I do not own, I make no money, don't sue.

A.N. I have to say that I am disgusted by the controversy surrounding ffnet right now. As it is, all of my stories have adult content in them. I am not beginning to edit my work and remove these scenes... and doing so will severely take away from the plot, and character development. There is a petition to stop this from happening. It was created with the hope that an MA rating be instituted, allowing us to post adult content so long as we post a warning. "Unleash your imagination" huh? But only if we do it the way we're told. Rant over. For those of you that of the legal age to view such materials, all of my works are posted on adult fan fiction . net (just remove the spaces) under the penname Gwilwileth. I literally cried when I had to edit this chapter, as it is such a pivotal point in Kadaj and Hari's relationship. Please, please sign the petitions on my profile page! Freedom of speech, and freedom of expression! Make them stop stifling our creativity!

Chapter 36

Harmony stayed still in Kadaj's embrace for a long while, her only movement being to wrap her arms around him and return his near-painful embrace. After a while though, it changed from near-painful, to near-excruciating.

"Kadaj, you're crushing me. I can't breathe." She managed. He relaxed his grip immediately, moving to lay down on the dusty bed spread, arranging Harmony so that she lay atop him.

"What are you thinking?" Harmony asked, lifting her hand and twirling a lock of his hair between her fingers.

"That I don't deserve this." Kadaj answered honestly.

"Don't deserve what? to be loved?" At his nod, Harmony gave a sad smile. He really was broken. "Kadaj, everybody deserves to be loved. You feel regret for the things you've done, right?" He nodded again. "Then you deserve this. And I'll decide who is worthy of my love, thank you very much!"

Kadaj smiled. "You're amazing."

Not the words she wanted to hear, but it was a start. He stole her attention again when he lifted her to meet his eyes. For a moment he only stared, searching for something, it seemed. Then he lifted his head and kissed her. Harmony nearly swooned at the difference in this kiss. Unlike their previous encounters, this kiss was soft, searching, aching.

She pulled away and squirmed around until she was comfortably straddling his form, listening with dark joy to the moan he emitted at her movement.

"Be careful." He warned. "Don't start something you don't intend to finish."

Feeling empowered by the state she had him in, Harmony grasped the Remnant's wrists, lifting them until she had his hands pinned to the mattress above his head. Knowing that he allowed this, that he could easily break her hold at any time, sent a warm thrill through her. She leaned down slowly, letting the anticipation build until her lips were no more than a breath away from his.

"I love you." She whispered, and then she sealed their lips together.

Kadaj's fists clenched at her second admission, and he fought the desire to roll over and pin her beneath him. She needed to have control tonight. He wanted her to make the first move, to go at her own pace. After hearing that she loved him, he refused to let her past experience rear its ugly head and ruin the moment.

Harmony didn't stay at his lips for long. Slowly, she gathered her courage and trailed her mouth from his lips and up his jaw line to his ear. She swirled her tongue just below his earlobe, and then gently down the side of his neck.

Kadaj sighed under her ministrations. There was definitely a reward for patience. He applied slight resistance against the hands holding his wrists captive and she released him, allowing him to thread his fingers through her hair, and then run his hands down the length of her back to cup her ass. He pulled her against him as he rolled his hips, letting her feel the beginnings of his desire and delighting in the soft moan that rushed across his neck.

Pulling away from him, she sat up, sliding her hands down and letting her fingers catch in the hem of his shirt. Slowly, she pulled the material off of his body, Kadaj sitting up slightly to make it easier for her.

"God, you're so hot..." she whispered, then flushed as she realized that her thoughts had actually been vocalized.

Kadaj smirked, and then mirrored her actions, grasping her shirt and lifting it over her head. He bit back a groan at the discovery that she wore no bra underneath.

"Fuck..." He hissed, cupping her breasts and giving a firm squeeze. Harmony gasped.

"Oh God!"

He pulled his hands away, smirking at Harmony's disappointed whine. "Kadaj."

"What?" Harmony said, confused.

"God isn't doing this to you. I am. Kadaj. Say it." He said, wrapping his fingers around her waist and pulling her against his groin once again.

"Kadaj!" Harmony mewled.

"That's right." He whispered with a sly smile.

"Fucking amazing..." Kadaj panted, avoiding looking at her heat still spread before him. He just didn't have the strength for another round.

He gave Harmony a few minutes to calm her racing heart before reaching down and pulling her around to lay next to him. He let out an irritated growl, though, and stood, lifting her conmpletely off of the bed and pulling the covers down before laying back down and settling them both beneath the warm quilts.

"I love you." She muttered again, loving how liberating it was to actually be able to say it to him.

Kadaj pulled her against him and gave a tight squeeze in reply.

They lay in silence for a long time, long enough that Kadaj's breathing had evened and Harmony thought him to be asleep. Thus, she started a bit against him when he spoke.

"How did you meet Sassi?"

Harmony leaned up on one arm and looked at him, searching for the reason for his question. SHe found no jealousy, just reluctant acceptance. Giving him a warm smile, she snuggled back down into his warmth.

"It was the night I reported my rape." She said.

Kadaj tensed. "You don't have to-"

"No," she said, "its okay. So. It was the night I reported my rape. She was at the police station reporting the death of her father. Before I even went inside, I could feel it. I just... I knew that there was someone in there that was special. Someone important. I know it sounds cliche, but the moment I looked at her, the moment we made contact, I knew that she was more important than my own life. Níos mó ná mo shaol féin."

Kadaj traced the spot on her back where he knew those exact words were inked into her skin. "What does that mean?"

"Its Irish. It means 'more than my own life'. Sassi has one just like it, though the design under it is different. Mine is the Aiglin Tree, or Father Tree. Her's is her family crest. Its the same as the ring she wears."

Kadaj nodded. He could feel the warmth rushing through him as that soft blue light began to cover him. Sassi was important to Harmony, and Harmony was important to him. So, no more jealousy. Harmony was a Guardian. Sassi's Guardian. That made their bond something that he could never even come close to understanding, and that wasn't Harmony's fault. It wasn't Sassi's fault. Its just the way it was.

When the blue light receded, he saw Harmony's face smiling down at him.

"I love you." She said once again. She almost felt as though she had said it too much, but once she had let it slip, it was like she just couldn't stop.

He smiled back at her and rolled to his side, tucking her head under his chin and wrapping her into his protective embrace. It wasn't long before he felt her heartbeat slow and her breathing even out as she fell asleep. He placed a soft kiss on her forehead before hugging her body to his.

"I love you, too." He mouthed, not sure if he could actually say the words, yet. The last person he had said those words to had been his sister... and she had died not twenty minutes later.

If the same thing happened to Harmony...

'Jenova can have me. If I ever lost her... there would be nothing left worth saving.'

As he drifted off, it was to one final thought flittering across his mind. A memory actually, in the voice of Vincent Valentine.

'What makes this supposed devotion to her, any different from your devotion to Jenova?'