3rd Person's Point of View:

The next morning when Naru opens his eyes, he's on his stomach once again. His arms are under the pillow and his face is literally smashed in to the huge fluffy pillow.

He could feel weight on his lower back.

With out even having to turn around, he instinctively knew that it was Mai. Not because of the spell or some odd aversion she has to his powers, but because of her breathing. Mai breathes very heavily. It was almost as if she was borderline about to snore. She's always done it. Even when she was a teenage girl.

Naru shifts, trying to roll over with out eliciting too much of a fuss from her. Mai grumbles and swats him on the leg in her sleep, but she allows him to get up. The black haired man swings his legs over the side, and glances back at his sleeping girlfriend.

With Naru gone, she now takes up the entire bed. She's on her side, but she was also sleeping sideways. Her long hair is laid out behind her. Her small hands are folded underneath her cheek and her mouth is open slightly. The sheet she's using is practically wrapped around her waist, but every other body part is displayed. She absentmindedly reaches for his pillow and pulls it to her chest, causing her breasts to swell even more than they did already.

Naru's eyes trail up her legs and to her bottom, which is barely covered by the small pink shorts she wears. Blue eyes trace the tan skin, even up pass the sheet and to the tank top where a wonderful figure and sizely (and elevated) breasts are displayed.

Naru suddenly has a flash back of the fight from yesterday night. He knew that wasn't the last of that conversation. Mai was too damn stubborn for that. However, that was one of his favorite things about her. That stubbornness was probably one of the most attractive things about Mai. He loved watching her work. Straightforward and constant. Mai is like a steam train. She'll keep moving through things consistently with little to no rest, yet once in a while you've got to stop her and fill her up. By fill her up he meant force her to sleep. Lately, she's been as bad with working as he ever had.

A soft knock on his door catches his attention and he looks to see his mother's head poke in. She smiles when she sees him awake, "Tea?"

Naru looks back at Mai, before looking up at his mother and standing up. If there was one other person's tea he could tolerate, it was his mothers.

—

It's silent in the early morning. In the Davis household, it always has been, even before Gene died. Luella and Naru sit together on the outside deck, watching as the sun rises and the air warms. A kettle of hot water rests in the middle of the table as the two of them both enjoy the silence.

Luella remembers, when the boys were younger, how they'd both wake up early with her. It's where they got their early rising habits from, while Martin preferred to sleep in on his days off. Both Gene and Naru would help her fix breakfast, and they'd sit and wait for Martin with some hot tea on the patio. Or if it was a rare morning where the boys actually wanted to watch TV, they'd all accumulate in the sitting room and watch the morning shows for children.

However, eventually the boys got too old for cartoons and began demanding more 'grown up' shows. Which is promptly when Martin showed them parapsychology research tapes, and then the boys went from Mommy's Little Helpers to Dad's Scientist.

Luella still rued the day.

"Oliver," Luella says, fishing for her sons' attention. The man in question looks up from his book with a muted response. The dark haired woman smiles softly at her son, "Are you happy?"

Luella has asked her son the question numerous times over these last few years. When he turned twelve and they completely remodeled his room. When he was sixteen (right before Gene died) and he graduated high school. When he turned eighteen and finally got his doctorate. And now.

Naru feels a rare smile tugging at his lips, and he nods once, "Yes, mother. I am."

It was the only time he'd ever answered her truthfully. He'd hated that room. He had hated leaving Gene in high school alone, and he couldn't be happy about getting his degree with out having his brother to share it with. Yet, Mai walks in to his life, and suddenly her boy was telling the truth about his feelings. Her eyes water, but she smiles happily, nonetheless.

If her baby was happy, she was happy.

The back door opens and Luella watches as her son turns around to watch his girlfriend step out. She'd thrown a baggy sweater over her tank top and shorts, and now Luella had to admit that she looked absolutely adorable.

The bright-eyed woman watches as her son's entire posture changes. His body tenses and she sees his eye immediately goes to Mai's legs, which seem to be bare except for the bottom of the sweater. Luella knew that Mai wore shorts, but with the size of the sweater, she seemed to not wear any.

"Good morning." Mai says, a smile on her face. Her hair is in a messy pony tail and the sleep is still in her face.

"Good morning, sweet pea." Luella says, smiling at the woman who has captured her sons heart. Luella giggles to herself, "Would you like a cup of tea?"

Mai's Point of View:

Sitting down at the table, I grab a cup and pour some water in it. I grab a tea bag and pop it in, and almost immediately fish it out again as the water begins to color. I grab three sugar cubs and stir them in.

"You must really love sweets." Luella says, trying to hide her disgust as the thought of light tea and sweet tea.

Naru snorts, not looking up from his book, "That's an understatement."

I roll my eyes, and glare at him, before tuning back to Luella, "Yes. I really do. Naru seems to hate anything with any particular sweetness to it though."

"That's not true." Naru says, cutting Luella off before she can speak, "I do like that sugary lip balm that Ayako got you."

My entire face reddens as Luella laughs and Naru smirks, "You idiot narcissist!" I pick up a sugar cub and throw it at him, but the cub mysteriously 'curves' away and falls to the grass. I shriek as Luella looks appalled.

"Oliver Davis!" We both yell, reprimanding him.

He rolls his eyes, "It's not—"

"It is that big of a deal!" We yell in union.

"Your powers weaken your body, Oliver, and while I think you should practice using small amounts of power, I don't think you should be using them out in the open like this." Luella chides.

"I don't feel like sleeping in a hospital bed tonight." I hiss, "So cut it out."

Naru sighs, resigned and clearly out numbered, "I apologize." Luella and I share a triumphal smile.

"I have no idea what you three are arguing about," Martin says in English, walking up behind Luella, causing her to turn around, "But it seems that you, my son, are ruefully out numbered." I grin at the man and Luella does as well. We share a laugh and Martin sits beside Luella. He picks up the newspaper and grins at me, "It seems that I've found something more frightening than an angry Luella. An angry Mai and Luella teaming up."

I laugh with the two adults while Naru rolls his eyes to himself. He hates being proven wrong.

—

Sometime later that day, Luella and Martin seem to need to talk to each other, so they excuse themselves. To be honest, it's been a fairly lazy day, so when they left, all I did was look up and wave. I'd been dozing on the couch for the pass hour and a half.

"Mai, if you're sleepy, go back to bed." Naru says, after watching me almost face plan in to the floor again for the fifteenth million time.

"No." I mumble.

Naru sighs, "Mai. Don't be stubborn."

I slide my eyes over to him to find him watching me. My face heats up at the soft look displayed there. I give a reigned huff, "Fine." He smiles at me. His hand lifts and he kisses his palm, 'blowing' the kiss my way with a teasing look to him. A joyful laugh leaves me and I smile at him, "You're so weird, and full of surprises." On my way out of the room, I lean down to kiss his cheek, which he responds by turning his head quickly and kissing my lips, catching me off guard.

My entire face reddens as he pulls away and grins at me, "Have a nice nap."

"I hate you."

"I know."

I'm standing in my Astral Plane. For once, it's surprisingly clear of souls. In front of me is Gene. He's standing there with a surprisingly tranquil look to him. He looks content and at peace.

"Hey," I say cautiously, my instincts screaming so loud that the power seems to be vibrating under my skin. Not a bad feeling. More of a feeling that I'm not going to like what is about to happen.

He smiles, the motion sadly happy, "Mai. I have something to tell you."

"Okay."

He grins at me, "I'm married." My jaw drops. Out of all the things he could have said, that was defiantly not what I expected. My mind begins to rave about who he could be married to, but it all clicks.

"Lucy."

He grins, "Damn. You're good."

I laugh, "I know. How long have you two been married?"

"About five years now." Gene says, a smile on his face. Shock fills me completely. He grins at the look on my face, "We got married not long after I died. You should have seen the look on her face when I showed up at the Gates of Heaven. She cried for what seems like forever. Then she punched me. And then she kissed me."

I laugh, tears welling up in my eyes for some unknown reason, "It seems like I would have liked her."

Gene nods, "Noll only ever saw her as this sweet, angel-like girl that loved her brother." He sends me a look.

"So that explains it."

Gene nods, smiling softly, "I'm just happy that we all found you. With out you, nobody would be where we are today. I'd still be married to Lucy, but I wouldn't be as happy as I am right now.

"My brother, and best friend, would still be miserable. My parents would still be lonely and loss with out at least one of their sons. Ayako and Monk wouldn't be together, and neither would Shuto and Haru. Masako, Yasu and Madoka wouldn't have a best friend. Lin wouldn't have a favorite student. And most importantly, you'd still be a lonely orphan with no one to love." By now I was practically sobbing.

"G-Gene, why are you s-saying all I these thing?" I sob, unable to stop it.

He smiles softly at him, grabbing my elbow and hugging me to him, "Because it's time."

It's time.

The words echo in my head as I realize the meaning behind his words. He's leaving me. He's leaving Naru. He's leaving both of us.

"N-no." I sob, and Gene hugs me tighter. I feel the sobs leave me. Huge, heaving sobs that I can't seem to stop. My chest and throat hurt from it, but I can't make them stop. Snot, spit, and salt tears wet his shirt. The same dark green shirt I've always seen him in. The shirt he died in, and now the shirt he's leaving me in. I pull away to look at him, "You can't leave, Gene."

He smiles sadly, "I've accomplished everything, Mai. Every single thing that was ever holding me back. My mother and father no longer feel lost. My body is found. And my brother has met the girl that he loves. He's happy. Which makes me happy. As an added bonus, it's the same girl who's grown in to my best friend over the last four years."

I sniffle, my throat and chest still hurting, but the sobs have dwindled to quiet crying and soft tears. I wipe at my face, pulling away from him. I sniffle again, "I hate you."

"I love you too, Mai." Gene says, smiling down a me, "Don't cry so much. You act like you'll never see me again."

"Huh?"

"When you and Noll die of old age, you two will end up at the Gates of Heaven with Lucy and me." His eyes twinkle as he thinks of the future, "You and Lucy can become best friends and gossip about Noll and I. You can share embarrassing stories and make fun of us while we all live together and float around with our white wings."

I laugh through my tears, "Don't be silly. White is so not Naru's color."

He laughs at me, before bending down and kissing my cheek softly. I return the gesture and smile at him, "See you later, alligator."

He rolls his eyes at the American saying, but still responds with, "After a while, crocodile." Gene fades away, and then my consciousness fades away as well.

3rd Point of View:

Naru closes the book he's reading as his mother walks in to the sitting room, "Oliver, where's Mai?"

"Sleeping."

"Well, dinner is almost ready." His mother says, eyeing him disapprovingly. She wasn't disappointed that Mai had gone take a nap, she was disappointed that her son had made her do it alone.

Naru sighs, "I'll go wake her." Luella nods, the sharp gleam still in her eye at her sons ungentlemanlyness.

Naru strolls up the hallway and to the room that Mai and him were currently sharing. Not bothering about the hall light, he opens the door and enters soundlessly. She'd be awake soon enough anyway.

Upon entering, he senses a shift in his powers. A sense of unease fills him, and he realizes that it's not himself that is feeling this, but it was Mai that was. Naru quickly crosses the room, to their bed and reaches for her, "Mai—"

He's sucked in to a black abyss.

—

Naru's eyes open to find an identical (yet softer) pair staring back him. He recognizes his brother for the kinder twin that he is. Gene smiles at him, and Naru raises an eyebrow, "Gene, what's going on?"

Gene's eyebrows shoot up, a bitter amusement entering his eyes, "Right to the point, huh?"

It's then that Naru notices Gene's eyes. They were slightly bloodshot and very puffy. As if he'd been crying. A cold blue gaze meets a warmer one, "What happened?"

"Mai happened." Gene laughs, "That girl is a whirl wind of untamed emotions."

Naru doesn't relax completely, but the minute Mai his brought up, his entire being unexpectedly hums with contentment, "I'm aware."

Gene smiles at his brother, "I'll just start off by telling you the same thing I told Mai. I'm married."

Naru's eyebrows shoot up as surprise fills him. His brother is married? He would have never expected that. Naru glares suddenly, "When exactly did this happen?"

"About five years ago." Gene grins ruefully.

"To whom?"

"Who do you think?"

Naru's mind immediately snaps to a conclusion like the trained scientific machine it is.

"Lucy."

"And the prize goes to—!"

"Why didn't you tell me?"

The playful exterior around Gene immediately disappears upon hearing the faint hurt in his brother's voice. To anyone else, it would seem like he was angry for having secrets kept from him, but Gene has been with him since they came from their mother's womb. Gene was probably the only person who could ever tell his brother's emotions apart, however, it wasn't like that anymore.

Now his brother has Mai.

Gene's smile returns, albeit softer, "Because I didn't want to hurt you."

"Why would it have—"

"It doesn't hurt you now," Gene says, cutting his younger twin off, "however, before you'd met Mai and fallen in love with her? I know you, E.J."

Naru throws his brother a look of distaste at the use of his birth name. But his mind strays to what he said before that. It's then he realizes it.

He does love Mai. Probably more than anything. Vaguely, Naru wonders how long exactly he's been in love with the girl. They've only been dating for about four months, so he had to have fallen for we way before then.

Probably the first time she called him out on his pompous bullshit.

"Ah, the gears are turning." Gene laughs, watching as a dawning expression fills his brother's face.

Naru glares at his older twin, "Shut it, stupid medium."

"Whatever, idiot scientist." Gene's rolls his eyes good naturedly.

"Is that all you called me for?" Naru snaps, eager to get away from his brother and back to his girlfriend, whom he has something important to tell to.

Gene sobers up, "No. That's not it."

Any playful atmosphere that had been around the two is now gone at Gene's serious expression. Naru's heart begins to pound as he fears the worst. Was his brother becoming an evil spirit and asking for help? He felt his entire world collapsing.

"It's time for me to move on, E.J."

At his words, Naru's panic for his brother dissolves. A brief sense of relief filling him before his heart is seized by a whole new emotion as he registers the words of Gene.

"What?" Naru snaps, his voice harsher than he'd meant it to be.

Gene smiles gently at his brother, "I've done everything that was holding me back. It's time for me to move on."

Naru is silent. He can not speak. Before, it was all he wanted for his brother to finally move on and achieve peace, yet now that the subject was knocking on his door, all he could think about was his brother leaving him… again.

Suddenly, a familiar embrace is wrapped around him and he hugs his brother back. Gene smiles softly, even though Naru cannot see it, "It will all be fine, E.J. You have Mai and I'll have Lucy. Just hurry up and get old so the two of them can annoy us together."

The younger twin grins to himself; Lucy and Mai would defiantly get along. He pulls away from Gene, and nods, "It's deal."

Gene laughs, and hugs his brother right once more, "I love you."

"I love you too." Naru murmurs, hugging his brother as right as he can.

Gene fades away, and his consciousness follows shortly after.

Mai and Naru's eyes open at the same time. Watery brown eyes meet darkened blue, and then they're clinging to the other, using each other as anchors as Mai sobs and Naru grieves once again.

Gene is gone.

They'd miss him terribly— hell, they already did— yet, somewhere deep down, they both knew that they'd be okay. That Gene would be okay.

Everything's going to be… okay.

"I love you." Naru whispers to her, his voice strained and nearly silent.

This sends Mai in to a whole new sobbing fit, before she pulls away from his chest to look in to his eyes, "I love you too." Then she clutches him to her once again.

Naru wraps his arms around her tighter, and rests his chin on her head. He's thankful that they're alone and for the dark room.

No one but Mai will ever see the tears run down his face.