CHIHIRO

Chihiro held Kou's hand the whole taxi ride back to Aoyama.

And it was okay that they lapsed into silence. It wasn't an awkward quiet she felt forced to break with idle talk. She was happy just to sit next to him. Kou spent the trip with his nose pressed to the window. And again Chihiro enjoyed spying on him. The glass kept fogging with his breath. He wiped it in earnest, periodically punctuating the hum of the car's engine with his polite questions.

"Pardon, Chihiro, but what is that?"

He pointed at looming red and white spire that loomed between the high rises.

"Tokyo Tower," she frowned, "You never been, huh?"

"No." Again he was too busy looking to be shy, craning his neck and earning a bewildered glance in the rear view mirror from the taxi driver.

And they were home in no time. Aoyama was just south-east of Shinjuku. Paying the driver, the red tail lights sent the gathering mists glowing crimson as she quickly punched her code into the front gate and held it open for Kou. Ghosting ahead of her, Kou stared up at the obscured face of her house. It looked kinda spooky in the dark as she fumbled in her purse, finally producing her keys and getting the door open because it was freezing! Thankfully the heater was going full tilt and a wall of warm greeted them as they entered. She shut the door hastily, locking it and re-arming the security system.

"Let me get your coat for you…"

Chihiro spun on her heel as they paused on the celadon green tiles inside the front door, feeling like a fool as she half undressed him in her haste to hang his coat in the closet. More than compliant Kou let her have it, relinquishing his hat as well. And she was glad to get the ratty thing off his head because it forced him to brush the hair back from his handsome face revealing he was pale with surprise. Chihiro blinked at the floor, finding his shoes neatly tucked against the lip of the entryway. She hadn't seen him take them off.

"It is so… grand."

Chihiro blinked again because already he was down the hall into the dojo. Kou moved on light steps, almost flowing without making a sound as he curiously glanced at the Tetris block strewn round the living room. He paused by one of the windows, bending from his waist to look out into the dark garden.

"Are there many living here?"

"N-no," it was her turn to be embarrassed because it was a ridiculously big house for two people, "Just me an' my friend Michio."

Kou shrank from the stair as if suddenly afraid.

"Is she at home?"

Chihiro glanced at the bat shaped dish on table by the front door. It was empty.

"Nope. It's just us."

He seemed to relax at that. And Chihiro was secretly ashamed for being glad that Michi was still gone. In spite of her speech about going out and sleeping around Chihiro was sure Michi would've given her hell for bringing a guy home. She probably would've grilled poor Kou within an inch of his life and that so would've killed the mood. Kicking her shoes onto the entry tiles Chihiro paused at the base of the stairs.

"Make yourself at home, kay? TV's there an' the kitchen's through there. Help yourself to anything in the fridge," she pointed vaguely before waving at the ceiling, "M'gonna get out of my work clothes."

Without a word he sank to a seat on the couch. Through the slats in the banister she watched him cautiously poke one of the Tetris blocks, frowning as if not sure what to make of it. Grinning now, she hurried up to her room. Once there she ripped off her clothes and tossing them indiscriminately.

With tight anticipation churning in her stomach she tore about her closet, realizing much to her dismay that the sexiest piece of nightwear she owned was a black slip with a tummy control panel. And that was so not sexy… For a moment she considered raiding Michio's room. But the Goth was so damn skinny she wouldn't fit into anything Michi owned. Even if she did poor Kou'd probably panic if she came downstairs in one of Michi's outfits. Coming out of her closet, she found herself pacing. At once Chihiro was uncertain, terrified and didn't have a clue what she was doing.

Her relationship with Karou had been awkward at best. He was her first and she didn't know anything about sex at the time. She'd just begun figuring herself out when he'd started cheating. And even though there'd been a relationship there, she didn't remember anything about her time with Hidé except what she'd constructed in the process of writing her story. She had never in her life seduced anyone. Red in the face, Chihiro admitted she even didn't know how to begin seducing someone, especially someone like Kou.

Her insides cooled as she remembered how his hands had shook as he accepted her offer. He was afraid. Why was he so afraid? At once she went perfectly still, frowning as she considered for a moment he might be a virgin. Chihiro shook her head, making her hair fly out of her already compromised French twist pulled out.

Inconceivable! There was no way someone so sweet, and kinda, and… and… hot was a virgin!

No matter what backwater village he might hail from there was sure to have been some lusty young girl that'd dragged him off behind a barn or something to jump his shy skinny bones. Again heat was climbing into her cheeks as she sat on the foot considering jumping his skinny bones herself. At once thinking about his mouth hungry wanting tightened at the core of her body making her twine her ankles together. And she didn't care if this was something good girls didn't do. Chihiro didn't want to be a good girl or any kind of girl anymore. She was a woman now. And she wanted to live.

Settling on a comfy pair of black drawstring pants and a matching tank, she pulled on an equally soft gray sweater and ducked into the bathroom. Hastily washing her face and scrubbing off all her make up, she brushed her teeth and combed her hair. It went soft as she brushed out the gel. Leaving it long she whirled away from the mirror too afraid to look. At once she went to the music box she'd brought from her parent's house and pulled out the shiny purple cord. Fishing the shell from her jacket pocket she threaded the loop and pulled it over her head, breathing a sigh as it warmed against her chest. As she stood her heart thrilled into her throat, making her breath come short and quick as her pulse raced.

With light steps Chihiro came down the stairs only to find the front room empty.

Stunned, she considered for a crushing moment that he'd run.

But then a noise came from the kitchen, flooding her with relief.

"Kou?"

She called ahead, pulling her cardigan closed over the low neckline of her camisole as her confidence faded. Coming into the bright kitchen she paused on the threshold. Kou was pouring hot water from the kettle into her Mister Donut mug with all the demure refinement the host of a tea ceremony might show.

"That's my favorite mug," Chihiro commented wryly.

"I thought as much," he smiled softly while returning the pot to the range, "Forgive the intrusion but the evening is cold and I thought you might enjoy some tea."

Again she was staring, because he was so… considerate. Karou would've had a beer in hand with the TV on and his feet propped on her coffee table. Shaking herself, she pushed the jerk's memory out the door in the back of her head while taking a seat on one of the stools tucked up to the bar on the opposite side of the kitchen island. Floating again as if gravity had no affect on him, Kou brought her the tea.

"T-thanks."

Chihiro cupped her hands around the mug, feeling the warmth bleed through the china into her palms. And she was watching him again. Whereas he had been unnerved by the rest of the house, here in the kitchen he seemed finally at ease. He did, after all, work in a kitchen. Kou swept his hand through his hair, struggling to keep it from his face. Watching it sift through his fingers, Chihiro found herself wanting very much to put her hands in that hair. It looked so very soft. But he wasn't looking at her no matter how intently she stared. Instead he was studying the tiles covering the walls and floor. Funny, they were the exact same color as his eyes.

"They are almost the same color," he murmured absently.

"Hmm?"

Kou started, instantly bobbed an apologetic bow and making her want to squeal. Pink in the cheeks he waved his hand at the floor.

"This kitchen is the same color as the one at my home."

Chihiro found herself smiling, somehow happy to hear that.

"Really?"

"They are the same size," he was studying the room again, this time with a critical frown as he turned in a circle, "The stove is in the correct spot, likewise the sink, the back door, the pantry, and… and the nook!"

Kou's face wiped with such astonishment as he spun on his heel and pointed at the table and chairs. The corners of her mouth twitched uncontrollably as Chihiro struggled not to laugh.

"This kitchen's the reason I decided t'stay. I could get a smaller place, but I like it too much to leave it," Chihiro admitted, still fighting a grin to sip her tea, "They say it's the heart of the house, the kitchen that is."

Kou still looking at the nook as is he desperately wanted to sit down. But he kept his distance. She leaned on her elbows, watching him with a curious frown.

"Where is home? You never did say."

"Far," Suddenly he was staring at the floor, "On the cliffs above the sea."

That was certainly specific. She tried not to snort because that description applied to about 95% of Japan.

"Do you have lots of family?"

If he had a kitchen as big as hers he probably did.

"Yes."

He wilted in the way someone with a big family would, making her laugh.

"I'm an only kid. I always wanted to know what its like to have a big family."

His face fell. The pinch was back between his brows as Kou crossed his arms, leaning against the edge of the island. Some seductress she was. Before Chihiro could apologize for prying, Kou spoke diffidently.

"It is… difficult."

At once he transformed, standing straighter and lifting his chin. He looked like an entirely different person as he remembered his home.

"My eldest sister rules our house. She is proud, strong, and easily angered. She brings out my worst and we fight often. I must admit she is almost always right and I do not like that." Kou's lips twitched as he fought a smile that faded into deep affection, "She, however, knows not the meaning of stillness and cares for us tirelessly."

"Her spouse is just as stubborn and half blinded by his pride. But never have I known someone so devoted. Though they love her, they do not get along with my younger sister. She is a trickster who can do nothing but play. She eschews all work and is a terrible drunk. But she dances like sunlight and brings nothing but joy in her wake."

He tossed his head as a smile became a grin.

"After them I have an aunt who is wiser than she puts forth; an uncle who is a complete idiot; several cousins young and not so young. They know not the meaning of silence but it has been long since I have heard their voices. Suddenly I cannot stand the quiet of their absence."

Fighting his hair, Kou twined a piece around his long tapered fingers.

"Then there is my house. She has squeaky floors and drafty rooms. Her kitchen is dark and smoky and her sliding doors never properly shut. Her blue roof leaks and her garden is weedy. Her halls are narrow and her closets small. But she is lovely."

Kou sighed heavily as if he was sudden tired.

"I miss my beautiful house on the hill beside the cypress and sea."

Chihiro was stunned. He talked about the place like it was a person, describing it as he had his other siblings until it came alive in her mind. He obviously loved them and she couldn't fathom why he'd left such a family behind for of all places Tokyo! And she pressed forward without thinking.

"What could've possibly made you leave all that?"

At once Kou went marble white. His face shattered beneath the sorrow that drenched him from the inside out, weighing him down until he caught himself on the edge of the island as if he could hardly stand. Hastily he tried to hide beneath the ragged curtain of his hair, but the pain bled through his pinched features.

"I…" He whispered beneath his breath, "I lost someone."

All the warmth in the kitchen drained away as Chihiro watched in shock; because it was like looking at herself. She knew all too well what it was like to be driven away from home and family by loss. Before she knew what she was doing she was on her feet and across the emerald green tiles until her hands found his broad shoulders. Chihiro pillowed her head on the bunched muscles of his back, putting her arms around his narrow waist. She held him tightly finding he was so very skinny. She could feel his bones and he felt brittle beneath her hands.

"Sorry," she hushed, not knowing what else to say.

She couldn't stand to see him like this. He was so sweet and kind it just seemed so very wrong that he was suffering like this. But even as she held him Kou cringed, beginning to shake as if she was making things worse. Dismayed, Chihiro started to draw back only have him clutch her hands with his shaking fingers.

"Stay...!" He breathed in a ragged voice, bringing her to stillness.

His words were deepened by something intense and unknown. It seemed to touch a raw chord in her body, making her insides tighten with a stab of exhilaration. But the sensation briefly transformed to surprise as he turned so swiftly she hardly saw him move. A phantom wind hit her in the face, sending her stumbling back as the world went strange, because at once it smelled like rain. Disoriented by the clouded haze that was suddenly swimming around her head, Chihiro retreated even as Kou pursued, backing her up into the edge of the sink. Again moving faster than she could follow, he bent over her gripping the counter at her sides, trapping her between the iron bars of his arms and the crush of his body. But before she could even think to be frightened by his suddenly uncharacteristic advances the kitchen light haloed behind his head.

The light ignited an eerie fire in his extraordinary jade eyes that caught her like a snare. They stared out of his beautiful broken face unlike anything in this world. Chihiro's breath caught in her throat as she found herself drowning in the desperate adoration pouring from those eyes. The world came to stillness beneath the power of his gaze. As it had before, everything in her head just stopped. But her heart was hammering against inside her chest, thrilling up inside her throat until for a brief flash it almost hurt. But Chihiro didn't feel it.

All she could feel was the heat radiating from him. It soaked into her thin clothes as she realized with a giddy thrill that his body was crusted against hers. And the smell of rain intensified on another bizarre draft until she realized it was him, probably some kind of cologne because mixed inside it was the scent of strong healthy male. As she breathed it in her insides stirred as if touched by an electric shock, making all kinds of sultry demands she would be only too happy to fulfill.

No longer worried about seducing him, Chihiro lifted her face, leaning closer as Kou raised his hands. But for some reason they hesitated inches shy of touching her face. She would've reached up and grabbed them, but her arms were pinned between them, flatted on his chest. Chihiro could feel the frantic tempo of Kou's heart beneath her palms, just as she could feel the longing fraying his labored breath. Baffled, she watched as for some inexplicable reason Kou drew back, dropping stricken eyes to his hands and staring with such a look of alarm. His lovely finger tightened into fists as he shut his eyes, gritting his teeth and bending over them as he took another step back, leaving her panting against the sink. Chihiro half clung to the lip of the counter to keep upright. And she felt colder than she'd ever been in her life in the absence of his warmth.

He was going to leave. Chihiro could see it in him. And there was no way she was going to let him.

Throwing herself forward she tossed her arms around his neck and yanked him down to her with all her might. She surprised him, which was probably the only reason she succeeded, because he was much stronger than she was. His eyes flew wide Chihiro kissed him. Running her hands up the nape of his neck into his silky hair, she molded herself again his body, reveling in his heat as she moved her mouth on his.

At once Kou's knees were trembling. They folded, spilling him to a ground at her feet. That only made things easier on her. He was so tall when standing but now his face was right in her range. Cradling his head in her hands, Chihiro kissed him until she had half bowled him backwards, making him wrap his arms around her waist to keep from spilling back onto the floor.

Those arms tightened to the point that her ribs creaked but she didn't care. Insides her chest a riot of elation had broken loose and she couldn't begin to understand where it had come from. She didn't need to understand, because she was kissing his cheeks, his forehead and finally his closed eyes as all the while he clung to her making soft desperate sounds. But even as Kou yielded his hands remained clenched into knots in the small of her back.

"C-Chihiro,"He gasped against her lips, "I…?"

She smothered his protest; invading his mouth with her tongue, drinking up the sound until it was silence. Chihiro bent him beneath her ardor, driven by the mounting urgency, because she wanted him with a sureness that gave her the confidence to kiss him like this. She wanted him to look down at her like he had before while he was inside her. She wanted his hands on her naked skin. And she didn't care if they'd just met. Lust burned in her gut, gripping in every inch of her body and making her want him even more because of it.

Kou obediently lifted to his feet as she pulled on his arms.

Silently taking him by the hand, Chihiro led him from the kitchen.

Up the stairs he followed her, up the stairs into her bedroom.

HAKU

His knees wobbled; legs so ropy he could barely stand.

But still he followed.

As they had parted so had they meet again.

Haku, however, had not expected this.

After he found her on the street Chihiro followed him back to the restaurant, and he was elated by her interest. Here was a chance to become formally introduced. Here was a chance to no longer be a stranger in her world. But he had been astonished as in the course of minutes her attention progressed from intent curiosity to brazen attraction. He felt Chihiro's gaze burning against his skin the whole evening. And he knew not what to do! Though he hated to remember it, Chihiro and Hidé spent some weeks together before their intimacy progressed. He had been under the impression that human courtship was a matter of time and could go on for years; but apparently not so. Though they had been only recently introduced, she asked him home! That she had done this still shocked Haku.

But he could not deny her. Helplessly he had followed for here was everything he wanted. Here was everything he hoped and dreamed of. But after an evening of carefully chosen words and chastely holding her hand, it was too much to feel the raw warmth of her body pressed so close. The fabric of her clothing was like paper. Her scent overwhelmed him to the point that he lost himself if only for a moment. But even as he tried to flee she seized him, kissed him. Shock emptied his head in its wake of her passion.

And Haku could do nothing but obey.

He closed his eyes as Chihiro guided him to a seat on the foot of her bed. She pressed herself close once more, putting his arms around her tiny waist. And he trembled as she gathered him to her, pillowing his cheek on the small rising swell of her chest. He could hear the furious tempo of her heart within.

"I… I frightened you," he stammered in dismay.

She chuckled low and easy. Oh, how his blood surged in hot exultation at that sound! Slowly he melted as her hands smoothed over his face until the tight pinch between his eyes soothed if only slightly.

"You just surprised me s'all. You're really… fast." She paused if something she said made her unsure. "Is this too fast for you?"

As he held her close trying to understand what she was asking he turned his face into her chest, breathing in the sweet clean smell of her body. Oh, how lit such a fire in his blood! He knew this fire far too well. When first his ties were cut it bothered him not. But since then it had driven him to do terrible things. Again as it surged through his veins his body acted of its own accord.

His hands flattened on the small of her back, running up under her filmy shirt until he touched her burning bare skin. Desire struck him a physical blow at the contact, at once smoldered between his legs, sending the strange bit of flesh there tightening and hardening, blinding him with throbbing wanting. Haku drew in a sharp breath, pulling her closer until she was pressed against the length of him. Feeling what he would normally struggle to hide, eagerly she responded.

Her soft persuasive body drove him back against the coverlet. She spilled on top of him, urging his hands higher. At once he was light headed with panic because these hands! Shamelessly they ran along the sleek sides of her ribs, circling round until they danced up her flat stomach to her small breasts. Like green peaches they filled his hands with soft firm swells. She gasped aloud in a sound soaked with pleasure as he cupped and squeezed, tossing her head as her trembling arms folded, sending her falling onto him.

At once the fire set him upon her. Chihiro's jolted wide as her back met the bed and the weight of his body fell over her. But even as heat raged in his blood with lust screaming in his ears demanding to be fed, her wide eyes cooled his mind to clarity. Because this was not at all what Kubi had forced upon him; he loved this woman more than rain and rivers; he loved her more than the touch of wind and the kiss of sky. He would never do anything to hurt her.

"Too fast?" He hushed nervously, repeating her words.

Chihiro only blinked. And his insides quaked as her lovely chin lifted invitingly. As she had earlier, Chihiro captured him by the front of his shirt and pulled him onto her. Burying his face in her shoulder, breathing her hair, nuzzling and tasting the salt on her neck, his hands roved her back. At once her knees spread beneath him, cradling his hips as they folded up on either side of his body. Again desire assaulted him as one of her calves hooked up over his hip and bare skin met skin on his back. And as if he had been hit from behind he collapsed onto her, but Chihiro was happy to be crushed.

"Tell me again I'm not dreaming," She begged softly.

"You are not dreaming, Chihiro."

Haku was struggling to think as at once he was light headed.

"Promise?" Her voice caught in her throat, "Because when I'm with you I feel like I'm dreaming. And if I am dreaming I don't ever want to wake up!"

At once Haku went perfectly still. She had no way to know they had done so, oh, how her words wounded him. He was no longer a dream. He had followed her through hell itself to this place of horror. Now he was real. He was with her. Why then would she still want to sleep!? Even as confusion breed bitter sweet tears to burn his eyes, closing his throat with pain, fire sent him twining against Chihiro, urging him not to think anymore, directing him instead to feel. In despair Haku ceded, turning himself over to his mortal body. And at once there was nothing but her.

Chihiro uttered a wordless cry as he shifted his against her in a slow sliding motion full of suggestion, making her grip his head as she arched off the mattress. He drove his hands between her and the bed, rolling again, bring her upright. At once straddling him, pressing down on him with her delicious weight and flushed with desire Chihiro struggled to be free of her sweater. She was tangled in short time and laughing at her ineptitude. How his insides sang at that sound! He would never tire of it. And Haku helped her out of the garment, which she threw as if she could not stand it. Next she tore off her shirt, tossing it with equal abandon.

Her soft sweet skin pickled with a shiver as she looked down at him from beneath messy curtain of her ebony hair. How she was beautiful! He showed her thus with his eyes, making his thoughts plain as he gazed back. And Haku ran his hands along the tops of her bent thighs only to jerk back as something shocked the fingers of his left hand. At once a frost seemed to wash over his bones, chilling even the fire if only for a moment. He had forgotten about the mark the Forgotten had left upon her. How such a thing was possible, Haku did not know. At once Chihiro slapped her hand to the top of her leg as if trying to hide what already lay hidden beneath the fabric. Her hair fell in front of her face as her thin shoulders tightened.

"I… I have a scar," she began as if ashamed, "It's… um… kinda scary."

Haku was dismay by her embarrassment. There was no shame in the mark she bore. To Haku it was a reminder of her strength for she had conquered what even Gods dreaded. The same evil had marked them both. Without comment Haku took hold of the hem of his shirt, pulling it over his head before lying back against the coverlet and letting her see. Chihiro blinked; confused at first, but then she saw them. Her face wiped of all expression before tightening with such shock. She had seen them before but only in dreams she did not remember. To Chihiro, however, Kou was real and now she was seeing his scars as if for the first time.

"I am not frightened by scars, Chihiro," He breathed quietly.

As she had in the dream, Chihiro reached out with tentative hands to touch the claw marks left upon his flesh. Haku closed her eyes as slowly her fingertips danced across his stomach, tracing thrilling lines of exhilaration through his insides. He jolted, grasping handfuls of the blanket as her hair spilled across his chest, heralding the arrival of her velvety mouth. Tenderly she kissed the white lines one by one. At once his eyes squeezed shut, making pleasure explode inside his chest as white lights fill his head. She kissed the hollow of his solar plexus, sending him arching against the mattress as she moved lower to nuzzle his stomach. And a low moan escaped his lips as she mouthed the sensitive skin beneath his navel.

"Have you been tested recently?"

He knew not the meaning of her strange words as she murmured against his belly, tickling the soft hairs of his skin. Her hands tugged at the knotted rope at his waist, pulling it free and sending a shock through his nether regions as her fingers brushed him ever so slightly. Every bone in his body dissolved for a moment, sending him limp against the coverlet.

"Ah!" Again he was having difficulty thinking, "T-tested?"

Summoning every shred of self control Haku forced his eyes open, sitting up on his elbow to look at her. Chihiro was kneeling between his legs propped on her hands, looking up at him with the unsure expression she wore whenever he did not understand.

"So… you haven't been tested," She repeated almost shyly now, "You should, especially if you've had sex with multiple partners. Um… h-have you?"

Sex. The word burned in his ears even as it sent an eager pang of anticipation vibrating through him. Had the blood in his body not been occupied elsewhere his cheeks would have burst into flames. But instead Haku paled at her question, dropping his eyes to the pale blue blanket trying not to ponder whether or not there had been anyone else in this bed beside him.

"Chihiro… I…"

Haku was forced to swallow as his mouth had gone terribly dry. How was he to say this? How was he to explain the inexplicable? But most terrible of all, how could he confess to the woman he loved the transgressions he had committed with Kubi? At once terrified he accepted there could only be truth in this moment.

"I… I have kissed another."

It was not a lie. He had kissed Kubi. But she had stolen from him each small piece of intimacy. In a rush he continued for this was not a lie either. It was, however, uncomplicated enough that he hoped she would understand.

"But never have I shared with another what I share with you now."

Chihiro's face went blank.

"Y-you're serious?"

Haku could not bring himself to answer. Still staring at the coverlet he nodded.

"How is that even possible!?" She was so very shocked, almost angry but certainly not with him, "You're so sweet and… and kind, and damn sexy! Don't they have girls where you come from!?"

"There was one. But I lost her," he murmured quietly, "She is the one thing I cannot find."

Sitting up over his bent knees as sorrow slowly smothered the fire inside him Haku found it very strange to speak of this to her. But with her he could not be anything but honest. And in a way this was not Chihiro. It was as she said in what felt like ages ago. There were two inside her. Sen slept while Chihiro woke. It was a terrible thing to be so very close and yet so far.

Haku jumped and his thoughts dissolved as Chihiro's hands slid up his bare arms. Glancing up he found she had gathered between his feet, staring up at him with such a gentle expression of understanding. And it was impossible for him not to reach for her in return. But already she was reaching for him.

With renewed enthusiasm they crashed against each other, spilling back against the bed. The dying coals inside him flared hotly as Chihiro easily undid the fly of his pants. Surprise struck him to trembling stillness as her hands dipped inside, freeing him to the cold night air. She had touched him like this before in a dream but only briefly, not at all like this! Her hair spilled across his bare skin, making him lift off the mattress with a hoarse cry as her mouth claimed him, all of him, for her own. Again he cried out, at once crushed beneath the intense pleasure her mouth bestowed even as fear threaded through him, because this was entirely new! But it frayed and broke as the warm wet friction of her lips coiled him tighter and tighter until he was teetering on a seemingly endless brink. Haku could hardly breathe as he was forced to surrender to the overwhelming corporeal sensations, half sobbing beneath their power.

At once she drew back, suddenly unsure, "Is this okay?"

"I…" He panted breathlessly, struggling to find himself as truth spilled from him, "I do not know! I have never done this!"

She seemed startled by that, murmuring ruefully.

"Some seductress I am..."

Hearing disappointment hidden beneath the jest, Haku covered her hand, appealing in earnest, "You are not at fault, dear one. I am a poor lover."

Her lips quirked as she sat back on her heels.

"I'm rusty and you're brand new. I think we need to give ourselves a break."

"I am told practice is necessary," Haku lay back with a weak smile, "Let us try again in a moment. Until then may I hold you?"

Such a look crossed her face as he opened his arms, but she seemed glad to indulge him. Slipping out of her pants she lay beside him naked, pillowing her head on his bicep as she pressed her back to his stomach. As he closed his arms around her he tried not to stare at the hand shaped burn on her thigh. It was terrible to see it, terrible to remember how close it had come to stealing her from him. Chihiro's body, however, was a lovely distraction.

It burned against his as he breathed in the smell of her hair, smoothing his palm back and forth along the tight cradle of her hip. All the while her small hands ran up and down the carved muscles on his opposite forearm, curling and uncurling as they browsed his skin impatiently. But he knew from the coiled tension between his legs it would be short moments to a finish if they were to join now. And there was still too much he wanted to learn. To his dismay he hardly remembered the first time they had been one, so fraught was he with the newness of his body. The second had been quick, almost stolen. Now they had time aplenty and he was not ready for their quiet intimacy to end.

Her breath quickened and she pressed back against him as if wanting him closer. Emboldened by her response, Haku planted small kisses on the nape of her neck, gathering enough courage to speak.

"Are there ways I might return the pleasure you have given me?"

She tossed her head as he gently mouthed her ear's edge, leaving the soft skin of her neck exposed. He ran his nose along the curve of her shoulder, reveling as she twitched, and it was a moment before she spoke.

"So you did enjoy that?"

There were no words for that.

"Yes," he murmured ardently, "So much so I knew not what to do with myself."

At once pleased, Chihiro was grinning though he could not see.

"Good! That's the way its s'pposed to be." Suddenly she was whispering as if shy. "There's something similar for girls."

"Show me?" He entreated quietly.

Slowly, timidly, she guided his hand across the flat expanse of her stomach while one of her calves hooked around his, both anchoring and making room. A tremor went through her body as down his hand ventured, making his insides spin with dizzy anticipation as it followed through the soft thatch of hair at the center of her body until his fingers were parting a way through the mysteries hidden there. She cried out much as he had, knocking back into him with such strength he was momentarily startled. He almost jerked his hand away. But curiosity and a passionate desire to know her in this way kept him with her.

"Like this?" He hushed against her cheek as he chased the tips of her fingers, circling and discovering the velvety pearl he had not known was there.

"Y-yes!" she stammered as she ran her other arm backwards around his neck, taking back her guiding hand to clutch his hip, "Ah, yes!

Chihiro arched against him, surging rhythmically as he followed the path she had shown. Entranced by the secrets of the female form, He journeyed the rise and ebb of her body. Shifting his other arm beneath her, Haku tightened it around waist as he clasped her to him, holding tightly even as she bucked and struggled. But he would not let go. He would never let go. Gently yet persuasively he quickened his pace as he felt the approaching tremors he had known once before. They would bring her such exquisite pleasure, this much he was sure of.

Turning her face into his neck Chihiro clenched her eyes shut, making such delightful sighing sounds that it was impossible for him not to kiss her. And she seemed surprise as finally the tide crashed over her, bringing her to sudden stillness. Her lips formed a perfect circle beneath his as her eyes flew wide. At once they went unfocused beneath the power of the pleasure he had brought her. Such joy it brought him.

"Oh…! Oh, God, Kou!"

The name hit him physically. It was a half-lie that broke his heart, reminding him that even now in this moment of completion Chihiro remained out of reach. Her body might remember him. She, however, did not. The realization was devastating. But then her arms were winding around his neck. She turned in his arms, kissing him as she had while awake. And through his despair the fire in his blood chided him for his sorrow.

What did it matter if she slept?

So long as he could love her he would gladly follow in this dreamer's wake.