I love you.

There they were. They were the words that everyone longed to be lucky enough to say to someone. There were those three words that stripped someone of all armor they were wearing and all weapons they were carrying, leaving them bare and vulnerable to an attack. Armor could be dented and scratched from blocking actions and words of hatred and betrayal. Weapons could be scratched or broken, leaving the warrior with nothing but to take the hits and pray they held up. To admit love… was the hardest part of living. It was waiting for either a fatal stab to the heart or the renewal of protection from another through reciprocation. It was holding a baby bird with a freshly repaired wing waiting anxiously for its first flight. From his silence, she could already hear the bird crashing to the ground; unsuccessful in its attempt.

Lust was often mistaken for love. But it was merely a thin replica based on desire and conquest. Desire? Conquest? Those were nothing to her. She longed for something more; something that wasn't facial features or a body. With him, she could easily distinguish between replica and reality. Could he, from her? Had he wanted simply conquest, he would've let her continue and readily taken her. The desire was there, plain as day for either of them, but it could be for different reasons. Reality for her. A replica for him. It was funny, from an objective point of view. A simple American girl and a powerful yakuza. Two worlds that couldn't become more different if they tried. He wasn't the type of person that she usually thought about falling for. Yet here she was, still sitting on the kitchen counter with him standing between her legs, not having uttered a peep having exposed her heart for that fatal strike.

"You… what?"

"It's okay!" Olivia exclaimed, her nails digging into the softened wood on the underside of the counter. "It's okay if you… don't feeling the same."

It's really not, but if it's you, I'll manage somehow.

"B-But I just want to let you be knowing."

Olivia stared at his bare hands. It was the first time that she had ever seen them. Strong, calloused palms that had stopped their movements on her thighs. Blue eyes darted around, trying to take every single speck of them that she was able to before they were gone from her vision once more—perhaps for good. His thumbs rested limp on the inside of her thighs as his fingers did to the outside. Keeping her breathing shallow was the perfect way to not allow any emotion to be shown. Just because he was on the end of her red string didn't mean she was on the end of his. Those three words were special; important. Words that were only said to the most special of the special. The way she felt was reserved for one person; him. There was no other him. There never would be.

"Well… that ain't fair."

"H-Huh?" Olivia finally looked up to see that he was looking at her thighs where his fingers had started tapping.

"That ain't fair at all… sayin' that. I had a plan."

"A plan?" Olivia swallowed the lump growing in her throat, loosening her grip onto the counter.

Goro nodded with a small 'mm', still tapping at her thighs. His mind was unpredictable. Whenever she thought she had a read on him, he'd turn the map a different direction and show her a side road that no one would ever see. The paths were usually rocks and uneven; dangerous even to travel. Never once had she regretted traveling down those side roads. The scenery was always so beautiful and outweighed any risk that the rocky, dusty road presented. Sometimes she took the map and showed him side roads, and although hesitant, he would always take them with her. It had become a pattern, a way that they could learn each other without words, showing each other only sides they knew about.

"What plan?"

"Ta… explain things. And say… certain things." He muttered. "So, this ain't fair at all."

Fledgling emotions were the most difficult to nurse and take care of. Just like the first bloom of Spring, it needed to be cradled and given just the right amount of water and let it receive the proper amount of sunlight. Love was no different. No, love was this rule. Two people were needed to properly care for the bud, each giving their share of energy and care so it could blossom to its fullest shining the brightest and the brightest that it was able. So badly, she wanted to ask if he felt the same, but they wouldn't form.

"And… I wanna stick ta that plan. So, I can't say nothin' like that."

"…Oh." There it was. That bird squawking again from its failed fall.

"But I can say that I strongly… feel… romantically for ya too."

"Y-You do?"

That was the most perfect awkward confession ever.

Goro huffed and continued to keep his gaze on his hands which hadn't left her thighs.
"'course… ya think I'd just kiss some woman I didn't feel anythin' for?"

"I—"

"Ah well, I have done that." Goro cleared his throat again, the rubbing of his thumbs beginning again. "Ya think that I'd just touch some woman like that without feelin' anythin' for her?"

"I—"

"Ah well, I've done that too… Well, ya think I'd consider havin' sex with a woman I—nope, done that too." Sweat from the palms of his hands could be felt against the skin of her thighs.

Take your time.

"I gotta point. Promise." The tapping against her skin continued and he cleared his throat. Olivia watched him mull over everything in his head before the tapping stopped; something had finally clicked. "Ya think I'd willingly turn down a woman that wanted ta have sex with me?"

"I don't know." By this time, the worry had melted away and she found herself smiling.

"Well, I wouldn't. Ain't done it before. Didn't matter when or where; night, day, hotel, bathroom, alley. Didn't matter. Didn't care."

Oh my.

Flashes of him desiring a woman so much, that he'd just take her anywhere unwillingly presented themselves. Jealousy wasn't present, because she could tell; that was the replica. That was the lust. Just the desire and the conquest. Most likely, he couldn't even remember their faces let alone their names. Quite honestly, she was unsure how to feel about that. But she reminded herself that wasn't the Goro Majima that was in front of her right now.

"Can't do ya that way though. Nope."

"Does that mean you're say I'm special?"

Goro huffed again.
"Use yer brain and figure it out."

The little bird with the recently healed wing got up and started flying. Ineloquent and awkward, but it was still a confession. The more time they spent in their small, personal eternity; the more she realized that she preferred that over the blatant 'I love you' that she had given. His was so personal, meant and written just for her. There was no template that could be tailored to fit the situation in his world. It was admirable, beautiful even. One day, she hoped that she would be able to see the world through the same candid lens that he did.

Making sure to be gentle; the budding flower was still delicate after all, she reached over, and it was her turn to tilt his face up. Her thumb traced along his bottom lip just as his had done prior. They weren't what most women would consider full. Upon the surface were signs of where it had been cracked from multiple cases of trauma. There were rough patches that never seemed to heal fully despite time that passed. It wasn't conventional beauty. But nothing about him was. To her, however, they were. It wasn't the beauty that called her, no. It as the way it sent her mind reeling into a sensual state of intoxication. People say that eyes are the windows to the soul; while she believed it to be true, she believed the same could be said about lips being the gate to the body. With his, she knew of the passion and the promise of sweetness to come.

His face wasn't extraordinary or significant in ways that would make women stop and stare had he contained both eyes. Yet, with her it was the most beautiful face she had ever seen. High cheekbones and a strong jawline that set whenever he was angry leading to a just as strong chin. Perhaps one of her favorite things about his face was how his eye widened and his eyebrows raised talking about certain things. Maybe it was his upper lip that was quick to sneer when the wrong thing was said. So many small intricacies of a face she loved. Tracing over the lines with the tips of her fingers, she had been so entranced at the feel. Places where she expected it to be hard was soft. Places where she expected the skin to soft, was hard. This was a face that she could trace over countless times and quite possibly never map it out to its fullest. It wouldn't be from lack of trying though.

One of the hardest things of kissing him was having to close her eyes. The intoxication they bestowed on her prevented them from opening. They stepped out into the snow once more with that soft and slow kiss. Her hands cupped his face, leaning further into his welcoming arms. The kiss was as soft and gentle as a snowflake laying against the ground, quietly making its presence known. Beautiful; perfect even. However, just important for those who were in that moment. Olivia's eyes snapped open and their kiss broke when she felt a grip on her wrist. Sometime during their kiss, she had veered too close to the patch for his comfort. She didn't attempt to pull away, it had been her fault—subconsciously or no—that she had drifted too close. She looked in his eye, expecting to see anger, but his brows were just knit together in what looked like… worry?

"Sorry, I—"

Before Olivia could apologize and explain that she hadn't meant to make him uncomfortable, his hand moved to cover hers the way it had when he placed her hand on his heart and guided her fingers to grip onto the elastic strap. Her eyes widened and she looked at him, but he had already closed his eyes. His hand tightened over hers and he slowly led her hand underneath his ear and to the back of his head before the elastic gave way and the patch was left in her hand. The only other time he had seen his whole face was when she woke up in bed with him that morning. Just like then, his eyes were closed. Heart thudding against her chest, she sat the eyepatch down onto the small bit of counter space that was left. Was he really going to expose his most vulnerable side like this?

Softly, she let the back of her hand run along his cheekbone silently assuring him that he didn't have to do this if he didn't want to. While she would be glad to show him how it didn't make a different to her whether he had two eyes, one, or none; she didn't want to make him feel like he was forced. Rubbing against the elastic had been a genuine mistake. Taking a deep breath, he slowly opened his eyes.

For the first time; she was seeing it. Where there should've been another deep brown eye was nothing. A concave hole where the skin had healed over time. While surprising, even though she had been expecting it, it wasn't a monstrous or hideous or anything of the sort. Many times, she had heard of people who had lost an eye but had never seen it. Looking at his one intact eye made her heart hurt. It was averted in what now resembled shame and embarrassment. A meaningful and careful touch could work better in assuring better than verbal reassurance could. Carefully, she let the back of her hand roam down the side of his face. Halfway down his face, she felt his eye look at her. Just as carefully, she brushed some hair out of his face that had gotten misplaced and smiled brightly when she finally looked at him. There was no eye there, but there didn't need to be. He was him no matter what. He looked shocked at her quick acceptance.

"I love for here." Olivia said, placing her hand against his chest where his heart was beating perhaps even crazier than it had been before. "To me, you are perfect."

Olivia leaned in again and pressed their lips together, wrapping her arms around his neck. At first his lips were slow and deliberate as if testing to see how deep the next section of the ocean was before embarking. There it was again. That fire. The fire that mixed with ice and melded into the electricity his fingers released upon touching her body. His palms rubbed against her thighs once again, the talent in each caress making her squirm. Fingers tangled in her hair and she shoved off his jacket when he let fall onto the floor. A slight tugging at her hair pulled her head back, exposing the base of her throat and with a slight slant of her neck.

His hot breath touched the skin of her neck and those electric shivers ran up and down her spine again. He knew. He knows that once the kisses start on her neck, she'll crumble completely. He knows that with the tender brush of his lips against the heated skin, that she resigns herself. All this knowledge gained from one prior kiss. It was like he had a map of her body before they even met. She knew that he was aware of how much power he had with such a simple gesture as a kiss in the crook of her neck. The lips curled into a smile when a soft shuddered breath exhaled from her now dry lips. His smile only increased when the grazing of teeth against skin forced her to bite back a moan. She couldn't deny what he was doing to her body, she'd already given too much away. Her fingers tangled into his hair and her knees gripped onto either side of his waist. A shaking heavy breath against her neck and a choked groan earned a small victorious smile rise to her own lips.

Olivia slid off the counter, her feet touching the cold floor. Had it always been that cold or—? Whatever destination her thoughts had never got there as something slammed against her back. When the daze momentarily cleared, she realized Goro had slammed her against a nearby wall where he wasted no time in wrapping her arms around his neck. With just the right amount of passion, he worked his way from her ear to her neck, and down to her collarbone. Her eyes closed again, biting back another moan which only earned another chuckle from deep within his chest.

With a wrap of an arm around her waist, she took one of her legs and wrapped it around his waist. Well, that was the plan. He knew. Somehow, he had to have known. Again, like she weighed absolutely nothing, he picked her up by her thighs and backed her up against the wall as far as he could. She wrapped her legs around his waist, amazed at how everything between them seemed to fit like it was made to fit together. His strength would be able to keep them both at the wall, but not for long. If he kept this up, it wouldn't take too long. Olivia was already a writhing mess, putty in his experienced hands that trailed up her leg. His thumb dipped into the waistband of her underwear and Olivia became keenly aware of how much fabric was truly separating their pelvises which were now touching. His thumb tugged at the fabric and her hips moved; a wordless attempt to assist him.

It wouldn't just be about the sex. It was a journey of discovery of who he was. Of who each other was not just body, but soul too. Some would argue it was just the feeling of being swept in the moment, but she knew better. Being swept in the moment didn't have all the memories and feelings behind it that she had. It didn't have the reasoning behind wanting to continue investigating someone you loved into their soul. He was a mirror of her, an echo. He had been a best friend before anything, and even now; he still was. He was able to bring out the best in her and accept her at her worst.

Then her legs were on the floor again and they were separated, and he was rubbing a hand down his face and exhaling. His eye turned to her and she blinked, still slightly dazed when he looked her up and down. Olivia couldn't help but huff a laugh when he shook his head and started pacing.

"G-Go put some pants on." He said, trying to return his breathing to normal. "Yer makin' things difficult."

"O-Oh. Sorry."

That special knock came at the door and Goro's face turned even redder than it was. This… would be a rather awkward thing to explain.
"Hurry up. Don't want anyone else seein' them thighs and gettin' ideas of havin' their head smashed between 'em."

"What?!" If embarrassment could kill, she'd be dead. "Who—"

"Only head or face gonna be smashed between 'em is mine."

Olivia made a small strangled sound of embarrassment before retreating to the pile of clothes she had laying about and picked her pants up and headed into the bathroom. They had been about to— He had been pulling at— His face smashed between… her… thighs? She shook her head, not wanting to think about that. How could he just say something like that so easily?! That was something so intimate and—and—and… yeah! She had trouble getting her pants on from how sweaty her body was.

"Ooh! Kiryu-chan!"

"M-Majima-san?!"

"Surprise!"

"How did—"

"I said 'surprise' Kiryu-chan!"

Oh God, it's Kazuma.

Pulling up the zipper, she wasn't sure if she wanted to punch or thank Kazuma for the interruption. If he hadn't had, things would've… B-But, Goro hadn't wanted things to happen like that. And, now that she was thinking about it, she wanted it to be someplace better than a safehouse. But damn him and his good heart, sweet nature, beautiful face, amazing body, talented hands, and—dammit! Olivia reached up and tried to fix her hair the best that she was able, knowing it was tangled and very telling. She slammed the faucet to the 'on' position and splashed some cold water onto her face and a little on her hair to make it stay in position. No button could be out of place. No bit of fabric. Olivia touched her lips and blushed slamming some more cold water on her face.

Calm down dammit! Calm down!

Olivia took another few deep breaths before flushing the toilet. It would be better to pretend that she had been in the bathroom instead of cooling herself down from an—an… a… whatever that had just been. 'Make out' was too light a word, 'sex' wasn't quite there. Nodding and tapping her cheeks a couple times, she headed out into the main room.

"K-Kazuma!" Olivia exclaimed, holding onto her throat from the squeak that came out.

"Ooh, Kitten. Ya sound like yer gettin' sick. I told that Nurse Lady that I would perform all the physical exams ya needed, so let me know if ya need any."

"Mm." Olivia said noticing his jacket and eyepatch were in place and he looked as if nothing had happened at all. How even? "Kazuma, are you okay? Not injured?"

You're a one-eyed demon. That's what you are.

"Mm. I'm fine. Thanks, Olivia." Kazuma stated and pat her head before sighing.

"Something wrong."

"I saw Kazama-san."

"That being great!" Olivia exclaimed. "Where?"

"Omi Headquarters." Kazuma whispered.