruise. Sure, half of it was fading, but it left his body gross and disgusting. It made him look sick. His eyes finally fell on each other's gaze, and he stared painfully into the face of himself. His reflection looked back at him with a saddened, helpless expression, as though saying, "I can do nothing," and asking, "What can I do?" at the same time.

Looking away from the mirror, Kira let his shirt that he was holding fall to the floor. He could never let Lacus look at his body, because he couldn't even stand looking at it. He and Lacus couldn't possibly be that match, the boy and girl who would love each other without even a face or a name. So the boy staggered towards the glass shower stall, feeling the shooting pain racing from his knees and ankles with every step. He opened the door, and stepped in, turning the water on 'HOT', and as high as it would go.

By the time the water was hitting his aching muscles, he'd leaned himself against the tile wall, allowing his body to take away some of the weight on his legs. He was still shaking just a bit, but it wasn't as terrible as it had been when he had to keep himself standing out in his room. Though as the water fell, pressing down on him and covering him in its heated embrace, he felt heat and a stinging in his eyes, and blinking them just slightly, he felt tears mix with the shower water that poured mercifully down on him.

Parting his lips, only to bit down sharply on his bottom lip, he kept himself from sobbing. He had no reason to be crying, it had to be from the pain in his body, right? He was only relived that the pain was starting to feel a little better with the scorching water, right? Besides, boys weren't supposed to cry…But it still hurt him, when he reminded himself that Lacus was intangible. Keeping his eyes closed, the boy continued leaning against the white tile wall of the shower, huddling underneath the showerhead as torrent after torrent of steaming water fell down onto him.

But as the water continued washing over his skin, he felt himself become just a little calmer, and since he'd grown accustomed to the scorching water just seconds after having first turned it on, he wasn't bothered by the heat, if anything comforted beyond his pains. Standing upright, and tilting his head up just slightly into the stream of water, Kira kept his eyes closed, and tried to calm himself so that the warmth from the water could rush over him, and he'd feel it in every cell of his body.

When the water seemed to form a cloak of heat around him, he felt the strangest feeling as though someone were embracing him tightly, and he swore he could feel the heat of another body clinging close to him. Keeping his eyes closed, he couldn't break the illusion that his mind was weaving, and the fact that in his mind's eye, he wasn't in his shower. He was back at the school, and he and Lacus were the only ones around, and the girl was trapped in his arms, or maybe he was trapped in hers. The brunette could feel a bit of the familiar anxiousness swelling in his stomach that seemed to come whenever the girl was near, but it was accompanied with another feeling that was nearly completely foreign to him. It seemed it intensify, like a pressure building up, the longer he held the long haired girl, and just as he could imagine them leaning in for their faces to come closer for what seemed so forbidden and sacred to him, Kira gasped and his eyes shot open in surprise, only for him to stumble a step backwards and curse softly from the water getting into his eyes.

But his legs seemed to have turned into jello, and he would have fallen to the floor of the shower had he not reached over for the wall to support himself. Breathing just a bit heavily, and shakily, though not from pain, Kira tried to regain his train of thought, trying to remember what had caused him to stumble back. He'd been zoning out, and he knew he'd been thinking about Lacus, but what had caused him to grow so weak so suddenly was a mystery to him. Until he was going to lift his hand to rub his eyes, when he froze, his eyes widening as he realized what he'd been doing while daydreaming.

The flushed blush on his cheeks intensified sharply, and Kira slumped down to the floor of the shower as though in a daze. His hands he gently rubbed against the tiled floor, hoping the water and texture of the floor tiles would get rid of the evidence of the sin he'd just committed so shamelessly. Leaning his head against the tiled wall of the shower, Kira closed his eyes as he chewed the inside of his cheek. He'd just stay in the shower a bit longer, just a little longer till he could forget what he'd just done, and his circulation returned to normal through out his entire body.

How many times did she tell herself that this wasn't right, not at all? How many times did she try to tell herself that it wasn't true, that it wasn't really happening, and that she'd be fine if she just closed her eyes and counted to three? She'd take in that deep breath, quickly close her eyes, and slowly count to three. Listening to a heartbeat, like the strong one of her father's when she was scared as a little girl, always made the counting easier.

"Three beats of my heart will chase away the monsters, Princess," her father would say in his deep, reassuring voice, and she would nod her head while still keeping her face buried in his chest. Sometimes, he'd count with her, and she would feel so safe, listening to his voice shadow her own as his heart beat so gently and steadily in his chest under her ear.

The soft thump…thump…thump…and she'd open her eyes, look up, and there would be no monsters from under the bed or in the closet, the dark wouldn't be so scary, and she'd only see her father's smile and kind blue eyes. And his heart would be beating gently, and her hands would let her feel every welcoming pulse with such love and warmth. She would then smile, and curl up in her father's arms, listening to his heart like a lullaby. Thump…thump…thump…

She was scared…

…One…

She wanted to run away, get to anywhere but there…

…Two…

The monsters were hurting her again…

…Three…

She screamed, tears already running down her cheeks as she struggled, desperately trying to get away.

Just as when she'd opened her eyes and found that what she feared was not gone, so was the heart beat she'd hoped would save her. That man had been dead, along with his heart which was the only heart that could chase away the monsters. It was too busy being dead along with him. Buried deep under cold, hard earth that not even dogs could dig up. That heart was gone, along with the usefulness of the count to three.

"No! Please, stop," she sobbed, her throat sore from screaming as even more tears, fat, salty droplets, fell from the corners of her eyes. "Please!" she screamed again, her voice breaking and cracking, and a sharp pain exploding in the back of her throat. It hurt so much, but she couldn't stop. Screaming was all she could do, all she could hope for rescue.

Again, she tried to kick at Meer, but her legs were held down securely by Meer's knees which the older girl had dug into her little sister's thighs. Meer's hand was holding down both of Lacus' wrists against the carpet of the floor, using her other arm to hold the younger girl's chest down as she continued to struggle. It was proving difficult for the eighteen year old to hold down the sixteen year old, what with her sister's squirming and constant struggling.

"Get off! Please-" Lacus was cut off mid sentence as Meer pulled her arm off of her chest just long enough to pull back her hand to deliver a sound slap to the girl's cheek, successfully making her quiet down.

"Shut up, you little slut," Meer drawled, her eyes wide and pupils dilated, her expression contorted into a sadistic smirk of pleasure. She was drunk, but completely aware of what she was doing at the same time. It had been Lacus' misfortune to have fallen asleep on the couch in the family room, having thought that Meer had gone to Ketsuke's or one of her friends' when she realized no one was home after Dearka had dropped her off. She'd then showered, did as much of her homework as she could, and then gotten dressed for bed before going downstairs to watch TV. She had skipped dinner as usual. Unfortunately, the girl had been right about who Meer was with, but wrong about where.

Meer had come home at almost one in the morning, drunk and still not sleepy, and with Ketsuke. The ashen haired girl had quickly found her sister sleeping on the couch, and had made quick work of waking her. She just hadn't expected the younger girl to struggle enough till they were both down on the carpet.

"Finally, you were about to burst my ear drums with your screaming, Lacus," Meer said darkly, a slightly uppity tone in her voice. Lacus knew it came from her sister's intoxication; she'd been around her sister when Meer was drunk plenty of times to know. But she also knew that her sister was uncontrollable, and that she had to get away before Meer tried to do anything to her. Otherwise…She had to get away from her before Ketsuke grew tired of watching.

Meer's hand went to ghost over her little sister's breast for a moment, making Lacus wince and whimper through her sobs. The older sister grinned, and made a quiet clucking noise with her tongue as she dragged her hand down her sister's long sleeved, blue-silk pajama shirt, coming to rest at the hem. "Aw, Lacus, you're crying! Did you get hurt when you fell?" Meer asked with fake concern just dripping from her words. "That's no reason to cry," the girl added in a hateful voice as her hand dove under the fabric of Lacus' shirt and went up till the pink haired girl could feel her sister's hand over her heart, and her eyes widened to an impossible size as she screamed, just as Meer roughly pulled her hand up, breaking the buttons on Lacus' shirt and causing her bare chest to become exposed.

She stared up at Meer with a terrified look on her face, much the way a mouse would look up at a cat just before being eaten, and the blue eyes that were coated in tears widened even more when she noticed out of the corner of her eye that Ketsuke was beginning to walk closer towards them. "N-No!" she scream again, her voice not sounding like her own from all the screaming, and she renewed her struggles against Meer's hold. "Please, no! No, no, no!" she begged, shaking her head from side to side wildly as Ketsuke came up to just behind her sister. Their expressions were of twin smirks, though Meer had a hint of bloodlust in her eyes.

"I'll give you a reason to cry, if you want one so badly!" she cried out, anger falling over her face. The girl's free hand then went for the hem of Lacus' matching pajama pants, and the girl froze for half a second before a tremor-like shake ceased her body and a deep sob escaped from her throat. "See, I knew I could give you a better reason to cry," the dark haired girl purred as her fingers slowly began to get underneath the elastic band that held the pants around the pale girl's too-slim waist and bony hips.

"No!" Lacus screamed again, taking in a deep, wheezy breath as she tried to bring air back into her exhausted lungs while trying to keep the bile in her stomach from rising. It was hard, and she really did want to vomit, it might even make her sister get off of her, or it may just make her even angrier and do something worse…but what could be worse than this? "No, stop it!" Lacus screamed again, bucking her hips to try and push Meer off of her, and then falling into a fit of coughing.

Meer laughed cruelly and pressed her sister's wrists even harder against the carpet. "Oh Lacus, you should really stop your little innocent act, it's not fooling anyone here," Meer hissed, her hand reaching for the pants' waistband once more. "You little whore…" Meer growled, tightening her hold on the pants' waistband, but not trying to pull them down just yet. Lacus was still squirming in her hold, hot tears streaming down the side of her face.

"No…" Lacus whimpered when she felt Meer's hand began to tug gently at the waistband, and her body began trembling again. Her chest was heaving shakily, making her feel sick, and knowing that Meer and Ketsuke were staring at her made her feel like she was frozen in a glacier.

"You're not fooling anyone," Meer added. "You let Ketsuke-" but before Meer could finish her sentence, Ketsuke placed a hand on her shoulder, immediately calming her down.

"Now, Meer, don't hurt the girl," the boy said, though his tone was less than relieving, and his gaze only made Lacus shake more. "You need to be gentle with little girls, since they can be so temperamental," Ketsuke added, and to Lacus' horror, he was reaching towards her, and she knew she didn't want him to touch her anywhere.

Throwing her head back and slamming it into the carpet hard enough to see stars, Lacus screamed as loudly as he voice would still let her. She also began pulling at Meer's hold around her wrists, which had weakened some when Ketsuke had intervened with her older sister's plans. She didn't want Meer to be touching her, and there was no way in Hell that she would ever let Ketsuke get to her so easily, she couldn't let them…she couldn't let him…Not again…

Getting her hands free from her older sister's grasp, Lacus quickly pulled her hand back and slung it towards Ketsuke, who was closest. Her palm connected with his cheek, and the sharp smacking sound surprised the three of them, and gave Lacus just the right second she needed to pull her legs out from under her sister, knocking her back as well. Without wasting another ounce of time, Lacus shot up and started running towards the closest way out of the danger of Meer and Ketsuke.

Her first thought had been to run out the front door, but if she did that, she'd probably stumble down the walkway, or Ketsuke would easily go after her to keep her from catching any of the neighbors' attention. Besides, the last time she'd tried something like that, it didn't end well. Instead, she knew the only place she could go would be her room. She could lock the door; push the vanity in front of it, something, anything, just to keep Ketsuke and her sister away from her. Anything…

But she hadn't expected Meer to be just behind her, and the minute she began trying to run up the front stairs, Lacus felt a tug at her pants, and looked down to see her sister trying to keep her from running. "You little bitch! I'm going to make you regret that," she screamed, enraged. But Lacus only took half a second to look up and see Ketsuke walking calmly down the hallway towards them, and she cried out loudly, feeling her tears begin to run quickly yet again.

Falling just a bit down onto the stairs, Lacus quickly lifted her hands to her waist and eased the elastic band past her hips, and quickly pulled herself out of her pants before Meer could grab her shirt or wrist, and took off running up the stairs, dressed only in her ruined shirt and underwear, two, and once or twice, three steps at a time. She could hear Meer coming after her, but she tried to force herself to go faster. When she reached the upstairs hallway, Lacus tried turning too quickly, and ended up stumbling and falling onto her stomach, banging her elbow and knee against a hallway table.

Crying out from the pain, anguish clearly evident in her tone, the girl sobbed as she tried to pull herself up quickly. But nothing could have been fast enough, since she heard Meer slowing down as she reached the hallway. Lacus whimpered when she heard her older sister chuckle. That spurred her to hurry, and she hurried to get up, and not dwell on her stumbles as she tried to reach her bedroom door. If she could just reach it…

Heaven wouldn't be a surprise for Lacus, because she knew it would feel exactly like she felt the moment she crossed over through the doorway to her bedroom. Before she could truly feel relieved, though, she remembered Meer was right behind her, and without another second's hesitation, she slammed the door shut, pressing in the lock desperately. But not two moments after was the door rumbling and shaking as Meer pounded her fists against the only thing keeping Lacus from her.

"Lacus! Open the door, I promise not to hurt you, little sister," Meer called out sweetly, though her hands continued hitting the door with as much force as she could. "Please, Lacus? I'm sorry if I scared you! Let me make it up to you!?" Another sob escaped from the girl's trembling lips, and she stumbled through her dark bedroom, unable to see through the darkness and her tear clouded eyes. She even screamed when she bumped into her vanity table, nearly falling over the chair. But she sobbed freely when Meer's words continued to come through the door, which still shook and trembled with every hit it endured from her hands.

Her hands flew over her desk, searching for one specific thing, but not being able to find it. She knocked over nearly everything that sat on top of the vanity, and with each item falling, she jumped or flinched from the noise. The girl screamed out and fell to her knees when Meer seemed to have slammed her body, or her shoulder, into the door. "Lacus! Open the fucking door!" the older girl demanded, slamming into the door again.

Lacus shook her head wildly, holding her hands against her ears as though trying to block out the sounds. But it wasn't working, not at all. When Meer repeated herself, Lacus screamed again, and abandoned her ears to wrap her arms around herself, and feeling the violent shaking of her body only made her feel even more frightened.

Standing shakily, and nearly petrified from the fear of Meer really breaking down her door and coming in to drag her out by her hair just as she was screaming through the wooden barrier, Lacus tried to keep herself steady. Before the girl could hear another threat made by her sister, she hurried over towards her desk, or at least where she thought her desk was in her room, and she found it after banging her knee into one of the desk legs.

Grabbing her school bag from the top of the desk, Lacus nearly fell as she turned around when Meer hit the door again. Ignoring the other girl's screaming, Lacus stumbled towards her closet, pushing open the door and stepping into the dark, small space. Closing the door behind her, she took in a few deep breaths, still holding her school bag. The sounds of Meer trying to get into her room were so faint now, and lacus felt just a bit of relief, but it wasn't enough to calm her down. Trying to take in another deep breath, another sob threatened to slip past, and she tried to hold it in, but it made her throat hurt just a bit, and she hiccupped.

Tears still slipped from her eyes and down her already soaked cheeks as she slowly slid down the door, falling into a sitting position on the floor. Without skipping a heartbeat, the girl opened her back and reached into it, her fingers searching desperately for something she only hoped she had not left at school. Her fingers brushed past something cool and made of metal, and Lacus felt a small wave of relief quickly pass over her. Pulling out her geometric compass, the girl held it tightly in one hand while her other searched for the sharp point on the other end. When she found it, she sucked in a deep breath of relief, and just as she was lowering the dangerous edge to the scared skin of her wrist, she froze, her eyes wide.

"I don't want you to hurt yourself like this,"

Those words echoing in her head, Lacus felt her body begin a new tremble, and she dropped the compass with a shaking hand. Bringing her legs up to her chest, she wrapped her arms around her knees, hoping to stop the shaking of her body, but failing. Her body was now shaking with each sob that slipped past her lips, and the number was counted with each tear that fell onto her knees. After a few minutes, the girl glanced up from her knees towards where she thought she dropped her schoolbag, and she frowned slightly, staring in the bag's direction as though she blamed it for what had happened to her not even an hour ago, and with a soft cry, she kicked it aside. But after doing so, a pale blue light filled the closet, and Lacus looked over towards her bag where the light was coming from.

Her cell phone had partially fallen out and flipped open, activating the light and lighting up the closet. Reaching for it, Lacus picked it up hesitantly, and glanced at the time. Nearly one thirty in the morning, and she knew there was no way she would be able to sleep. Feeling more tears building up behind her eyes, Lacus was about to drop the phone again, when her eyes fell over the small icon on the bottom of the screen that read CONTACTS. Parting her lips slightly, Lacus pressed a button with her thumb, and looked at the single number that occupied her contacts list.

The temptation to close her cell phone was great, but that was only because she knew it was late. But the urge to press the SEND button was greater, and closing her eyes, Lacus pressed the button and brought the phone up to her ear, closing her eyes and biting her lip more tightly with each passing ring. He'd said she could call at any time…and it's not like she couldn't just call and listen to his voice on the away message. That's all the pale girl wanted, to hear his voice. Even if it was on some stupid phone recording.

Stepping out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist, Kira held another in his hands and was using it to towel dry his hair. He was feeling better after the shower, but his cheeks were still a bit pink, this he'd noticed from making the mistake of glancing in the mirror. Though his aches and pains weren't as sharp and intense as they were before, Kira still had a little trouble standing still, and only wanted to get in bed. He didn't even want to get dressed, just try and sleep.

Having all that time in the shower trying to forget one thing made him think of too many others, and the main one he'd ended up focusing on was how he submitted to Muruta so easily. How he let the man stick that needle in his neck, and inject him with whatever was in that syringe, and then let him beat him till he was bored…He knew that he did it for Cagalli, but he was growing tired. He wanted to keep protecting his sister, but the pain he was constantly living with…His mother had always called him such a strong person for taking so much responsibility as a child.

He didn't want to feel this pain anymore, he didn't want to live with it, to hide it, to cover it up. The truth was, he wasn't that strong of a person. He couldn't keep doing this forever, he didn't want to continue suffering. It may be only for another few years, but those few years would surely kill him if he could barely get by now. He'd even thought of…

No, he'd never do something like that. He couldn't leave Cagalli, and he certainly couldn't make her do the same, she had a chance to still have a good life. Just because he would…No, he had decided he couldn't do something like that. He'd have to bear with this just a bit longer. Maybe, he could somehow figure out how to survive through the next few years, even if just by the skin of his back.

Sighing tiredly, the brown haired boy dropped both towels into the laundry basket that served as a towel hamper beside his nightstand, and sat down on his bed after pulling the sheets back. He wasn't exactly sure if it would be more comfortable for his bruises if he slept on his stomach, but he really didn't want to, having always found lying on his back or side more comfortable. But the moment his head hit the pillow, and he pulled the sheets up to his chest, Kira winced slightly, and shifted his position in his bed. But no matter which way he moved, he couldn't find a place that didn't seem to be applying any extra pressure to his already sore back.

But before he had the chance to think of any other way besides sleeping on his stomach, the boy heard a distinct but quiet noise that was foreign yet familiar to him at the same time. The noise was coming from somewhere near the nightstand, such as on the floor, and the boy was forced to turn over on his side. Wincing from the slight pain and discomfort of practically having to lie on his own arm for a few moments, Kira pushed the slight pain out of his mind as he groped around the floor, searching for his schoolbag while murmuring a few curses about his room being too dark for one thirty three in the morning. When he finally found his schoolbag, he opened it with one hand and reached inside, pulling out his cell phone only to stare at it in confusion for a few minutes till it rang again, the noise still a soft chime, barely loud enough for even him to hear, and the device also vibrated gently in his hand.

But what was keeping Kira from flipping it open to answer was the name on the small screen that read the caller ID. Caller ID only gave names to those on your contact list, and only two numbers were on his list. Cagalli's and…But, why would she be calling? Was it maybe a technical error? Such as her phone, or even his phone, was low on batteries or its circuit board was fried and it was acting out?

"Lacus…" Kira whispered quietly, before steeling himself, and flipping the phone open on the sixth ring, trying to remember how many rings it took before voicemail took over. Holding the mobile phone up to his ear, Kira stared at his pillow that lay directly in front of him, and he wondered how he should answer. But before he could think of anything to say first, the caller on the other end beat him to it.

"Kira?"

Kira's eyes widened and his lips parted slightly, before he shifted slightly on his bed to make himself more comfortable. "Lacus, are you all right?" Kira asked quietly, though urgently all the same. The girl's voice sounded hoarse and faint, and it also sounded like she'd been crying, or still was.

Lacus' eyes widened when she heard the concern in Kira's voice, and she felt her heart flutter, and a small bit of warmth settle in her stomach. Kira was worried, which meant he obviously cared. And she was relieved that he didn't sound angry with her for calling so early. Yet, anyway. Pulling her legs closer to her body and using her free hand to clutch her knee more tightly, Lacus tried to press herself even further against her closet door, as though trying to become part of it. "Kira, I'm so sorry…for call…calling you so late," she stammered, a sob nearly threatening to slip past. She didn't know why, but she felt like crying all over again, though this time, she wasn't sure if they were tears of fear gathering in her eyes, or relief. "But, I didn't…I, I couldn't…" the girl stumbled over her words, her eyes already filled with tears.

"Lacus, you're crying! What's wrong!? Please tell me," Kira begged from the other end of the line, the concern and worry in his voice enough to make Lacus want to smile and cry at the same time. "Did you hurt yourself again? Lacus, you know you can tell me, please," Kira added.

"No, I…I almost did, but then I called you instead," Lacus managed to get out rather normally, though her eyes stung and her nose felt like it was ready to run. "I so sorry, Kira. I really don't mean to be bothering you," she began, only for Kira to interrupt her.

"Lacus, you're not bothering me, that's impossible." the boy stated reassuringly, and it was enough to make Lacus feel less anxious. "And I'm glad that you called me instead of…the other option…But Lacus, you didn't answer me, are you all right?"

"I…I'm…No," the long haired teen answered, the sob she'd been trying to hold in finally breaking through. Her body shook again, and she did everything she could to keep from dropping the phone. Trying to breath between sobs, she couldn't help the tiniest of smiles brightening her lips with each worried phrase from Kira, asking why she was crying and if she was all right. His sincerity was always so…right now it was one of the few things she really wanted.

Kira stared down at his pillow, wish that he wasn't talking to Lacus over the phone. He could hear the girl sobbing, and he could practically feel the fear that seemed to be clinging to her right through the phone. He wanted to take her into his arms and hold her tightly till whatever was the cause of her tears was nothing but a very distant memory in her mind. But he couldn't, and that realization made him feel helpless and worthless.

"Lacus, please, tell me you're not hurt, are you!?" he asked, hoping to get an answer from her. "You are at home, right? Lacus, please tell me what's wrong," he pleaded, hoping that she was all right.

"K-Kira, please, just stay on the phone with me till I fall asleep!" Lacus begged between sobs, chocking on her words and her tears. "Please, I don't want to feel alone, not right now…"

"All right, Lacus, I'll stay on," Kira promised, his tone gentle and soft, like the way he would speak to her if she were beside him and not far away. "I won't leave you alone,"

"Kira…can you please…" Lacus paused, trying to keep a sob down while also trying to form her words carefully. "Can you please just keep on talking? I don't care what you talk about, I just really want to hear your voice right now, I…" but the girl fell into another fit of sobs before she could finish.

"Whatever you want, Lacus," Kira answered, and he smiled slightly when he could hear the deep sigh of relief through the sobs coming from the girl through the phone.

Settling down into his bed, and pulling the sheets up closer around his body but leaving his arms uncovered, and one arm holding the phone comfortably to his ear, Kira closed his eyes, suddenly not tired at all. His mind was no longer even on his thoughts from earlier, for all he could think of now was the girl crying uncontrollably on the other end of the phone and how much he so desperately wanted to hold her in his arms just then and give her his shoulder to cry on. But he'd settle for the next best thing, and fulfill her request.

That was how he began telling Lacus about his mother, and how she would tell he and his sister stories when she was still alive, and they were much younger. He even told a few he remembered, though he couldn't recall a few parts, and had to make it up as he went along. As the seconds ticked into minutes, and the minutes slowly dragged into hours, Kira continued to talk, only because Lacus had said that's all she wanted. He was a bit drowsy, but he didn't mind, because he could tell this was the only way he could comfort her.

It was when Kira's words began to repeat upon themselves and the occasionally yawn become more frequent did Kira realize that he was growing tired. But he didn't stop, and eventually, he couldn't even tell that he was talking complete gibberish as his sentences ran over and across each other, and sometimes were backwards. He didn't even know that he'd stopped talking till he fell asleep near five thirty in the morning. It may be a good thing that he didn't know that Lacus had fallen asleep nearly half an hour ago, having curled up on the carpet floor of her closet with her pajama shirt tucked tightly around her and her hand holding her cell phone gently to her ear, her tears having quieted hours ago.

All right, even though I really don't want to, I'm going to end it here for now. I know I usually make some insanely long chapter for you people between 8 or 9 thousand words when I have one of my 5-month writer's blocks, but I think this will satisfy you guys and give you something to read while I type up the next chapter. See, I think you guys may like it if I typed shorter chapters more often than getting one hell of a long chapter every five months. I can almost guarantee you with my soul as my gambling piece that I'd be able to update at least once a month if I only had to type a 5 to 7 thousand word chapter.

Would you guys like that? Now, since I'm doing that now, I really want to have the next chapter in by next week or the next two weeks, but it depends on whether I get a lot of reviews of your feedback and whether or not I get addicted to Gaiaonline all over again and end up wanting to do nothing else but role-play all day…Let me know what you'd like me to do for chapter length in your review! And let me know what you think of the chapter as well, everyone, and I think you make like to know that I had to listen to Adam Merrin's song Still Alright 201 times before even coming close to finishing this chapter! And it took all of my Saturday, but you know what? I'VE NEVER HAD A BETTER SATURDAY! I LOVE writing my Fanfiction updates when I really get into the mood! Hey, maybe I'll update Bound by Blood soon, too? Wouldn't that be nice…

And thanks again for all your feedback from my question last chapter everyone! I love you all, and hope you still love me! (Tell me you love me in your review and I may want to update faster…)

Sam