So, I personally believe I made up for how short the previous chapter was with this one. I absolutely love this chapter and it was so easy to write once I started. All of the Naru X Mai fluffiness!

Chapter 37

Noll, you seriously cannot beat yourself up about this. She only asked you why you kissed her. She didn't push you away. Heck, she even reciprocated the kiss didn't she?

Noll pondered that for a moment. That was accurate she had been an active participant in that kiss. He had been asking himself for hours though why she had asked that solitary one worded question. He didn't think things through at all when he kissed her he just reacted. He probably shouldn't have kissed her because he was jealous of the way the youthful cop had been looking at her. He basically had a caveman reaction. 'Woman mine! You touch, you die!'

He hadn't realized he had been broadcasting toward his brother until he heard the familiar chortle enter into his own brain. I don't think the situation quite looked like that. Maybe it isn't far off the mark but not quite like that. He chuckled into Noll's mind again.

Noll groaned. Had he jeopardized the possible future he had wanted with Mai by kissing her too soon? He really should have asked her on a date first or something. Trouble was he wasn't confidant she would answer in the affirmative if he asked. There was one person other than Gene he could talk things out with. But he wasn't sure if calling her was the wisest consideration either. Although kissing Mai might have been a great deal more misguided than considering calling a mother for advice.

Unlike his mother he took the time into contemplate what he would share with her before picking up the telephone. It was currently 4pm in Japan which would make it 8am in England. He considered heavily before scrolling through his contacts and pressing the send button to dial her.

The phone rang a couple times before he heard the telltale click of his mother answering the phone. "Am I dreaming or is my intellectual scientist son calling me for a change? All right?"

Noll sighed into the phone. He should have expected her to ask how he was right away. But he had honestly been hoping to build up to what he wanted to discuss with her. Internally he was balancing back and forth on either feet out of nerves. Externally he was the composed scientist he always conveyed himself to be. "Mother, I suppose I wanted to have a heart to heart."

"You suppose you want to? Is that anything like actually wanting to have a heart to heart with your mum? Wait, do I actually sense that my passive son is about to tell me about a girl in his life? Is it that assistant of yours? What was her name again? Mai?"

Noll pulled his breath through his teeth. He wasn't sure if he was annoyed or embarrassed by his mothers antics. But, one thing was for certain she wasn't fooling anyone by her performance. The minute Gene had name dropped Mai she had been at least mentally considering playing Cupid. Heck she probably had a wedding half planned and a baby outfit already purchased. "Mother, you aren't fooling me. You know her name is Mai."

"So, are you confirming that she is what you are wanting to discuss?"

Noll ran his hands through the hair at the back of his hand before he acquiesced in the affirmative. "I suppose I am." He pulled the phone away from his ear when his mother erupted in cheers. "Mother, don't buy the wedding stationary just yet I think I might have made a major blunder." He really hated that he had to open up and admit he probably did wrong by kissing Mai to soon. But it was just easier to be direct with his mother otherwise she would likely go off on some hopelessly romantic daydream that he wouldn't be able to easily pry her away from.

"What did you do?" Her voice sounded a tad testy now. Was she already on Mai's side without his defending explanation on what happened, or heck without even have met her yet?

"We had to call the officers in because we found a body. While they were investigating one of the younger officers kept leering at her. I could only imagine the lewd thoughts that were traipsing on in his mind. I didn't consider my actions all that carefully and acted more Neanderthal than homo sapien I'm afraid. I hauled off and kissed her without considering the consequences."

Noll waited to hear his mother's reaction but she seemed to be actually considering what he said rather than squealing in happiness or scolding him in anger. "How did she respond to the kiss?"

"While we were kissing it seemed fine. I mean she reciprocated the kiss. It wasn't completely one-sided. However, afterward was another story. She gave me this look of utter confusion and asked me why. No other word was uttered simply 'why'."

"How did that make you feel?" She was beginning to sound Freudian in that moment. Nevertheless, he knew she had a point to asking the question.

"If I am to be honest confused mostly. I mean she was an active participant in the kiss. Shouldn't that have meant she would have been happy with the kiss? I mean once I realized that my lips had taken direction that my mind hadn't completely considered I expected her to pull back quickly and slap me."

"Sounds to me like she was okay with the kiss she just wants to understand why you kissed her. Why you chose that moment. I can't tell you how she is feeling exactly. I can only guess from what you have told me. I think it's up to you to get the answer. Give her some time to herself so she can think about it for a bit. After a couple hours seek her out directly regarding the kiss. But don't wait too long about it. I mean I do want grandchildren someday I would really hate for you to botch things up."

He sighed. He wasn't all that surprised she brought up grandchildren. But, he wasn't about to verbalize his stance on that comment. It would only encourage her. So instead he took a deep breath and said,"thank you, mother."

"You're welcome, love."

OoO

It had been hours since the officers had left. They had ended up agreeing that they didn't have enough evidence to take Akane in. Mai noticed a determined look between the police captain and Akane but she couldn't decipher it. Nor did she overly concern herself with it since the end result had been in their favor.

Now she should be winding down and trying to actually work on this case. But her mind kept going back to the same thing. The kiss and her response to it. In her own way Mai had treated the kiss nearly the same way as Naru had treated her declaration of love. So now she was fretting over how Naru was feeling about it.

She touched her lips gently as she considered the kiss once again. Except for setting and reason it had been everything she imagined it would be and more. Naru had been a lot more adaptable that she might have imagined. Not that her daydreams ever really completely took his actions completely into account. It was hard to imagine Naru kissing anyone. He was just so stoic all the time. But for some reason in Mai's mind she always thought that he would probably kiss more with aggression than he had. That's not to say the kiss wasn't aggressive in its own right. It was. But, it was nowhere near forceful as she thought it could have been.

The trouble was she didn't understand why he kissed her other than to keep that officer from giving her heated looks. Which there were only two reasons she could come up with why he would do that. The first being that Naru was being protective of her. Which regardless of how stoic and standoffish he can be even in the early years he had always had a level of protectiveness towards her. The second being that he was jealous. The second seemed farfetched but if it was the case Mai really wanted him to be up front with her. Instead of being more direct though she only asked a one worded question that could have been interpreted in probably as many ways as the reason for the kiss itself.

She knew that she needed to but she highly doubted she would be able to sleep tonight. Instead at the moment the plush carpet on the floor of the trailer was becoming flattened by her endless pacing back and forth.

The loud knock on the door actually startled her out of her reverie making her physically jump. "Come in."

She hadn't expected to see him again so soon. She hadn't felt prepared to see him again so soon. But there Naru was hovering in the doorway.

OoO

I would never openly admit to anyone how nervous I was in that moment. Both of my hands were clenched tightly into fists at my side so I wouldn't be outwardly showing how awkward I was feeling at the moment. Her eyes that were never simply brown to me blinked up at me in confusion. Her honey cinnamon golden, heck I dunno pick a descriptor, eyes spoke volumes. Her mouth opened and closed like a fish while she tried to determine what words she should utter.

"I'm sorry." I blinked. I hadn't expected her to apologize. Wasn't I the one in the wrong here? I was the one who carelessly acted without pausing to consult my brain about the actions I took. So why was she the one apologizing? I waited for a moment hoping she would elaborate more. "I can only imagine your reaction to my poor response to the kiss. I didn't mean to be so vague."

"I'm not sure why you are apologizing, Mai. I'm the one in the wrong here. I never should have forced you to kiss me the way I had. It wasn't fair in that situation. I just...I couldn't help myself in that moment I guess. As much as I strive to be I'm not a super human nor am I unfeeling. I got swept up in my emotions and reacted I suppose."

Mai worried her bottom lip with her teeth. I assumed she was pondering over how to respond. A sigh left her lips before she asked. "What emotions would those be?"

"What emotions do you think they could have been?"

Just like that her quietness was shaken up. I could see a trickle of anger begin in her spine as she shook softly for a moment before she groaned. "No. No. No. No. No. That is not going to be how this plays out! You kissed me, and you came to the trailer to seek me out just now! I asked you a question. Two actually. I'm not going to answer yours before you answer mine." Her left foot began to tap with annoyance and impatience.

I sighed. She was right of course. She was right in so many ways and I just didn't give her the amount of credit she deserved when she was. No, over the years I had refused to acknowledge those moments often and instead went to point out those moments she made mistakes. "You're right. I should be the one to answer. I just don't know where to begin because what I felt was such a huge amalgamation of emotions I am not sure which one to focus on first. I was angered over how that young officer was undressing you with his eyes. I felt like I had to protect you from that vulture in some way or another. I don't understand it completely because he did nothing for me to be jealous for. But it would be inaccurate to say otherwise. The underlying force behind the kiss? I was being possessive."

OoO

I could see how much he struggled with saying that. His jaw had clamped so tight I was curious if he was grinding his back teeth. His stance was so rigid I was sure nothing would be able to move him from the spot he planted himself. The trouble was I knew what he said but I still needed him to tell me more. I wouldn't lie to myself. I openly admitted to myself that I was hoping he would say words I wanted to hear. But I also was being realistic. This was Naru. He would probably try to keep things as close to the vest as possible. "Can you elaborate on that please?"

I watched his cheek tuck inward. It was the only sign of how my question made him flinch. "Which part?"

"Any part. All of it. Take your pick. I just want to make sure I understand where you are coming from." I didn't want to disillusion myself in any way. I had to make sure that I fully understood his line of thinking. I wasn't about to set myself up for heartache all over again.

He was struggling. I could see it veiled in his dark eyes. But I wasn't about to back down. Not now.

"Naru, there had to be a reason you were being possessive of me. There had to be a reason you were jealous of him. I know that you have always been protective of your staff so unless it's more than that you don't need to explain being protective to me. Only why protectiveness would result in a kiss of all things. There were plenty of other ways to handle the situation. You chose to kiss me which was probably the last on the list in ways to handle it. So, once again why choose to kiss me? Why did you not simply escort me away? Or report his unethical behavior to Captain Kita? Or any other number of things my brain is probably to frazzled to consider right now? Why did you kiss me?"

If it was possible his body became even more rigid. I was nearly positive now I had pissed him off. But he took a couple breaths and relaxed instead of venting anger at me that he could have. I was thankful for that because honestly I probably went too far and the last thing that needed to happen was Naru ending up in the hospital because his PK ran away from him.

"I kissed you because I was a fool four years ago! I never should have said what I did! I never should have walked away from you! I never should have got on a plane and left for England leaving you behind without resolving whatever it was between us!"

His voice had raised and become forceful but he wasn't quite shouting. It was close but it wasn't shouting yet. He did seem angry though. But then his words fell over me and I considered them long and hard before uttering any kind of response. "I also should have answered that question you asked four years ago. But you threw me off and I needed a moment to consider what you were asking. I mean I guess it made sense that you would assume it was Gene I loved. He was the one that smiled often and I got to know through my dreams. But those rare moments when you smiled at me. I can honestly say those moments made me feel different. Gene's smiles made me feel happy. Your smiles made me feel whole."

I watched as his shoulders relaxed and his body became less stiff. His face began to morph and change gradually as he absorbed what I told him and then there was that elusive smile that I rarely saw beginning to form. "Dammit, I'm such a fool." I choked back on a chuckle and arched an eyebrow at him. "I really did waste a lot of time didn't I?"

"I'm not touching that question with a ten foot pole. But don't think you are off the hook. I am going to make this easy on you. Uh uh." I shook my head in the negative to emphasize my stance.

The left corner of his mouth lifted as he smirked at me. "Does that make you my girl?" That question sounded odd coming from Naru but it also sent a numerous amount of butterflies fluttering in my stomach. It made me giddy and a little light headed but again this wasn't going to be easy for him.

"Nope." The p sound echoing off the short word. "You have to start at square one. Also, for now, that first kiss doesn't count."

"Square one, huh?" He considered again. "So, after the case is over will you go out on a date with me, Mai?"

I would show my excitement if I vocalized it. My cheeks already feeling warm and my smile curving on my face. I simply nodded in the affirmative to convey my answer.