Izo woke up in the middle of the night, hearing a baby crying in the night. He blinked awake, seeing Kotone, who shared a room and now a bed with him, going over to Koji's crib to pick him up. Izo rolled over, watching her sleepily. He wished he had gotten up faster than her so she could rest up more. He usually did that since Kotone insisted Koji stay with them in their at night. He wanted to buy her more time to rest and recover from running away and giving birth.

He closed his eyes and his mind wandered. He thought about how his parents had reacted when Kotone insisted on staying in his room, not wanting to be on her own. Izo had not minded it at all, liking her and her son near him. He wanted to call her son his son, but whenever he so much as hinted that to her, she got stiff and uncomfortable. It was like she was unsure if he should love her like he felt. He was determined to be patient, to wait her out. His father had said to let her come to him if that was what he desired.

Izo heard Koji whimper. He opened his eyes back up, seeing Kotone holding him close. Her shirt was pulled down past her shoulder, exposing half her chest. She was feeding him, probably the last time she would be able to do so for a while. He looked at her chest without thinking about it. She noticed, looking over at him. He looked up, meeting her eyes. She blinked first, looking away. He felt himself flush, pushing his face back into his pillow. He liked her, he thought himself in love with her. He reminded himself to wait for her to make the first move.

He closed his eyes, dozing. He heard and felt her crawl back into bed next to him. It was all he could manage self control wise to not reach over and pull her in closer.

Much to his surprise, she cuddled closer to him, making him open his eyes back up. She kissed him softly on the mouth before laying her head down on his shoulder.