I'm sure you are all terribly shocked this came out later then I said it would, but alas that is the never ending curse of writing. But onward I go!

**Flashback**

"Ikuto is going to kill me for letting you go," she said and I didn't acknowledge her and opened the door and walked to my car. "I swear we will work everything out!" she called from the doorway but I didn't look back at her.

I opened the drivers door and tossed my bag in the passengers seat. I started the car and drove quickly away from the house, not wanting to run into Ikuto. If I did, I wasn't sure I would be able to… I didn't know what I would do.

**End of Flashback**

Stay

I walked painfully slow up the path to their door, praying that my sudden arrival wasn't going to hinder them too much. I wiped away a few stray tears, knowing all too well fresh ones would replace them soon, and knocked on their door. I heard someone's footstep making their way over and when the door opened Nagi greeted me with a smile that quickly changed to a worried expression upon actually looking at me.

"Oh my god, are you okay?" he asked, sounding panicked. I swallowed thickly and shook my head, shutting my eyes in an attempt to slow the flow of incoming tears. I took a sharp breath.

"Can I-"
"Yeah, please come in," he gestured, opening the door. That was one of the reasons I loved him to death. Even when I didn't say anything, he knew. Rima came trotting around the corner a moment later and when she saw me panic ran across her face.

"Amu? What happened?" she quickly walked over to me, searching my face for answers.

"Rima I really don't think now is the time," Nagi told her as he lead me into their living room.

"N-no, I'm sorry… Suddenly showing up here," I managed to mumble out. Nagi shook his head at me as we walked over to the couch.

"No, you know you are welcome here anytime," he assured me as we sat down. Rima sat on the other side of me, looking very worried. Nagi tilted his head and looked at me. "Did you want to talk about it?" he asked carefully.

I breathed shakily. "I...I don't know," I started, but feeling the sting in my eyes intensify I stopped.

"Hey, it's okay," he said, putting his arm around my shoulder. In response, Rima took one of my hands in hers, caressing it with her thumb.

It took me a few minutes to recollect myself enough to talk again, but even then I was still unsteady. I slowly told them everything that had happened, starting with when I first noticed that there was someone following me around and ending on driving to their house after confronting Utau about it.

"And I'm not sure what the context of the situation is, I didn't stick around t-to find out. I'm just so confused," I broke on the last words and started crying again. I hid my face in my hands to try and drown it out a bit, but it didn't really help. It felt like if I kept crying like this I was going to wither away.

Suddenly a phone went off in another room and I felt Nagi get up to go answer it. Rima stayed, rubbing my back to comfort me. Over my sobs I heard him answer it.

"Yeah, wait hold on," I heard him say and then heard the sound of a door opening and closing. He was talking outside and I couldn't make out anything he was saying. Then there was a long silence for a while. I assumed someone, probably Ikuto or Utau, was explaining something to him, but I wasn't ready to hear it. After a few minutes he came back in and Rima asked who it was.

"It was just Utau, she wanted to make sure you got her safely. I told her you were spending the night, or however long you need."

I nodded. "Thank you, " I said quietly. He in turn nodded back.

"Why don't you go wash up?" He suggested after a pause. With puffy red eyes and layers of tears coating my face, I was probably a sight to see. "Rima will show you where everything is and where you can sleep tonight," he added. Rima nodded and helped me get off the couch, grabbing my hand and leading my down the hall.

She showed me to my room first, grabbing some towels on the way. I was about to thank her again when she hugged me, her curly blonde hair bouncing behind her. At first I was taken by surprise, but then I just started crying more and hugged her back. And I did this for a few minutes, not wanting to let go when I did, but I was burdening them enough already. I sniffed and wiped my eyes once I pulled away. I tried to say I'm sorry again for showing up like this, but she wouldn't have any of it.

"Go wash up, feel better. Then get some rest," she ordered. I thanked her and she left and I went to the washroom, hoping that the hot water would wash away the pain and numb me.

I was in the shower for almost an hour, but I figured it was best to stop wasting their water after that. When finally turned the water off, I still stood there for a while, staring at the wall and watching the small water droplets slowly slide down the ceramic tiles. I wondered what I was going to do after this.

Eventually I stepped out and the cool bathroom floor greeted my bare feet. I looked at the mirror, but it had fogged up due to all the hot water clinging to the air. I guessed it was probably a good thing I couldn't see how I looked now. I didn't bother drying my hair simply because I couldn't bring myself to care that much. It fell dripping on my shoulders, sending a chill through my body. My eyes finally appeared to have dried, for the moment anyways. But I was sure that wouldn't last long. I took longer than usual to get dressed because I just didn't have the energy, but once I was I opened the door I was greeted by Rima.

"Feel better?" she gave me a small smile. I gave her a smaller one in return, but I remained silent, because I didn't feel better and I wasn't going to say that. "Come on, let's go back to your room so you can sleep," she said, walking with me.

The room was small with only a bed and a tiny dresser, but I was perfectly happy with it. I would've been grateful if they let me sleep on the couch, I was just thankful I was with them. I went in and sat down on the bed. It was soft and inviting and I was very much ready to go to sleep. I was surprised when Rima didn't leave immediately and instead walked over to sit down beside me. She sighed, clasping her hands together.

"Amu, I know this is probably the last thing you want to hear right now, but would you even consider talking to him?" She asked in a small voice, even for her. "For all you know, it could have been a big misunderstanding."

I looked at the floor, trying not to think about it. "So what, he accidentally kissed her?"

"Have you even thought about the idea that maybe she kissed him? Or some variant of the situation, because logically speaking… this just isn't something Ikuto would do, especially to you," she explained. I knew she was speaking the truth, but I had been so emotionally compromised that I hadn't thought about that as much as I should have.

"Even with that being so… why wouldn't he have pulled away?" I asked. I was exhausted yet still I felt the all too familiar sting return to my eyes.

"Well, maybe he didn't want to cause a scene in a public place. You know Ikuto, he can be a real gentlemen when he isn't being, you know…" she trailed off.

"Ikuto," I finished for her, the corner of my mouth twitching upwards. It hurt to think of him in such a warm, longing way.

"Yeah," she replied, seeming to take note of my change in tone. "So you'll talk to him?" She asked, but the way she asked made me feel worried.

"Not today," I answered. "It's late, and maybe not tomorrow," I looked over at her and she was wearing a concerned expression. "Rima, I need time, to think about things, or at least recompose myself," I told her. Maybe I was wrong and I had misunderstood things, and maybe not. I just know that I needed more than a few hours to think and come to some sort of decision. She was still giving me the pain filled expression and it wasn't helping me feel any calmer. "What?" I asked.

"Amu… I'll be honest with you, it wasn't Utau on the phone with Nagi earlier… it was Ikuto," she explained. "H-he was frantic, wondering where you went and if you were okay. Nagi could hardly keep up with him when he was explaining every-"
"I'm not calling him, Rima. I have to talk to him about this face to face, and I can't do that right now," I maintained.

"Can't or won't?" she asked. I stared at her without saying anything at first, and then I shrugged.

"Both." I didn't want to talk to him, and given the chance I don't even think I could. We both sat in silence for a time until Rima stood up. I looked at her and she exhaled nervously.

"That's not all," she started, pacing a bit. I watched her carefully. "While you were in the shower, Nagi called him back, and…" she pursed her lips, "he really wants to, needs to talk to you, Amu. He said the longer he waited the more it would eat away at him and-"
"Rima," I was about to argue with her until I heard chattering coming from what sounded like the living room. I heard Nagi say something I couldn't make out, and then another voice, and I froze. I turned to Rima with wide eyes. "Is he here?" I asked quietly. She only stared at me sympathetically. I shook my head, standing up and wanting to find a way to get out of this situation as fast as I could. "I-I can't talk to him, I just said I couldn't," I felt my heart beat picking up speed.

"I don't think you have a choice, I've never seen him like this before," Rima responded, obviously wishing there was something she could do. "But listen, he told us everything and I understand now and I promise if you just-"
"No!" I looked at her, breathing heavily. "I am tired of people telling me to listen, making promises they can't keep," I felt angry tears sliding down my face. "Maybe you have all forgotten, but this isn't the first time something like this has happened to me," I aggressively reminded her.

"Amu, this is nothing like-"

I cut her off again. "Really? 'Cause it sure feels like it. Boyfriend 'goes to work' and I go looking for him only to discover he is with someone else!" I didn't mean to take this out on her, but I couldn't keep my emotions in check.

"You are letting your emotions get a hold of you," she tried to tell me, "you need to logically think about this. Making conclusions when you're upset is never a good idea," she argued back. I had never seen Rima stand up for herself like this, and in all the mess that was happening, I hadn't noticed that she had grown up more than I thought.

I shook my head again, not wanting to hear anything she was saying. "I already said I wasn't going to listen-" I stopped when I heard rapid footsteps coming our way. I guessed our raised voices had drawn the attention to us. I heard Nagi calling out, saying, "I really don't think now is the best time," and then Ikuto was standing the doorway. I froze upon making eye contact with him, and so did he. The longer I looked at him the less I could breathe, but I couldn't bring myself to look away.

"Amu," he said softly, disrupting the momentary silence. I didn't respond. I wanted to yell at him and be angry with him but I also wanted to disappear, however all I could feel was a deep ache and tears starting to well up in my eyes again. Not looking away from him, I could see Rima and Nagi looking at each other out of my peripheral, speaking with their eyes. It was only when she warily made her way towards the door, crossing my line of sight, did I manage to break my gaze from Ikuto's. I watched her and Nagihiko take a quick glance between the two of us before leaving the room, muttering something about giving us some time alone. She shut the door behind them and it made small click that echoed in the now hushed room. He watched me without saying anything and I returned the look back at him the same way. Seeing him here only made everything hurt worse. I felt a tear roll down my cheek, and it was then that he took a step towards me.

"Stop," I choked out before he had hardly taken two steps. I was prepared to argue, but part of me wasn't sure I would be able to if it came to that. He did stop, but I could see in the way he was holding himself he wanted nothing more than to wrap his arms around me. "Just stop," I cried softly, so much so I wasn't even sure he had heard. He took a deep breath.

"Amu, please let me explain," he pleaded, taking another small step towards me. I shook my head at him.

"I don't want to hear it," I said weakly. I feared if I kept talking I would break down in tears again.

He ignored me and went on. "I know what you saw, and I know what it must have looked like, but I swear it's not- it's not like what he did to you, even if it seems that way," he told me.

Reliving the event just made the knife in my stomach twist. "Then what was it?" I asked in a broken voice. I didn't know what I was going to hear, but part of me believed that whatever he said was just going to be a cover.

"I was just talking with her-"

"It really didn't look like that to me," I stopped him, taking a sharp breath.

"Please Amu just listen to me, give me one minute to explain," he begged, but I was stubborn.

"Explain how you were kissing her?" I asked, not sure who was more hurt by my words, me or him.

Despite his pained expression, he went on. "I didn't kiss her, she kissed me, she took advantage of my position-"

I laughed, disheartened. "She took advantage of your position," I didn't know what I was supposed to think of that.

"If you would simply let me talk and hear what I have to say, I promise this will all make sense," he said, appearing to be at a breaking point.

I didn't want to entertain the possibilities. "I already said-"

This time he interrupted me. "Amu!" He called out, and I stopped. I was so tired of trying to fight and be angry I didn't respond. He hastily walked forward and I was too late to tell him to stop before he was in front of me. He took a deep breath, like even he was having trouble keeping it together. "I understand why you are acting like this, this is probably feeling like some sick case of Déjà Vu, but if you don't let me tell you what happened, it's just going to be painful for both of us," he pressed, looking desperate. I remained quiet because I didn't have the energy. He took that as a pass to speak.

"Her name is Akemi," he started, pausing to see if I would try to interrupt him again. When I didn't he continued. "She showed up out of no where, trying to contact me by all means and saying things like we belonged together and the like. And I tried to wait it out and tell her I wasn't interested, but after weeks of not being able to shake her off, I decided enough was enough. I met with her to confront her, but she some how confused it with me agreeing to go to dinner with her. It turned into argument after argument, but she was completely oblivious. And she said a myriad of things that made me so angry, I was leaning on the edge of my seat," he paused, running his fingers through his hair. "She somehow saw my close proximity as an opportunity to kiss me despite my multiple mentions of already being in a relationship," he went on. The odds of that happening still had me feeling discouraged.

"But you didn't pull away," I commented solemnly. He sighed, clearly frustrated, and I was sure I would be too if I was in his shoes.

"I was taken aback. I wanted to push her away, believe me, I was disgusted. But she had been acting so crazy I was afraid if I shoved her away she would make a bigger scene than we had already made. Half the restaurant was looking at us by then, and if people saw me push her, I wasn't sure whose story they would believe and…" he stopped, like he had still barely registered that it had all happened.

I swallowed thickly. "She has just been trying to get me away from you for so long…" I muttered quietly. I don't know if I had meant to direct that at him or if I had merely said my thoughts allowed, but it got his attention.

"What?" He asked, his demeanor changing entirely. When I didn't respond immediately he firmly placed a hand on my shoulder. "Amu what are you talking about?" He searched my eyes for answers that I couldn't seem to speak allowed.

"She's been… for weeks," I managed to get out, but feeling new tears spill from my eyes I choked up. I was so confused and I didn't know what to feel.

He stared at me without saying anything as he put one and two together. "Amu, I had no idea," he breathed, everything suddenly changing perspectives. He looked like he had just been hit on the head, dazed. "I didn't even know she was in contact with you, i-if I had, I would have done something so much sooner," he said, looking like he was in physical pain at the thought of what I had just said. I was starting feel like I had suddenly blown everything out of proportion. God I was such an idiot. If I had just mentioned it to him earlier, none of this would have happened.

I looked at the floor. "I'm so stupid," I mumbled, rubbing my eyes. Why did I always jump to conclusions. Why was I too stubborn to sit down and listen to someone for two minutes. Why did I always have to find a way to make things more difficult than they needed to be. "This is all my fault," I told him, shaking my head. I couldn't bring myself to meet his gaze. "If I had just told you from the beginning instead of worrying about being apprehensive..." I let my sentence trail off, feeling like there was no way to explain myself. I heard Ikuto sigh and I nervously looked up at him and he was hanging his head down, still clutching my shoulder. He stayed like that and I watched him as he continued to take deep breaths like he was trying to collect himself. After a few seconds he lifted his head, dragging his hand across his face in one final attempt to recompose himself.

"Amu, I'm so sorry," he apologized, looking beyond relieved. "I shouldn't have kept this from you, I thought I was protecting you by doing so but, I should have just told you," he said.

"Why are you apologizing?" This was all my fault, he was only trying to keep me from worrying. "I was acting crazy, I wouldn't listen, I let my emotions take a hold of me," I told him. I was going to elaborate further when he wrapped me tightly in his arms. I hesitated only for a moment before I hugged him back, clinging to his shirt as I felt tears of relief start to spill from my eyes. I couldn't believe I had almost lost him over something like this.

We stayed like that for a long time, only letting go when I started to talk. "I just wish I knew why she was trying to get between us," I mumbled, more to myself than Ikuto, but when I said this he groaned loudly.

"I know the reason," he said, sounding very annoyed.

"Reason?" I asked, not understanding why he was so put off by the question.

Letting out another sigh, he explained. "Well apparently someone put her up to it, at least that was what she said. She told me her cousin had his heart broken by this girl," he paused and pointed at me, "you, and he wanted to get some petty revenge on her, so he asked her to sabotage her relationship with me," he explained. I stared at him in disbelief.

"Are you saying that… Tadase set this up?" I knew he acted childish at times, but I didn't think he was this pathetic. Ikuto nodded in response.

"I guess she felt inclined to do it, something about family or whatever. She told me she never intended to take it as far as she did, she just got carried away," he walked around and took a seat on the bed as he said this. "Of course she only decided that when I threatened to report her to the police. Then she went on and on about how sorry she was and for a while I thought I was going to be there all night, but she was about fifteen minutes into rambling when I got a phone call from Utau and… well, you know the rest," he finished, looking at me as I sat down beside him. I couldn't believe Tadase was that heartbreakingly pathetic to do something like this and if it wasn't almost midnight and I wasn't exhausted, I would be out the door to rain down like hell on him.

"I can't believe him, trying to tear us apart like that," I muttered, placing my elbows on my knees and resting my chin on my hands. I couldn't grasp that all of this happened in one day, there was too much to take in.

He leaned back a bit, supporting himself with his arms. "Come on, we're not that fragile. You're gonna have to try a lot harder than that if you want to get rid of me," he said with a smile.

I let out a small laugh at his words. "I didn't mean it like that, "I explained, nudging him lightly with my hand. "It's not like I think our relationship is fragile, I was just scared and I panicked. I… didn't know what I would do if I lost you," I confessed, my emotions obviously still not in check as I was spilling out sappy phrases like a fountain.

"Hey, you know I'll always be here," he said, squeezing my hand gently. "I love you too much to let you go again," he replied with a soft smile that I returned to him. It was almost magical how my emotions has flipped 180 degrees from what they were just an hour ago.

"Prove it," I said jokingly, expecting him to kiss the life out of me or come up with a '101 reason why I love you', but instead he simply gave me a strange, contemplative gaze. I waited for him to make a clever remark or say anything really but when he didn't I wondered what was going through his head.

"You do know I was kidding, right? I know you-"

"Marry me."

"-do," I finished, and then stopped. I stared at him now, not sure what I had heard. I shook my head in confusion. "What?" I thought I heard… but I wasn't sure. I felt my heartbeat start to get faster.

"I know it's probably not the most romantic situation, and I didn't exactly plan this out properly, I wanted there to be more flowers… But it seemed fitting enough," he answered nonchalantly. My eyes widen when I understood what he was talking about, but I didn't believe, didn't register, that he was actually asking that now.

"What?" I repeated, incapable of processing.

"You want me to prove that I love you? Okay," he said, sliding smoothly off of the side of the bed and onto one knee. I watched, stunned, as he took one of my hands in both of his. "Amu, will you marry me?" he asked, clearly genuine. I continued to stare at him, speechless. This had not been at all what I meant when I said I wanted him to prove it. I quickly stood up, my hand sliding out of his and backed up a few steps.

"What?" I asked again like a broken record.

"You're not really going to make me repeat myself a third time, are you?" he asked, standing up as well.

I swallowed dryly. "I-wha…" I couldn't find the right words, or any words for that matter. He stood like he was waiting for a response and I laughed nervously. "I-I don't know what I'm supposed to say to that," I stammered.

He shrugged his shoulders. "Yes is something I wouldn't argue against," he answered calmly and I watched him with my mouth agape.

"How can you ask something like this so forwardly?" I asked, feeling panicked. I knew that Kukai had mentioned the possibility of him asking, but I never imagined it would be within a few weeks time.

He replied with another shrug. "Well I was going to ask you at some point, I just assumed sooner was better than later," he said, still acting like this was a casual conversation. "And it's not like this is the first time the thought of asking you has occurred to me; I've been thinking about it for a while," he added.

"For a while?" I repeated in shock. "But we have only been together for five months!" I reminded him. And yeah, it had felt like so much longer than that, and it was a complicated situation in general, but that was still the reality of it.

"It's not like I ever planned on asking you this soon, you placed the opportunity in front of me and I took it," he clarified, although I'm sure part of him was happy things played out like this, and I was sure after all this was over I would be happy, too, but at the moment I was too taken aback to know what to feel.

"I didn't-"

"Amu, just give it up, we both know how this ends," he cut me off. I shook my head at him and scoffed.

"W-what makes you so sure of yourself?" I questioned, trying to cover up my nervousness. Although I did a poor job of it, as usual.

He closed the distance between us so that he was right in front of me. "I guess you are just easy to read," he commented, "but then again, maybe that's just because I know you so well," he added, leaning down a bit so he was almost at eye level with me. He stared, waiting for a response. I stared back, part of me wanting to just come out and say it, the other part wanting to hide somewhere for a year before I gave him an answer, and unfortunately that was the dominant part. I closed my eyes and having no where to go I slid to the floor, wrapping my arms around my legs and hiding my face. Somehow not looking at him made it seem like nothing was happening. This was obviously not the response he was looking for because after a moment I felt him slide his arms under my knees and around my back and I was being lifted off the ground. This brought me out of my make shift shell.

"What are you doing?!" I demanded, flailing about.

"Well, I figured if we are going to be here waiting for a while," he gave me a quick look before tossing me onto the bed and then jumping on it after, lying on his side next to me with his head propped up on his hand, "then we might as well get comfortable," he finished with a smile.

I stared at him for a long while, still backed into the corner in a defensive position, without saying anything. Then he laughed, flipping over so that he was now lying on his back.

"You know I can wait," he said, although his attention was turned to the ceiling rather than me.

"Good. Go wait. Somewhere else. For a few days preferably," I suggested, knowing ultimately that request would be denied.

"Hmmm," he pondered, "I don't think I could take that kind of anticipation," he replied, looking at me again. I continued to stare at him silently. I knew what I wanted to say, and I knew he knew what it was too. I could feel the answer bubbling in my throat, but I wasn't sure I could ever bring myself to say it so abruptly. I groaned loudly, frustrated and flustered, and grabbed the blanket that was laying on the end of the bed and aggressively wrapped it around myself. It felt warmer than it should have, but that was probably because it felt like my whole body was radiating. When I had it securely wrapped around me and I was sure no part of me was showing, I took a shaky breath and mumbled a small, hardly audible "yes".

"What was that?" I heard him ask without missing a beat. I felt him shifting and I assumed he was getting up.

"You heard me," I said louder.

"No, I really didn't," he said in a light hearted tone. I wouldn't be surprised if he actually hadn't heard me. I drew the blanket tighter around me as if it was a shield from embarrassment.

"Yes," I answered loud enough that I was sure he heard me.

"One more time?" he asked, but I could hear the teasing in his voice. I rolled over in response, trying to tighten the blanket around me to ensure that I wouldn't have to face him for as long as possible.

"I am not repeating myself again," I replied. Despite my embarrassment, I couldn't help but smile. It was unbelievable how quickly things had escalated to this.

"Why not? You tried to make me," he said, and I felt him moving around again and then there was a solid yank on my fortress. I gripped the blanket more tightly in turn.

"No!" I struggled to keep a hold on it, but with another strong pull I was exposed to the world again. I brought my hands to my face and was able to feel heat coming off of it.

"Aw come on, you can't hide forever," he complained.

"I can hide for as long as I like," I muffled into my hands.

"I would like to see the face of my soon-to-be-bride some time today."

My heart raced at his words. "You already know what I look like," I reminded him. He responded with a sigh and I could tell he was playing the waiting game again. I told myself I would hold out longer this time around, but not even a full minute had passed before I reluctantly sat up. I peeked through my fingers and saw him watching me expectantly. I exhaled, dropping both my hands and my gaze for a moment before I nervously looked up at him. He was sporting a big, dopey grin which of course brought a smile to my face, too. We gazed at each other without saying anything. Then he slowly brought one of his hands to my head and started combing through my hair with his fingers.

"Your hair is kind of…" he let his words trail off. I groaned and hopelessly tried to smooth the static ball that was my hair after the blanket catastrophe. "No, no I like it like that," he laughed, trying to stop my hands from fixing it.

"Just let me straighten it out!" I tried to shoo his hands away, but he was determined to keep my hair like it was.

"It really doesn't look that bad," he argued, now having both of my wrists encompassed in his hands above my head. I sighed, giving up. I guessed I was stuck looking like someone had rubbed a balloon in my hair. I glared at him and he just laughed. "Really, I think it's cute," he said, but with his laughter I figured that was a sweet lie. After he finished laughing he still wore a smile. He stared at me and I stared back. After a moment he released my wrists, only to place his hands on my face and pull me in for a kiss. My hands hovered in the air for a moment before I brought them down and placed them lightly on his hands. I felt him smile against my lips and I kissed him back. When he broke away I searched his face, and it seemed like that smirk was plastered on him because there it was again. I sighed. Seeing him happy somehow gave me the courage to be forward and I moved one of my hands so it was now cupping the side of his face.

"Yes... I'll marry you, " I managed to say without tripping over my own words.

This made his smile grow impossibly wider. "See, I knew you could do it," he said and then he kissed me again. He caressed my face with his thumb as he pulled back, his eyes never leaving mine. I think we would have stared at each all night if it wasn't for the fact that a few seconds later I let out a loud and unflattering yawn.

"Ugh," I tried to rub the sleep out of my eyes, but after the day's hectic events and the lateness, I was having trouble keeping my eyes open. I had hoped he wasn't going to comment on it but he sighed.

"I should go, let you get some rest. You've had a pretty chaotic day," he said quietly, caressing my face one last time before reluctantly getting up. The only problem I had with that was I didn't want him to leave.

He was about to swing his legs off the edge of the bed when I had mustered up the courage to ask.

"Ikuto," I said just slightly above a whisper. He stopped and looked at me.

"Yeah?" he replied. When I didn't answer he sat back on the bed and waited. After everything that had happened today, I didn't think I would be able to spend the night alone. I opened my mouth to speak but couldn't get the words to come out even though I knew exactly what I wanted to ask. He inclined his head curiously at me, to my dismay not catching on. I guessed after a day like today he wasn't as observant as usual. I exhaled to try and calm my racing heart and looked down, my bangs falling to cover my eyes. I felt Ikuto brush them out of the way and then he placed his hand under my chin and tilted my face upwards.

"What is it?" he asked, looking slightly worried. I stared up at him when he spoke and took another shaky breath.

"Can…" I averted my eyes for a moment before I spoke again, "can you stay?" I asked him in a small voice. Initially he looked taken aback, his eyes widening a bit, but then he gave me a warm smile.

"Yeah," he answered, kissing me one more time before he laid back down. He draped the blankets over us, at first staying a small distance away from me, until I crawled across the open space to nuzzle into his chest. I quickly fell asleep wrapped safely in his arms.

Woooo look at this! This is the second to last chapter, fun fact. Anyways, thanks for sticking around until the very end, I'll see you guys in a bit for one last hurrah!

(I hope you all liked my cheesy inclusion of the story title into the book)

(Also I apologize for my excessive use of commas and ellipsis)

(And strange pacing)

(And being a terrible updater)

(And I just figured out about the line thing so that's cool)

(Okay now I'm going)