Sorry it's taken so long for an update! But as usual, let me know what you think!

Nothing had change between Attia and Keiro over the last couple days. In some ways that was good. They weren't fighting anymore, nor where they inclined to throw things at each other or yell. In other ways, it wasn't exactly ideal either. Keiro wanted desperately to return to the same physical relationship they had before, but he couldn't handle the idea of rejection let alone Attia actually putting it into place. So at night, he held her, now assured that she wouldn't reject those advances and that he was free to hold her as much as he pleased. But he wouldn't even let himself think about the prospect of kissing her, let alone doing anything else to her. He was glad that she seemed to have no reservations in laying with him, however. She just laid against him every night, her arm wrapping around his body, her head rested against his chest.

"What's the matter?" she asked him suddenly. She stayed where she was for another second before she lifted her head and put her chin on his chest to meet his eyes. "You're tense. I can feel it." She pressed her fingers into his side, and he could feel his tight muscles protesting against the pressure, then relaxing under it.

"Finn said to just give you time and let you come to me. Claudia said that I should at least try to make advances so you know that I'm still here. Casper said to just have sex with you over and over and eventually you'll get over whatever's bothering you. Anne said to have a real conversation about everything and tell you how I feel about stuff and why I want to be with you."

Attia didn't know what to say at first. She wasn't sure if she should be mad that he went detailing their entire relationship to all their friends or feel glad that he cared enough to ask for advice from everyone. "Did you decide on a course of action?"

"Well, I like Anne the most by default, but I don't necessarily like her idea," Keiro answered and Attia laughed as she put her head back down on his chest. "But she's the happiest of us all, so I figure she has to know what makes people happy, right?"

"Maybe she's just born that way," Attia said and Keiro forced himself not to think that she wasn't taking the conversation seriously.

"I know that for some reason, Morgan makes you really, really, really mad, and you won't tell me why that is, so I don't know what to do to make you feel better about it," he admitted, the truthfulness in his words hanging in the air between them. He felt Attia draw in a deep breath and eventually pull away from him, but only to look up into his eyes. Since she said nothing, he continued on, unable to stand the tension between them even if he was the only one to feel it. "I want to be with you, but I feel like you don't believe me even though I went to Primstone for you to see you and make sure you were ok, and you just push me away. You hate Morgan more than all the other women, but you won't even admit that."

"Morgan was different," Attia finally said, but Keiro just narrowed his eyes at her. "You can't tell me that she wasn't, Keiro."

"How was she different?" he questioned, almost able to convince her that he didn't believe Morgan to be different. "She's different to you. You can't stand Morgan but you'll have conversations with the other women I've been with that are still at Court."

"She was different to you too," she said strongly as she tried to roll away from him, but he put his arm around her and forced their bodies together.

"Don't pull away from me," he told her softly, his lips in line with her ear, desperation clear in his voice. She still beneath his body, and he released her only after she nodded and put an arm around his neck. "Why was she different?"

Attia stared at him, her chest aching with thoughts of Morgan and Keiro, but she couldn't force herself to say it all out loud. Keiro lifted his hand to her cheek and she shut her eyes as she felt his fingers tracing her jaw line, her chin. He touched her lips with his fingers gently and she opened her eyes to see him looking down at her. He never let himself look at her the way he was, and she knew that. His eyes were wide and filled with pain and desire and fear, and he swallowed as he tried to pull his fingers from her lips, but she kissed them gently before he could retrieve them. Her eyes were shut, granting him a few seconds to debate whether or not to try and kiss her without worrying about what she might see in his face.

When he finally decided on what to do, he steeled his heart and convinced himself that when she rejected his kiss, it wasn't because she didn't love him. She was upset and hurt because of Morgan, even if she still wouldn't admit it, but he would still be the one she went to every night. When he touched her lips with his, he savored the moment, expecting it to end too quickly, but Attia kissed him back and tightened her arm around his neck. He kissed her more passionately, urged on by her response, but he still wanted an answer and eventually forced himself to pull away from her.

"When you won't kiss me, or when you wouldn't even let me lay with you, it was like you didn't want me anymore," he told her softly, careful to keep his head down in the crevice of her neck so as not to force himself to meet her gaze. He hoped that with his admission she would at least offer up a little bit of information. And if not, he knew he could at least know she'd not use any of his inner most troubles against him.

She stayed quiet after he finished, her fingers moving against the back of his neck so that her nails gently scratched his skin. After another moment, she turned her head to press a kiss against his cheek, prompting him to lift his head again and peer down at her. She maintained her silence as she met his gaze, shutting her eyes for only the few moments it took to raise her head off of the pillow and kiss him softly.

"I do still want you, even if I don't need you."

"Is that what this is about?" he questioned as he rolled to his side so he didn't have to continue supporting his weight. He was right beside her on his side while she remained on her back, her eyes staying on the ceiling rather than following him. "I can't believe you even remember me saying that."

"You remember," she pointed out, turning to him for a second before turning away again. He could feel her debating whether or not to continue the conversation, so he reached over and stroked her cheek with his finger to coax her into facing him once more. "That was why you left. I'm not the only one to leave, you know."

His eyes flashed for a second before he cleared them again, all while holding her gaze. He wanted to argue that his leaving hadn't been half as dramatic as hers, but he thought better of it and let her have that argument. He wasn't trying to fight with her again. He was trying to end all their fighting, and it seemed to him she was willing to give that a try as well.

"And I was only gone for a couple days," she added, knowing she pushed too far since he shut his eyes rather than roll them. He fought a smirk from appearing on his lips out of the sheer entertainment value she was to him. His efforts were useless compared to her kiss that instantly wiped away any grin or smirk in the making. She touched his brow with her fingers before she pushed a lock of silver hairs behind his ear. "I'd always thought you'd have been happier with Morgan than with me, and when she showed up with your kid-"

Attia stopped suddenly, her eyes snapping shut as she tried to roll away from Keiro, but he wouldn't let her. He trapped her right there beside him, his arm refusing to give her the space to get away from him. She struggled to get out of his arms for a minute, until she gave up. Of course, they both knew that if she really wanted to get out his arms, she very well could. He wasn't exactly sure how many knives she had hidden around the room anymore, but he was damn certain there was at least one she could still access even with him pinning her there near the center of the mattress.

"You don't need me," Keiro said when he was sure she was at least listening to him. She still hadn't faced him again, but she didn't need to for him to see the pain across her face. Her eyes were screwed shut, the rest of her face struggling to stay calm, her entire body tense. "But you want me, and that's enough for me." He leaned over to brush his lips against her temple. "That's more than needing me, I just didn't know that then."

Attia scoffed, obviously unwilling to believe him. She started to struggle again, and Keiro released his arm around her body, but she stopped suddenly. She didn't really want to get away, and he wasn't sure exactly what she wanted anymore if she was foolish enough to believe he'd ever want Morgan instead of her. After a minute, he put his arm around her again and she didn't fight him as he drew her back to him, their bodies pressing together once more. She wasn't crying, but he was sure she at least had some built up tears stinging her eyes based on how glossy her eyes were.

"I don't believe you."

"Obviously," he replied and Attia actually smiled before she shifted her eyes to him. He knew that she wanted him to explain, but he didn't want to. He didn't want to have to spill all the inner workings of his twisted version of love, and yet he didn't seem to have any other choice. If it worked and he and Attia went back to being the way they were before, then he'd eventually get over it. If it didn't, Anne had some serious making up to do the next day.

"I did everything I could to make Morgan and all the other girls sleep with me," he told her. "Said all these ridiculous things and pretended to care about all their petty problems. Fed them all these compliments on their stupid dresses and their done up hair. I didn't do that with you. You knew who I was from the very beginning, and-" Keiro stopped suddenly as he realized he'd never really told Attia why he was with her. Why he'd come back to her when he'd never gone back to any other girl before.

She thought he needed some encouragement to continue, so she she'd pressed their lips together for a brief kiss, that he returned even though he hadn't needed it. "You wanted me anyway when you knew how… what I…"

"How big of a shit you are?" she suggested and he smiled down at her as he nodded slowly.

"Something like that."

"You told Morgan you loved her before you said it to me," she replied sharply and Keiro's body stilled. He knew how that looked, even if he knew it wasn't the way it sounded.

"I never meant for you to hear that."

"Well, sorry, I'm not blissfully unaware," she snapped as she tried to push him away, but he held his ground.

"No," he protested as he bent down to kiss her, but she turned her head forcing his lips to land on her cheek. "I mean, yeah you weren't exactly supposed to hear that. But I was with you before I was with her. And I was in love with you before I'd ever met her. I don't know how you could think I would ever want her instead of you."

"She had your kid before me. You said you loved her before me. She needs you."

"I know how it looks," he assured her, able to tell from her tone of voice that she was starting to let go of her ridiculous ideas. "But that's not how it is. I can't help that she got pregnant first, and we never wanted kids to begin with."

"That's kind of pointless now, Keiro," she told him as she rolled her eyes.

"I know that," he said with a sigh as he rolled back to lay on his back and stare up at the ceiling. He excepted her to roll to her side of the bed and create space between them, but instead, she rolled towards him and put her head on his chest. He smiled as he put his arm around her and held her there, his fingers entangling in her hair. "You should marry me," he said suddenly and Attia sat straight up, her eyes casted down on him. They were wide open and solid as she stared at him in shock.

"What?" she asked finally. Keiro leaned over to reach into the drawer on his nightstand and retrieve a small black box. She judged from the movements of his arms that he'd opened the top of the box, but she slammed her hand down on top of it to shut it again without even looking down at the ring.

"If we got married, Finn would be legitimate," he told her as he handed the black box off to her without opening it again. "He would inherit my title instead of Lucas."

"I'm not going to fucking marry you," she snapped as she shoved the black box back into his hand. He rose an eyebrow at her, aware that her response wasn't entirely surprising to him, but how extreme it was certainly was cause for surprise.

"I figured that would make you feel better, knowing Finn would get my stuff instead of Morgan's kid," Keiro admitted as he tossed the box to the side of the bed. It actually landed on the top of his nightstand on its side.

"We never had to be married before," she said and he nodded. He knew that, but he wasn't sure where she was going with it. "You're asking me to change our relationship because of her."

"No," Keiro shook his head as he sat up and reached out for her, but she swatted his hand away. "That's not how I meant it, Attia."

"You just said the only reason is for the inheritance!"

"Well, if I'd thought for a second that you needed to be married to be happy, I'd have married you years ago, but you're not, so don't pretend to be upset if my motives aren't romantic," he responded and she rolled her eyes as she bit back a response. At his comment, however, she did seem to calm a little about the entire prospect.

"If you needed me to marry you to prove that I love you, or that I want you, or whatever, then I would," she told him, her entire body still stiff, her eyes still hard. "But I won't marry you because of Morgan. Or her kid, or anything that has to do with her, including the inheritance."

"I thought you wanted Finn to have a place to inherit when he's older," Keiro said as he reached over to put his hand on her knee. Since she didn't push away his hand, he left it there as he held her gaze.

"I already started moving money around to buy a new house to replace High Duke Hall," she admitted.

"Where'd you get the money?"

"I pulled it out of the rebuilding money for High Duke Hall," she said, trying to keep her face straight. She mostly failed as a smirk appeared across her lips.

"That's a little petty, you know. To stop rebuilding it because it won't be Finn's."

"What are you going to do about?" she questioned as she laid back down beside him and he wrapped his arm around her again. She felt his chest shake as he laughed and tightened his arm around her.

"Absolutely nothing."

They were quiet for a few moments before Keiro turned to look down at her again. She felt his moments, so she tilted her head to meet his gaze. "You won't fucking marry me?" he questioned and Attia broke into laughter as she turned and buried her face in his chest, her entire body shaking against his as she laughed harder and harder. "A simple 'no' would've done just fine, you know. I half expected you to say no, anyway, just not so dramatically."

She pulled up to look at him, her laughs dying down into giggles every few seconds. "It was a stupid question, anyway, Keiro."

"Stupid? You think proposing is stupid. I happen to know that it was a very serious decision that I spent a lot of time considering."

"Oh, bullshit," she said simply as she laid her had down on his chest and tightened her arm around him. "You probably didn't even pick out the ring."

"How do you even know it's a ring? You didn't even look," he accused. "Maybe I got you an engagement necklace."

"That's as stupid as the actual question."

"What made the question so stupid?" he demanded as he lifted his head to look at her. She rolled over to lay half on top of him, her hands on either side of his head as she hovered above his head.

"Because it's silly for a husband to ask his wife to marry him," she told him. Keiro stared at her bewildered for a moment before his lips pulled up into a genuine smile and he lifted his head to kiss her. She returned the kiss as she lowered herself down to him and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"That's how you think of me?" he asked as he rolled them over and moved his kisses to her neck, feeling more and more daring after their conversation. "Your husband?"

"Isn't that how you think of it?" she replied, a few moans breaking up her words whenever his lips passed particularly sensitive spot.

"I don't know. Never thought about giving it a name," he admitted. "It's kind of nice, though. Having a wife."

"This doesn't change anything."

"Good," Keiro said as he lifted up and looked down at her. "Cause I have something else to tell you."

"I'm not going to like it."

"Not very much, no," he agreed as he shook his head. "I got drunk and kissed Morgan."

Attia went still beneath him, and he wondered if his timing had been good or not. Slowly, he felt her chest rising and falling as she took deeper and slower breaths. Next he felt her nails scratching his neck again, then her shoulders relaxed. All the while, Attia reminded herself of all the things Keiro had just told her. The things about how she still wanted him when she knew who he was. About how that made him want her all the same even if she didn't fulfill all of his needs, like being needed.

"How drunk?" she finally asked and Keiro could stop the flash of smile from appearing across his lips.

"Drunk enough to kiss Morgan."

"And then?"

"I ran away as fast as I could," he answered and she actually laughed as she stared at him. "That was it."

"How was it?"

"She's too skinny, there's nothing to hold onto," he answered. "And her nails are too long. I think she actually broke the skin on my back. And her lip crap tasted gross, even after I had shots. Even dog shit tastes fine after drinking that gasoline."

"Ok," she said as she nodded and he narrowed his eyes at her.

"Ok? Ok, that's ok?"

"Ok, I'm not mad about it right now, but I might use it against you in the future."

"That's ok," he said with a shrug as he bent down to kiss her, happier than words could describe when she kissed him back without hesitation.