Laina and Ryo began training after breakfast. They went to the soccer field so the grass was softer. Ryo showed her how to stand, and began sparring with her. He taught her how to dodge and strike, making sure he just barely touched her while they sparred. She could tell he wanted to teach her but at the same time he didn't want to break the promise he made. Laina used the move Shin had taught her and sent Ryo to the ground. He looked surprised but then smiled, grabbing her leg and making her fall on top of him.

"Well if you wanted me that badly, you could have just asked," he grinned before taking her face in his hands and kissing her.

"Hey, what kind of training is that?" someone asked from the sideline. Laina jumped, getting up off a frowning Ryo.

"The best kind," Ryo replied, getting up and smiling at the man. Laina looked at him, he had dark blue choppy short hair and blue eyes that matched. Laina thought with his hair like that he's be wearing leather or a punk band shirt, but no. He wore a white sweater and green pants. Even from a distance she could tell he was intelligent.

"So, you two are a thing, huh? You know it's been a while since our wedding," Touma inquired walking toward them and Ryo grabbed his hand, pulling him in for a hug.

"Hey, we barely know each other, so no wedding bells yet… But yeah, she's my girlfriend," Ryo said smiling, "Not sure how I lucked out."

"I don't know how he changed my mind," Laina said crossing her arms, "He was such a jerk when I started coming to clean his house two weeks ago."

"Actually, yeah, I kinda was… Sorry, gorgeous," Ryo said giving Laina a sheepish look.

"Well, as long as you keep up the compliments, I guess I can forgive you," Laina replied blushing, "Yesterday he said he would keep me around because I can cook."

Ryo grinned, "And she knows how to play soccer, food and soccer. You know, the necessities of life."

Touma snorted, "For you. Me, my girl has to have book smarts. Mia is perfect."

"That's why you married her, right?" Ryo asked with a smirk. Laina took his hand and they started walking toward the house. A woman stood on the back porch, her hand on White Blaze's back. She looked pretty in a light green skirt and a lavender sweater.

"That's right," Touma replied, "That and Anna made me."

Ryo snorted, "Sure…"

"Ryo! Ryo, it's so good to see you!" Mia called as she ran up to them. She wrapped her arms around Ryo, who hugged her with a chuckle.

"I'm glad to hear your voice again, too Mia," Ryo said, and Laina found herself smiling. He really cared about his friends, and it showed.

"Mia, this is Laina, she's my aide, and girlfriend," Ryo said, putting an arm behind Laina.

"I've heard so much about you and Touma. Ryo was really looking forward to your visit," Laina said, giving them a smile.

"You're the one with the imbecile ex, right? The dolt who hits women?" Touma asked, tilting his head and crossing his arms.

"Yeah, but I took care of that," Ryo replied with a smirk. Laina's smile dropped and she looked down feeling ashamed.

"He'll be back, though. She's pretty," Touma said, turning and walking into the house.

"You shouldn't feel ashamed. I don't know your reason for staying with someone like that, but I'm sure it was good. You are really strong for getting out," Mia said, touching her shoulder.

"That's Touma, he's pretty forward, and doesn't have much of a filter," Ryo said, touching Laina's head, "Don't worry about it. You'll cast your spell over him, like you did the rest of my friends."

"Has she met everyone?" Mia asked with a giggle.

"Pretty much, just the important ones. Shin flirted with her, Seiji was the one who sent her here, and Shu loves her. She sent him home with food. Shoot, White Blaze loves her more than she loves me," Ryo replied with a chuckle.

"I doubt that, Ryo," Laina said shaking her head.

"Yeah, White Blaze loves you the most!" Mia said shaking her head, "Out of all the guys White Blaze follows Ryo around and listens to him the most."

"But she only came back after Laina did. And Laina feeds her extra steak," Ryo said matter-of-factly.

Laina laughed, "That's only because I cleaned the place up and made it nice for her. She couldn't walk on your floors with all that glass everywhere."

"The place looks great; you've done a great job. Anna said she came on Tuesday. She said she's going to have another little one. They don't know what it's going to be yet, but I hope it's a girl," Mia said with a smile.

"So when-," Laina started but was cut off by Ryo.

"Are you guys staying the night?" Ryo asked, he took Laina's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. Laina's brow furrowed, but she followed his lead.

"Yeah, I hope you are. I could always use the company of another girl. Ryo's fun, but he doesn't talk about girl things, like that new movie that's coming out. That cute rom-com with that hunk who remind me of Elvis," Laina said, changing the subject. Mia went from sad, to startled, to happy in a matter of seconds.

"Wait, you watch Hallmark, too?" Mia asked, giggling, "I can't wait for that one. I loved him in unleashing Mr. Darcy."

That sent them off on a whole conversation of girly romance movies and Laina watched as Mia blossomed, practically glowing with happiness as they cheerily talked through making dinner and cleaning up. Touma had walked off with Ryo to get the part of the video they needed. Laina and Mia enjoyed some time watching girly shows on TV. Time flew by as they enjoyed each other's company.

"Are you in the guest room? I know that beds small, but I could share it with Touma," Mia said yawning, "But if you're sleeping in there, I don't want to kick you out."

Laina looked pensive for a moment. She had barely slept the night before, and she would probably sleep better with Ryo.

"I usually do, but with everything that happened, I think I'll sleep better in Ryo's room," she said, chewing her cheek and hoping Mia didn't think less of her for sharing a bed with Ryo.

"I get it," Mia said giving her arm a comforting squeeze, "You're safe here. Ryo's very protective, he always has been. He'll protect you with his life, and he can easily take someone like your ex out. I mean he is an amazing fighter when- oh! Wait… sorry… uhm… yeah just know he can protect you."

"He fights who? Is he like a boxer or a street fighter or something?" Laina asked. Ryo had hinted at something he was hiding and she had the feeling that Mia knew what it was. It had to do with him being able to stand up against someone, but who? Was he in the military? No, she would have known that. They would have said something about that in one of the interviews he did.

"No, I can't say, but I'm sure you'll find out-," Mia started.

"Soon enough," Laina finished with a sigh and a roll of her eyes.

"I know it's annoying, but when the time comes and he trusts that you won't leave, he'll tell you about it," Mia said getting up and walking up the stairs. Laina turned off the TV and followed her up. She had just walked into Ryo's room and was about to close the door when she heard Touma and Ryo come into the living room from the laundry room. That door in there must go to the camera room, Laina thought with a shrug.

"She's not right for you. You know that. She'll never be strong enough to handle it," Touma said.

"I know she's been through a lot, but you never know. I think she's pretty strong," Ryo said, "I mean it doesn't hurt to try it out."

"Ryo, you know what happened to Luna," Touma muttered, "You don't want the same thing to happen to her."

"Touma, that's not fair. She's totally different from Luna," Ryo replied quietly, he shoved his hands into his pockets, "Laina is a survivor. She's stronger than you think. To come out of a relationship like hers, and she still tries her best to brighten my day. She bought me all sorts of Mochi because I asked for some. If you give her a chance, you'll see. She's pretty strong, and I've been training her, so has Seiji, and Shin. Besides, Mia, Anna, and Akane have handled it, why can't I find someone who can?"

"Ryo, I hope you're right. You deserve to have someone in your life who cares about you. She is a good cook and I see how she spoils you, and White Blaze. If White Blaze likes her, then I'm sure I will too," Touma said patting Ryo's shoulder. Laina quietly backed up and crawled into Ryo's bed, pulling the sheet over her. She could hear them walk up the stairs and she shivered. She knew she shouldn't eaves drop, but it was hard to just trust whatever this secret was, that would be told to her… eventually. Would she even want to know this secret? I mean what if it was something bad? She had to be strong to handle it? What could it be?

Hearing the door open she glanced over at Ryo as he flipped off the light switch and pulled his shirt off. In the blue glow of the moon he looked like a Greek god. She watched as he pulled off his jeans and put some sleep shorts on. He walked to the bed so easily, like it was second nature. She shook her head still wondering if maybe he could still see a little. A smile crossed her face as he felt her curves and instead of moving to the other side, he lay on top of her, his lips finding hers. A giggle escaped her as his kisses became more fervent.

The next morning…

Laina woke with a shiver, the cold morning air giving her goosebumps. She groaned and stretched, her feet touching something warm. Laina turned to the heat source and snuggled into him. His sculpted chest rose and fell with deep breathing. She rested her head on it and warmed herself up next to him. She could hear his heartbeat and he let out a soft snore. Her fingers ran over some bumps on his chest. It took her a moment to realize they were scars she was feeling.

She took her time feeling his skin for bumps and trying to memorize them. As she did so she realized he had a lot of scars in odd places. Well it seemed like he sparred a lot, maybe it was from that? Suddenly he caught her hand in his and pulled it up to his lips, kissing her palm.

"You keep that up and we'll never get down there to see Touma and Mia," Ryo whispered, "I think Mia's up. I smell coffee."

"Mia, oh yeah, why did you stop me from asking her yesterday? Are they having marriage trouble?" Laina asked, "Or maybe they just don't want kids?"

"That's a bit of a sore subject for Mia. They got married a couple years ago, so really, they are still in the newlywed stage. I think they've been trying. Before I went blind, I could see on her face when Anna would talk about Mason. They've always been pretty quiet about their relationship, but I can hear it in her voice, like a sadness, when anyone talks about kids around her. I think she really wants one," Ryo explained, "That's why I stopped you. I didn't want to hear her sadly say not yet."

"Oh, I get it. Some people have a hard time getting pregnant. Some can't get pregnant at all," Laina replied, "I've seen surrogates, and women with twins because they were on a special medication to help them be more fertile. Then there's the In Vitro ones. I hope it happens for them. They seem really nice. I bet Mia would make a great mom."

"Yeah and their kid would be super smart with parents who both have a PHD," Ryo agreed, putting his arm around her and pulling her close, "Are you going to want kids, too?"

Laina shrugged, "Probably, I did have fun with Mason and Shu's clan."

Ryo chuckled, "That is definitely a wild and crazy clan."

Laina pulled away from Ryo, who groaned and tried to convince her to come back. Shaking her head, she went down to meet Mia. They made breakfast because Mia said Touma wouldn't wake up until almost lunch time. Laina was surprised but she was right. They had spent the morning together and gone out for a walk. When they got back Touma was still sleeping.

"He's always been a heavy sleeper," Mia explained as they started to make lunch.

Touma came in with wild hair and tired eyes just as they finished making lunch. They stayed for a few more hours and then they had to leave. Laina was so happy to have met them.