It was a quiet Sunday at Café Mew Mew, and Ichigo was just closing out her last two tables of the evening. She was already dreading school the next day, especially after missing classes Friday pretending to be sick. Has it really only been two days? she thought to herself. She had been engaged to Masaya Aoyama for two whole days. She had been a fiancée for a whole weekend. Ichigo sighed wistfully at the thought as she printed out one of her table's checks. It would be hard to keep the engagement a secret from her parents, especially since she had to be long-distance with Masaya for a little while longer.

Then again, I've hid the secret that I'm a mew from them for what, five years? she thought. How much harder would an engagement be?

Ichigo had taken to wearing the diamond ring during her shifts at the café. Her parents didn't drop by often, and never stopped by unannounced. Ichigo couldn't pass up the opportunity to relish in the attention of the café patrons admiring her ring and offering congratulations. Ichigo adored the praise, and she adored gushing over Masaya.

Ichigo took a moment to glance down at the ring as she pulled the check out of the café printer. She tilted her hand until it caught the light of the kitchen fluorescents in its sparkling mass.

"Will you quit ogling over that rock and wrap up those two tables?"

Ichigo jumped in surprise at Ryou's voice just a few feet away. Arms crossed, he was glaring at her from the back hallway. Ichigo let out a sigh and rolled her eyes.

"Geez, alright!" she snapped back at her boss. "I'm getting to it!" She began totaling up the second table's check at the register.

"When you're done, can you meet me in the office?" Ryou added. Ichigo stopped totaling the check and peered back at Ryou curiously. He observed her questioning look with cold blue eyes, one eyebrow raised. "Don't worry, you're not in trouble … yet."

"Fine," Ichigo agreed, turning her attention back to the register. "Give me five minutes."

Ryou turned and left wordlessly. Ichigo wondered to herself what he could want to see her for. She hoped it was good news about his chimera research. After the last couple of battles, Ichigo was beginning to grow paranoid whenever she walked anywhere alone or with Masaya. She cashed out her two tables in the café, then grabbed her bag and went to change in the café bathroom. Her street clothes were a simple cream shift dress and an oversized, mustard-colored cardigan – comfortable and perfect for layering in the volatile spring weather.

Ichigo slung her tote bag over her shoulder and made her way down to the basement office. Ryou sat at his usual desk, resting his head in one hand as he clicked through his laptop. The number of half-full coffees on his desk had grown to an impressive eight mugs.

Ichigo squinted into the dimly-lit desk space and crossed her arms awkwardly. "Ok Shirogane, so what do you want to talk to me about?"

Ryou glanced up at her, then took off his reading glasses. "Have a seat," he said simply. Ichigo furrowed her brow. It wasn't something Ryou usually asked her to do when she was in the café office. She pulled up a folding chair off to one side of the desk and sat in it, dropping her bag off to the side of her chair.

"How's the wedding planning going?" Ryou asked, raising one eyebrow. He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. "Told your parents yet?"

Ichigo was taken aback by the question – Ryou didn't typically ask her about her personal life. She straightened her posture, flipping one lock of hair over her shoulder.

"Fine," Ichigo replied simply, confidently. "We're not telling our families until later in the summer, after I have a university picked out."

"Right," Ryou replied. "Something to do with your parents not being keen on the young engagement, I'd guess?"

Ichigo tilted her head to one side. "You could say that. Why do you ask?" She wanted to get to the root of why Ryou wanted to talk to her. The small talk about her engagement couldn't possibly be the only topic on her boss's mind.

Ryou rolled his neck lazily, cracking it in several places. Ichigo cringed at the sound. "Well," Ryou started, "I'm assuming you and Aoyama are planning on relocating to London, yes?"

"I mean," Ichigo started hesitantly, "that's the plan, why?"

Ryou exhaled through his nose. "Figured as much. I've been having some conversations with Pie, and we share some concern over how many chimeras have been showing up lately. It's lucky that the team has been able to get to you quickly the past few times … the chimeras seem to be springing up more often."

Ichigo nodded hesitantly. She could sense where the conversation was going.

"Long story short," Ryou continued, "Pie and I are both concerned for you two to move abroad. Though there are less parasites clustered in that part of the world, it wouldn't be unheard of for a chimera to show up in London, what with the strong energy still steeping around you and Aoyama. And if one does, we can't come to your rescue."

Ichigo scowled. The thought had definitely crossed her mind – moving abroad, away from her team, would certainly put her in a vulnerable position. She bit the inside of her cheek, feeling herself fidget with her ring as she mulled over Ryou's words.

"It's especially dangerous because Aoyama's power is so weak," Ryou continued. "He means well to protect you to the best of his ability, like he did in the battle a few days ago, but you'll essentially have to carry yourself in a battle if he can't transform. Everyone – the mews, the aliens, Keiichiro and I – we're all worried for you two."

"I mean, I can't just stay here out of fear," Ichigo argued. Her voice sounded louder, more forceful than she had intended. "I have to live my life. I can't just ask Aoyama to quit his career and drop out of university to stay close to the mews."

"I know," Ryou replied simply, surprising Ichigo. "I know how stubborn you are, Momomiya. We obviously can't make you do anything."

Ichigo knocked her jaw back and forth and stared down at her white tennis shoes. There had to be another way – something else she could do to protect herself. Something else she and Masaya could do to avoid the fear of a battle on any given day.

"How have things been with the research into the chimeras?" Ichigo prodded, meeting Ryou's eyes once more. "Have you found anything else since the magnetic field from a week ago?"

"It's hard to say," Ryou replied. He picked up a pen on his desk and began tapping it against a notepad absent-mindedly. "We've been measuring the power levels of Aoyama and trying to predict when another chimera attack will happen, but it's still so random. We've also been looking into the individual abilities of each chimera, to see if there's a pattern in what types are most likely to incubate once they come in contact with Aoyama's energy."

"And? Have you found anything?" Ichigo asked, leaning forward in her chair.

Ryou shrugged, sighing and raising his eyebrows. "We were making progress, but it's going to be slower now that … well, there's one other thing I wanted to talk to you about."

Ichigo tilted her head to one side curiously. Ryou ran a hand through his thick blonde hair as he shook his head.

"Quiche is leaving. Tomorrow morning," he said. He tossed the pen he was fidgeting with on the desk with a clatter.

Ichigo's eyes widened. She didn't know how to react at first; whether to be glad or upset. Collecting herself momentarily, she asked: "Wait, why does that hurt your progress? Isn't Pie the brains of their operation?"

"Sort of, but it's more complicated than that," Ryou said gruffly, appearing frustrated at the mere topic. "As much as it pains me to say it, Quiche is somewhat of a prodigy. From what Pie tells me, it will be very, very hard to catalogue the exact properties of the chimeras in the way Quiche understands them. Apparently he is one of the best chimera summoners of their time."

Ryou rolled his eyes, scratching behind his ear. "Beats me how so much talent is wasted on a young, idiot kid like that, but I have to agree. Not to mention he is the only one of the three that can use electric and plant abilities as well as his chimera summoning ... he has been integral to defending the city over the past week, so it's a shame he's decided to throw a tantrum when it matters the most."

Ichigo clenched her jaw. She was beginning to read between the lines – it was obvious what Ryou was implying. Ryou glanced down at Ichigo's hand. She was spinning her engagement ring around her finger idly.

"I don't think any of us can convince him to stay, with that thing on your finger," Ryou added, nodding towards Ichigo's ring. She snatched her hand up to her chest defensively, feeling a blush blooming on her cheeks. Ryou was right, she knew. But Ichigo was unaccustomed to talking about something so personal with her boss, something she hadn't even addressed fully with her friends.

"What do you mean?" Ichigo spat back, glaring at Ryou. "It's none of your business!"

"It's obvious to everyone, Momomiya," Ryou remarked. He folded his hands behind his head. "Trust me, I'd rather not be talking about this with you either, but if anyone is going to talk Quiche into staying, it's you. Pie and Tart haven't even been able to get him to come downstairs in two days."

"What am I going to say?" Ichigo replied defensively. She threw her hands in the air, rolling her eyes in frustration. "'Sorry about being engaged; wanna stick around and help research how I can safely move to London with the guy who punched you in the face on Friday?'"

"Hell if I know, Momomiya," Ryou sighed. "But I want you to at least try."

Ichigo grit her teeth. Ryou was right. She hadn't had to make much of an effort to avoid Quiche over the last few days, but if there was a time to confront him, it was now. She needed the safety of knowing she wouldn't be attacked by a chimera at any odd hour of the day. Plus, with Quiche leaving, the mews could no longer rely on Quiche's ability to hear Ichigo's voice when she was in danger. It would take longer for the mews to get to her – if she was still on the same continent as them.

"Fine," Ichigo agreed reluctantly. "I'm done with my shift, so I'll see if I can go talk to him now. No promises."

"Understandable," Ryou replied. He raised one eyebrow, crossing his arms again. "Don't do anything stupid."

Ichigo frowned at the odd comment. She stood up and straightened out her skirt, then picked up her bag. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Ryou shrugged. "Nothing in particular. Good luck."

Ichigo shot him a dirty look before turning on her heel and tromping up the stairs of the basement. She hadn't a clue how she was going to talk to Quiche. She would almost rather he disappear entirely, so she could put him out of her mind for good. Ichigo had been doing such a good job of keeping her complicated feelings towards Quiche buried deep in the back of her subconsciousness over the past few days. She would hate to ruin it now, when things had gotten to such a good place with Masaya.

Ichigo spotted a tall figure disappearing to the broom closet as she reached the top of the stairs. Pie exited the closet in the next second, holding a broom and dustpan.

"Hey, Pie –" Ichigo started, catching his attention. Pie appeared a bit startled; he flinched slightly before turning around to face Ichigo. His face was stoic as always. He raised one inquisitive eyebrow.

"Yes, Momomiya?"

"I, uh…" Ichigo started awkwardly, fidgeting with her ring again, "I wanted to talk to Quiche, but I don't know which room is his."

She paused to gauge Pie's reaction. Per usual, he had none, his face remaining stone-cold and devoid of emotion. Ichigo continued hesitantly, "...can you tell me which room he's staying in?"

Pie's grey eyes flicked briefly from Ichigo's worried gaze down to her engagement ring, then back up to her face. Ichigo didn't miss the subtle glance, suddenly feeling more nervous.

"You won't find him in his room around this time," Pie replied finally. "He likes to sit outside around sundown … on the roof."

Ichigo bit her lip and nodded, grateful for the piece of information. "Thank you," she murmured quickly, forcing a small smile. She walked around Pie and stole up the stairs to the upstairs hall of the café's spare rooms. Ichigo could feel Pie's eyes on her as she went.

Ichigo hadn't used the stairs to the roof in several months. They usually only used the roof for extra storage, and to check the air conditioning unit. She crossed the hallway and opened the door at the very end. Narrow concrete steps gave way to the dim light of the sky outside. Ichigo sighed, mustering the courage to begin her ascent up the stairs.

It was just sundown, the golden light of a warm spring sun just beginning to dip behind the horizon. It was breezy at the top of the café, and the roof gave a perfect vantage point to the crowded suburb of Tokyo that Ichigo called home. When she was almost to the top of the stairs, Ichigo slung her tote bag over the top of the stairs with a thud. She had just reached the last three steps when she heard a voice.

"I swear to god, Tart, if you come up here one more time I will throw you off of this godforsaken building—"

Ichigo whipped around just in time to see Quiche's look of surprise as he glanced over his shoulder. He was sitting on the edge of the roof behind the stairs, wearing a sleeveless black shirt and sweatpants. He looked tired; his hair was tousled, and he looked more pale than his usual porcelain complexion. He had a purple-colored splotch of skin just under his left eye — undoubtedly from the fight just a few days ago. Ichigo breathed in sharply as their eyes met. His gold irises were breathtakingly bright in the light of the setting sun. All of the complicated feelings Ichigo had buried deep in her mind suddenly came rushing to the surface. She wondered if Quiche felt it, too — she opened and closed her mouth, searching for what to say.

Something changed in Quiche's gaze in the next moment. His eyes seemed to gloss over. "Hey, kitten," he muttered, turning back to face the setting sun. Ichigo frowned. His guard had gone up. She climbed the remaining three stairs and came to stand on the roof.

"Shirogane just told me you're leaving tomorrow," Ichigo started hesitantly. She walked over to where Quiche was sitting on the ledge of the roof. The ledge was about waist height on Ichigo. She stood resting her elbows on its warm concrete, staring out into the setting sun. She glanced up at Quiche. He appeared stoic, focusing intently on ignoring her. Ichigo couldn't help but feel annoyed. "So you're just giving up like that?"

"Giving up on what?" Quiche fired back, an edge to his tone. "Pie, Tart and the rest of you can figure out the chimeras yourselves. You don't need me anymore."

"That's not what Shirogane told me," Ichigo replied. "He says you're some sort of prodigy. With the chimeras, that is."

When Ichigo looked up at Quiche, he wore a humorless smirk. "Hm, a rare compliment from the boss," he remarked. Quiche clicked his tongue. "Nah, you'll all be okay without me. You've all made it pretty clear that I'm not wanted here."

Ichigo scowled, frustrated with Quiche's callousness, and angry that he hadn't even bothered to apologize for spilling her secrets to Masaya just days before. "Well sorry we didn't all hug it out when you decided to pick a fight with my fiancé!"

"Yeah, well I didn't sign up to get decked in the face by some twat carrying a box around in his pants for a week because he's too chicken-shit to commit."

Ichigo froze, eyes wide. A week? How did he know that? She leaned further over the side of the ledge to try to catch Quiche's eye. "Wait, what? You knew he had the ring this whole time? How?!"

Quiche finally made eye contact with Ichigo again. He looked positively furious. "Of course I did! Why else do you think I've been starting fights with Aoyama every time I see you two together? Your friend Mint tipped me off to him carrying it around the day we fought that rat chimera, and he's had it on him ever since. I was hoping if I kept ruining your dates he would just give up on asking you before he left again, but obviously that didn't work out."

Ichigo blinked, startled. Mint had noticed Masaya carrying the ring box around? And she had told Quiche? Why? Ichigo knew they had a strange friendship, but she was shocked to know that Mint was going behind her back and talking to Quiche. What did she have to gain from telling him? What did Mint know — or suspect — that she didn't?

"I didn't even know the significance of the stupid thing until Mint explained it to me," Quiche continued in a huff. "Your human traditions are idiotic."

"Well it doesn't matter now," Ichigo muttered, still trying to digest this new information. She brushed her bangs out of her face with one hand. "Aoyama and I are engaged, so I'd really appreciate it if you could get over not getting what you want for once."

Her words felt harsh, even as they left her tongue. Ichigo immediately felt guilty as soon as she said it. The air around them soured. Ichigo watched Quiche swing one leg over the ledge of the roof and hop off.

"Whatever, I'm done here," he muttered under his breath. He turned and started to walk away. Ichigo opened her mouth to reply, but no words came out. Quickly, without thinking, she turned around and grabbed Quiche's wrist to stop him.

His skin was cold, like he had been outside for awhile. It reminded Ichigo of the night of their kiss a little over a week ago, when she noticed how frigid his hands were. Ichigo couldn't ignore the jolting feeling of her heart leaping in her chest when they touched. Quiche turned to look back at her. The anger was gone from his face, replaced with a complicated expression Ichigo found hard to place. He glanced down briefly at Ichigo's grip on his wrist — and that was when Ichigo realized she had caught his wrist with her left hand. Quiche glared down at the ring on her finger before letting out a breath of air through his nose.

"I'm sorry," Ichigo finally managed to say. "Please stay. I want to talk."

Quiche glanced back up at Ichigo. His visage was guarded again. "Fine," he agreed reluctantly. Ichigo let go of his wrist, and Quiche returned to the ledge of the roof. He folded his arms on the concrete and stared out into the pinkish sky, saying nothing. Ichigo bit the inside of her cheek.

"Look, I know … I know you have this thing for me," Ichigo started hesitantly. She saw Quiche recoil next to her, slumping his shoulders. She struggled to find the correct words, doing her best to stomp down the burning in her chest she had ignored so well over the past few days; to silence the voice screaming in her head: you're messing it all up! "I think it's best if we just … move past it. You know?"

Quiche let out a humorless snort of laughter. "Really, kitten? Move past it? Is that all you got?"

Ichigo scowled, feeling embarrassed at her lack of eloquence. "I don't know! All I know is that Aoyama is in love with me, and that's all that matters to me."

"What, you think I'm not?"

Ichigo froze, her breath suddenly catching in her throat. She couldn't fully process what Quiche was saying. Was he telling her that he loved her?

"I… what?" she murmured quietly. "But—"

"But what?" Quiche replied, louder this time. He finally looked over at Ichigo. She swallowed hard, feeling small under his intense gaze. "It's not some secret. It's not like I haven't told you."

"Over a year ago!" Ichigo said defensively. Her mind was whirring at a million miles a minute. She didn't have time to think before she heard the words leave her lips. It had been over a year since Quiche's emotional confession during the awakening of Deep Blue. The painful memory began to replay in Ichigo's head as she struggled with what to say.

"It wasn't that long ago, Ichigo," Quiche muttered, glaring out at the horizon line once more. Ichigo was fascinated with the way her name sounded in his voice at that moment — not "kitten" or one of his other nicknames for her — Ichigo. The way he said her name— all breath and in a low, murmured tone — made Ichigo's stomach do a backflip. She bit her lip and tried to focus.

"I just—" she stared hesitantly, "—I just thought you'd forget about it after you left. After that last battle with Deep Blue."

"Really? Forget about it? After that?" Quiche bit back. Ichigo watched as his eyes narrowed, still focused intently on the setting sun. "In case you don't remember, that was the day I died. The day I died trying to kill the deity of my people – the supposed last hope of my race – trying to protect you."

Ichigo could hear her heartbeat thrumming in her ears as he continued, "I tried to kill my god to save you. It went against everything I knew, everything I had been fighting for. But none of it mattered to me then. I was chosen as Deep Blue's loyal servant to lead the rest of our race to victory over Earth. After years of fighting, in the end, I threw it all away. All of it. I was the prophet who turned against his god. All because I was stupidly in love with the one human girl I was supposed to have killed."

Quiche's gaze snapped to Ichigo. She inhaled sharply as she saw how intense his look was in that moment, like every feeling of passion, anger and frustration was suddenly bubbling to the surface. "So yes, Ichigo — I was in love with you then and I'm still in love with you now. But obviously that doesn't matter anymore, so you can consider this our last conversation. Forget about it. Your words, not mine."

Ichigo felt frozen in place as Quiche turned to leave, breaking eye contact with Ichigo and walking back towards the stairs. She didn't go after him this time. Her wide, brown eyes watched the sun slip behind the horizon, disappearing in a thin, bright flash of gold.

It felt like there was a wild animal let loose in Ichigo's body; a burning, uncontrollable sensation roaring in her lungs. Ichigo had a knot in her stomach, a feeling in her throat that told her this is all wrong. This time, she didn't fight the feelings quickly flooding every corner of her thoughts. She found herself quickly returning to how she felt when trying to describe her feelings for Quiche just a few days ago.

What was a flutter in her stomach, really? she had asked herself. What was a feeling in her fingertips when he touched her? But now, she realized it was far, far deeper than she had ever allowed herself to realize.

Quiche had just confirmed something for Ichigo that she had always known, but not fully acknowledged: her and Quiche were two sides of the same coin. Both gifted youth thrust into a years-long battle for the things they believed in, with the objective to lead their teams to save their people. The only difference was in the mission they were tasked with. Ichigo was the lucky one – surrounded by family and friends supporting her in her defense of the Earth. But Quiche was shouldered with an impossible task: conquer this planet, or everyone back home suffers.

And in the end, when it mattered the most, he had abandoned all of it entirely. All of his training, all of his values, his people and his god. All because he loved her.

The flutter in Ichigo's stomach was turning into a raging fire.

"Wait!" Ichigo yelled suddenly, snapping out of her daze. She whirled around and ran after him.

"Wait," she repeated breathlessly, turning to stand in front of Quiche and pushing a hand against his chest to stop him. Quiche looked down at her in confusion. Ichigo felt his heartbeat thrum against her palm.

Her brain screamed at her that this was dangerous. But she knew she had to find an answer for the burning in her chest. She felt like a rubber band stretched tight; like her whole body was pulled taught and waiting for a release. She found herself struggling to articulate her thoughts as she lifted her gaze to meet Quiche's perplexed eyes.

"I don't … I don't know what this is, and I don't know if I understand what you feel..." she started hesitantly, her voice barely a murmur. She searched Quiche's gaze for a reaction as she pieced her thoughts together, "...but you can't leave now. I want to know. I need to know."

Ichigo felt like she had fallen into a daze, as if the part of her brain that had been suppressed for so long was suddenly controlling her body of its own accord. She kept repeating her words to herself in her mind: I need to know. She needed to know what it was between her and Quiche that caused the stirring in her stomach and the whirlpool of emotion she had lost herself in. She needed to know what that unexplored something was. Quiche had told her that he still loved her – and she desperately wanted to know what she felt in return.

She lifted her other hand to gently place it on Quiche's chest, then slid both hands up so that her arms hung loosely around his shoulders. The movement seemed to snap Quiche out of his shocked stiffness. Ichigo felt his hands rest on her hips loosely, cautiously. He looked at her like she was the moon and the stars.

Ichigo took a deep breath, stood on her toes, and kissed him.

If their kiss in the café kitchen was a spark, this was a whole fireworks show. Quiche immediately leaned into Ichigo with urgency, gripping her hips and tilting his head to the side to deepen the kiss. Ichigo felt like every part of her body was collectively sighing in relief — like she was scratching an itch all throughout her senses. The familiar feeling of an electric energy surged in her stomach. She inadvertently sighed into his lips.

This seemed to trigger something in Quiche. In one fluid motion, he pulled away from Ichigo, stooped down just slightly and picked her up by the back of her thighs, placing her on his hips. Ichigo gasped in surprise as her legs quickly wrapped around his waist. Quiche continued kissing her neck in deep, hungry kisses; Ichigo realized he was walking to the ledge of the roof. He lifted Ichigo onto the ledge, then resumed kissing her lips with a renewed fervor, his hips now between her legs. He gripped her thighs in his hands, running them up and down the bare skin just below her skirt.

Ichigo felt dizzy, like she might faint. She had never been kissed like this before — and the intensity of the kiss was growing by the second.

"Quiche I—" she murmured into his lips. She finally caught his face in her hands, pulling away and leaning back further to look into his eyes. In dusk's dim light, his gold eyes seemed to almost glow; something wild danced behind his irises as he caught his breath. Ichigo glanced behind her briefly, looking down. She realized they were in plain sight from the ground. Flinching, she arched her back, grabbed Quiche's shirt and moved closer to him as she scanned the park for onlookers. "Someone is going to see us!"

Ichigo gasped as Quiche turned her chin towards him sharply with one hand. "Does it look like I care about that right now?" he murmured, his voice throaty and slightly hoarse. Ichigo swallowed hard, trying to maintain her composure. Her body felt like it was on fire.

"But what if—" Ichigo started, but Quiche cut her off with another passionate, urgent kiss. The electric feeling in Ichigo's stomach surged and she found herself melting into him again. She felt his hands travel up her thighs, up over her dress and onto her lower back and hips. He pulled her sharply towards him so that his hips were further between her legs. Ichigo broke out of the kiss suddenly, startled. She leaned back on her hands and caught her breath.

Ichigo watched Quiche's eyes travel up and down her body quickly before meeting her bewildered gaze once more. Ichigo swallowed, trying to hold herself together long enough to catch her breath.

All at once, Ichigo began to wrap her mind around what she had just done. She replayed her conversation with Quiche over in her mind, her jaw going slack as she turned her head to look at her left hand on the ledge of the roof.

The engagement ring sat twinkling on her finger, still holding its brilliant sparkle in the dim light of dusk.

When Ichigo looked back up at Quiche, he was wearing the devilish smirk Ichigo had come to know so well. The purple bruise under his left eye only further served to remind Ichigo of her precarious situation. She began to grasp the enormity of what she had just done. The burning in her chest reminded her of the lit flame dancing in her, and she knew she couldn't ignore her complicated feelings any longer. Not after this.

Quiche narrowed his eyes as he studied her expression.

"You're in trouble now, kitten."

(A.N./

Alright, buckle up, everyone – it's about to get real messy from here on out, lol. We are a little over halfway through the fic, with lots still to come!

This was a tricky chapter to write without throwing Ichigo totally out of character, so hopefully I did an alright job. I've been revising this chapter for about 2 months now, mostly because this chapter and the next one are both super pivotal to the rest of the fic, and I wanted them to be just right. I think a few of you were waiting for a ~spicy~ scene like this, so I hope it was worth the 14-chapter wait. :)

Please leave a review on the chapter and let me know what you thought. Thanks so much for all of the love on the past couple chapters – you are all wonderful and so encouraging!)