~Chapter Thirty Five~

Happily Ever After

Closed off from love,
I didn't need the pain.
Once or twice was enough,
And it was all in vain.
Time starts to pass.
Before you know it,
You're frozen.

But something happened
For the very first time with you.
My heart melts into the ground;
Found something true.

I'm in love with you.

~Bleeding Love, by Leona Lewis

Disclaimer: Me No Own; You No Sue.

Our lips brushed lightly. "Takashi-kun, I love you…" I breathed into his mouth, the words slipping over my parted lips without thought, almost like it was second nature for me to express my romantic feelings to him.

Takashi jerked backwards in surprise and disbelief, his hands ripping themselves from their perch at my waist, and opened his mouth to speak. His voice caught in his throat, though, and the lanky male shut it again, apparently thinking better of himself. My face scrunched upwards in confusion, concealing the hurt that I could feel brimming in my chest and threatening to erupt with the force of Mount Doom. My boyfriend offered his famously sheepish smile, which also appeared hesitant, and leaned forward to pat me on the shoulder. He coughed quietly into his large fist and turned around, walking steadily towards entrance to the next animal exhibit.

I could only stare after him, blue eyes watering with unshed tears, nose running, and heartbeat slowing to what I could only hope was a stop.

Love bites…

Sammy's P.O.V.

Love and hatred, understanding and confusion, exhilaration and fear; I had experienced all of these emotions, and dozens more, since the loss of that stolen childhood, almost eight years ago. Like Hotshot and Bumblebee I was not robotic, by any means! I had feelings, fears, dreams, and wishes. And I wanted to breathe again, to feel, to laugh, and to love, just like I did when I was a small girl. The only difference between now and then was my newfound desire to keep almost everything – emotions, secrets from my past, whatever – hidden, placed tightly under lock and key.

Like the Secret Garden…

Of course, I was never one to wear my emotions on my sleeve. My feelings, though vibrant and incredibly complex, were often hard to find when hidden beneath all the jokes and pranks that I pulled. Very few people realized that I always pranked the people that I loved: Hikaru, Kaoru, and Caleb were my prime targets. My brothers and childhood friend. No duh, right?

Yet I had resolved to start being more open and honest with the others, namely Takashi, about these emotions that I desperately tried to hide. Like I was casting spells and magically forcing the Boggart back into its "Cupboard Under the Stairs" with a determined shout of Ridikkulus!

I really was ridiculous, after all, what with this stupid desire to hug my sweet boyfriend, tug at his hands for attention, kiss him like I loved him or something, and then meanly shove him away again. It was mean, petty, and selfish, if his startled and confused expressions were anything to judge by. And I just wanted to run away, so incredibly far away, and bury my damn head in the sand, Gangnam Style. I mean, uh, Ostrich Style! After all, I was not Psy, and thank God for that, too!

Because I really liked being Samantha May Steel, the smart, (kinda, sort of, probably not) funny, and generally shy girl, and I would not want to be anyone else. On a good day, I was even sorta cute, with sky blue eyes and that silly smile plastered to my pink lips like Chap Stick. I had the smallest spattering of freckles on my nose, a scar on my cheek, below my eye, and several dark blackheads on my chin. My mane of blonde hair was often wild and untamed, too, with knots, tangles, and split ends. I was not perfect, but I would always be me.

"'I'm beautiful in my way, 'cause God makes no mistakes,'" I whispered the English lyrics, humming and burping the notes, respectively. "'I was, yeah, born this way~!"

It was deathly silent for a moment, and thus I casually burped into the silence of the room to disrupt said silence with my personalized rendition of Lady Gaga's "Born This Way." To my right, I could hear Takashi stifle his chuckles with yet another strangled cough. I blandly smiled and, to the amusement of the other tourists, bowed to the general public. My accomplishments were simply legendary, after all, kinda like Beethoven and Chopin. Back in the States, I was even renowned for burping the alphabet in the middle of Calculus and singing Chris Brown songs amidst hiccups, much to the chagrin of the librarian.

Yeah, I was not perfect. Definitely not perfect. Never had been, never would be…

Still, I secretly relished the fact that I would always be different from the norm, especially while attending the prestigious Ouran High School. I hated to admit to it, however, and I attempted to murder this secret wish with a pair of splintered chopsticks. (Treason!) Deep down, I wanted to feel special, like a princess. And Morinozuka Takashi made little ol' me, well, feel special. I could always count on my sweet boyfriend to keep me safe and happy. Our relationship was easy and sweet, filled with jokes, hugs, and laughter. Like Mario and Princess Peach.

With that said, I did not want to be the "Damsel In Distress" anymore. Not like Pretty Princess Peach. And I did not want to be the hero, either – or in this case, the badass heroine. I wanted both of us on equal terms. We could be like Mario and Luigi, instead – minus the incest, anyway! 'Cuz Takashi was a superhero, and I was totally clumsy enough to be Luigi.

Guess that made Renge the Bumbling Bowers, eh?

So I willed myself to breathe without hyperventilating and plastered that smile on my pink lips, the one my sweet brothers referred to as my maniacal smirk. If I remembered correctly, Hikaru had kindly stated, and I quote, "That I looked like that weird clown, the Poker." I had, of course, sweatdropped and corrected him with a whine. (The Joker, Hika-chan! I look like the Joker!)All the while stomping my small feet, crossing my arms in a pout, and having a stereotypical fangirl fit. Yeah, I was so sweet when I was younger…not!I wanted to be mature this time around, though, because the situation called for decorum and all that! And, and, and I was hyperventilating here!

Breathe, Sammy! I thought, mentally slapping myself in reprimand and instructing myself to get my shit together – now, and not later.

After taking another deep breath and hiding my sweaty, shaking hands in the brown leather jacket that I had borrowed from Takashi, I steeled myself enough to "get my rear in gear," as Caleb always said. Quietly, I stepped towards the sign at the beginning of the newest exhibit, which I noticed had been named the Lion Den by the management of Ueno Zoo. I smiled at the thought of getting to see giant cats, all of which I loved to read about, then walked quietly down the brightly colored hallway, taking note that the zookeepers probably wanted the lions to feel at home in the manmade sunlight. My attention, as always, flickered to several different places at once, including the animals themselves, before I finally caught sight of Takashi.

Cautiously, I darted forward in an attempt to catch up and, in spite of being extra careful not to break my own neck, I still managed to trip on what appeared to be very sneaky air. My silent boyfriend decided to grant me mercy and curled his hand into the collar of the leather jacket, tugging me into an upright position. Okay, then! He might not wanna return my romantic feelings, but Takashi didn't want me just falling into one of the manmade dens and getting devoured by a giant, hungry lion, either!

Aw, Takashi! I silently cooed to myself, clasping my palms together and bouncing around with barely concealed glee. How sweet!

Please insert blushing smiley face here…

= ^ u ^ =

Warm hands had slipped under my arms and lifted them into the air, simultaneously pulling me up with little effort. After releasing them, Takashi coughed lightly again, almost in amusement, and I blinked curiously at the suppressed sound of laughter. He was apparently attempting to act like the cool and silent samurai yet again, which meant that I had regressed back to that first day we met, when I had such damn trouble reading his mysterious moods and actions. Fuck! Takashi was channeling "Mister Strong and Silent!"

That, however, was not going to work this time around. I ignored the standoffish aura, even as it threatened to consume me and tear me apart, bit by bit. Instead, I stubbornly reached forward to intertwine his fingers with mine, making certain that I'd stolen both of his hands and placed them under lock and key, just like Takashi had with my seemingly broken heart. I hesitantly peeked at him under my eyelashes then, examining each cautious movement, confused. My boyfriend was currently stumbling around the exhibit like he was, well, drunk!

Yeah, Takashi had, to my surprise and amusement, tripped through the room and practically fallen over a cement bench that rested in the middle of the large enclosure just seconds after I had. He'd also bumped into the white sign (which gave statistics of tigers and lions) by accident, his long legs jerking in response to the sudden, unexpected impact. I could only think of him as a marionette of sorts, freed recently from his strings and uncertain how to walk around without his master. Like Pinocchio or some shit…

"Tomorrow, I think that we should spend time apart, perhaps until school starts again next week," Takashi muttered to himself, almost desperately. He blindly staggered into a nearby wall, which I was surprised to find had been made of marble (ouch, anyone?), and Takashi grunted softly in surprise rather than pain. "…ow…?"

"Whoa!" I exclaimed loudly, surprised with his sudden lack of equilibrium and the desperation with which he wanted to separate us. My small hands reached for him almost automatically, though, and I dragged him back into a proper standing position. "Easy there, Takashi-kun!"

Nobles like Takashi have to be stand tall and proud! I thought to myself, almost grumpily, and I mentally nodded at the next comparison, courtesy of the imaginary voices in my mind, with surprising agreement. Not slouched, like Sammy the Space Cadet, right?

His gray eyes were wide, almost like I had startled him, and I could tell that Takashi wanted to jerk his arms away. My boyfriend hurriedly cleared his throat and, after gently removing my grip from the sleeve of his shirt, looked right over me and said, "I need to sit down…"

That last bit had been a statement, though I could hear the distinct questioning tone in which his words had been spoken. Before I could speak up and protest his sudden suspicious need to rest, Takashi and I had been separated by a small bench, two trash bins, and about fifteen feet worth of empty space. Takashi immediately parked his (nicely shaped) butt upon said bench, his soft gray eyes closing in an attempt to further separate us. His right leg bounced nervously and bumped into a nearby trash bin; it promptly tipped to the right, falling over with a small explosion of noise that made him jump about two feet into the air.

Wow! I could only stare at him, dumbfounded, because Takashi was not normally this clumsy, instead standing tall and walking with the grace inherited from his noble bloodline. Every little sound appeared to make him jump as well – if the trash bin was any indication, anyway. Made me want to laugh and start crying at the same damn time!

Finally, I knocked myself back to Earth with a small shake of the head and wandered towards his immobile form, sitting down right next to the silent giant, much to his chagrin. His wary, almost frosty expression was not missed, and I sighed at the thought of having him give me the cold shoulder. Like Frosty the Snowman and Jack Frost combined! So, uh, Frostman? Maybe Frosted (Snow)Flakes! They're Grrrrreat! Grin.

I love cereal! My smile slipped briefly as my silent boyfriend glared at me, almost like Takashi could read the (please insert: incredibly stupid, childish, immature) thoughts swirling around in my mind. He is acting pretty strange, though…

Wondering if Takashi might be sick, I sighed gently in worry, and then asked, "I just wanted to know, are you, uh, feeling okay, sweetie?" And I insistently pulled his lanky form down to my reach, tenderly placing my wrist against his forehead, checking for fever.

Apparently caught off guard by the sweet gesture – and probably the question, too – Takashi glanced at me, surprised. His stormy gray eyes connected with mine, and then, my sweet boyfriend blurted, "You would make a really good mother!"

Without missing a single beat, I sincerely responded, "And I think that you would make a great father, Takashi-kun." And I could not help but imagine us in the future, sitting here with a small child between us, swinging her feet back and forth as we spent the day at the zoo.

Blonde hair, gray eyes, and that sweet laugh…

Like Sarah.

My lips gently dropped into a small, sweet smile. Takashi blushed – at the caring gesture, the soft smile, and the compliment, if the nervous smile that I got in return was any indication. I reached forward to pull him into another hug, seeing this conversation, and his reaction, as a good sign. To my surprise, however, Takashi immediately jerked backwards, as though I'd burned him with a cattle prod. Moo…!

Coughing to himself, Takashi teasingly ruffled my hair and, in response to the earlier question, mumbled, "Yes, I am perfectly fine, but thanks for asking, Sammy-chan." He really did not want to talk about this – or us, it seemed.

…was there even an "us" anymore?

I could only stand there, confused and alone, as my normally honest boyfriend jumped to his feet and darted through the room towards another elaborately carved bench by the exit. With a small sniffle, I made my way to an exhibit at the opposite end of the large enclosure, my eyes on a pair of golden lions. Takashi, on the other hand, appeared to be watching the tigers in their cage, yet I could tell that he continued to keep an eye out for me. Gray eyes would dart to me every once in a while but would not meet my eye, in spite of the fact that I pointedly stared at him during those moments, with hurt practically burning like magma in my gaze.

This must be how Max felt when Fang left the Flock, I thought, feeling utterly miserable and sad that Takashi would not tell me what I had done to bother him so much.

With a sigh, I glanced from Takashi, who was sitting stiffly in the corner, and to the animals in the exhibit at my side. Six lionesses and two young male lions lounged lazily within the confines of the large, metal fence, their mouths open in small pants. Shiny golden eyes were watching me with barely concealed interest – or rather, hunger. The nearest lion, with his mane of silky black fur, looked like Scar, from The Lion King. His worthless hyena cronies were probably lurking behind this exhibit, waiting for the perfect moment to strike, too! Poor Zazu was gonna get it this time around.

I silently watched the progress of yet another lion, this one a small female, while she slowly devoured – uh, finished her dinner. Grimly, I saluted the skeletal remains of the dead pheasant and quietly muttered, "Fare thee well, Zazu." Drum roll! Cue the bagpipes.

Nala commenced licking, bathing, and cleaning her soiled paws. The youngest male, a smaller lion with honey gold fur, watched her through hooded eyelids, his hazel stare bright with interest. He jumped to his feet and stretched languidly, from the tip of his tail to his shiny claws. Simba yawned, his mouth opening wide to display two rows of sharp teeth, and then paced around the gated edges of the manmade habitat in a very cheerful and extravagant fashion. Like the Host King, ol' Simba here strutted around like he owned the place.

Simba paused briefly alongside the tawny lioness, the latter of whom remained seated, cleaning her paws and ignoring the male lion completely. Ears flat in dismay, Simba darted to the corner and dropped to his haunches, his shoulders hunched against the curious gazes of the other lions. Mysterious mushrooms began to glue themselves to the walls of the exhibit and the other lions sweatdropped. Simba peeked at the female from over his shoulder, hoping to catch her staring back at him, apparently. But Nala was too busy staring at the sign of feline statistics that had been posted just outside her den. Simba wailed in agony, in a manner reminiscent of…

Tamaki! I sweatdropped, blue eyes narrowed, and red twitch mark pulsing in my jaw. That lion reminds me of Tamaki, and the lioness is almost like the feline version of dear ol' Haruhi-chan…

Thinking of her, my only true friend in the entire country, depressed me. Sure, Kiki and Kotoko were nice enough, but neither one seemed to know me well. Not like oblivious and blunt Haruhi. And Caleb was miles and miles away – across the ocean, even! My brothers, though sweet, were much too concerned with each other sometimes to be bothered with the feelings of other people. I loved them dearly, but I could only stomach small amounts of pornographic interactions between the Twins. Hikaru and Kaoru were my younger, supposedly virginal brothers!

Mein Gott! My eyes watered suspiciously, and I swiped both hands across my eyes, attempting to clear the traitorous tears from my weary gaze. Thinking about all of this just made me want to talk to Takashi all the more.

And I eventually gave in to temptation, too, moving over to sit beside him on the bench and ignoring the stiffening of his broad shoulders, muscular arms, and tense back. I did not look at Takashi at all, choosing instead to smooth the wrinkles in my dress and glance around the room, warily keeping an eye out for the elusive Tamaki the Terrible. Mister Suoh would surely return to save my virtue, or some other nonsense. Le Sigh.

Quietly, I pulled both legs upwards and placed my chin atop my naked knees, staring at the lion and lioness, watching their interactions with amusement. Lions were awesome, but – "What's your favorite animal?" I suddenly asked him, after looking around the room and back towards him, blue eyes expectant. "How 'bout lions?"

"No," Takashi quietly responded to my question, oddly enough, but his gray eyes remained stubbornly glued to the creatures behind the manmade boundaries. "I actually like wolves the best."

"Me, too," I admitted, watching as the pride of lions merely stared at their emo pack mate with blank expressions. Poor Simba just wanted to be loved! Alas, Nala hated his guts…

…STORY OF MY FREAKIN' LIFE, SIMBA!

Takashi raised his eyebrow at my constipated expression, amused, and dryly stated, "Wolf World is the exhibit after the next one, it seems." Before pointing to the plastic map we procured earlier in the day, gesturing to the relative distance between the next exhibit and the little black dot proclaiming: YOU ARE HERE!

Humming to myself in thought, I chewed gently on my inner cheek and chirped, "Sweet! We'll have to go check it out then." My lips were practically plastered upwards in a sad attempt at a smile. Again, I referenced the Joker. Why so serious, indeed!

Takashi was silent after that little conversation and, while I was comfortable sitting with him in, well, comfortable silence, this was anything but comfortable; he was tense, that much I knew for sure. And I wanted to be comfortable around Takashi again! Yet I wanted to learn more about him, too, even though I'd been so nervous at the beginning of this date that I lost myself to the excitement of the zoo and the animals – and the stupid references that I always made.

To be honest, learning about Takashi was part of the reason that I had wanted to come on this date! Takashi knew so much about me already, it seemed, while I knew almost nothing about him. I had learned little concerning my amazing boyfriend. He was interested in Kendo, sure. Takashi also liked learning about history, taking care of animals, and spending time with his cousin, but other than that? Nada. Zip. Filch.

Rewind! I mean, uh, zilch. Not Filch. Please excuse the word vomit…

Takashi leaned forward and braced his elbows atop his knees, placing his chin across steepled fingers. I scooted closer, albeit hesitantly, and buried myself into his side, lifting my right arm and curling it around his back to hold him closer to me. A large hand moved to rest itself gently on my knee, squeezing the limb in apparent apology. My boyfriend then shifted closer, pressing me into his side and making certain that I was warm enough in the jacket that he had let me steal, uh, borrow! I sniffed quietly at the bit of skin revealed by his sleeve, realizing that the scent of his jacket was much stronger now. Takashi smelled nice, too, a nice mix of trees, animals, sweat, and expensive cologne.

After I had finished getting high off of his manly smell, I glanced back at him, over my shoulder, and curiously continued asking questions – the first of which, I will admit, was pretty lame. I stupidly chirped, "What's your favorite type of music?"

My boyfriend blinked in surprise and then smiled down at me with soft eyes, watching me fidget like a five year old and seemingly amused that I did not want to sit in silence. He cocked his head to the side in thought. "Rock, preferably Japanese," Takashi said, nodding once in an affirmative manner.

"Like One OK Rock?" I blurted, wondering if Takashi liked their music and mentally crossing fingers with hope that we shared that much in common. Hikaru, Kaoru, and I loved listening to that band. The Beginning and Riot were our all time favorites!

"Ah," Takashi confirmed with a small laugh, which I had startled out of him by pumping my small fist in the air and reenacting a strange victory dance, choreographed by yours truly!

Still, I was somewhat surprised that his answer was so different from the one that I had originally believed. I would have thought, with all due respect, that he preferred to listen to Japanese Folk music. And I was not being racist, by any means! I was aware of the fact that Takashi loved all martial arts, particularly Kendo. He was also raised by traditional Japanese nobles, so it had seemed to be a pretty safe assumption on my part…

Wrong! I sighed quietly to myself, settling down after the impromptu and rigorous rendition of Rihanna dance moves. You know, I was seriously depressed, because this little game showed just how little I really knew about him. No wonder Takashi refused to talk to me all of the sudden!

Some girlfriend I am! With a rather visible grimace on my part, I steeled myself and forced the embarrassment from my veins, wanting to move on after learning from my mistakes. Because I had to – no, wanted to – make it up to him!

"What are we doing, Sammy-chan?" Takashi suddenly asked. His gray eyes were now staring directly into mine with reproach, like I had been the one to start impersonating a silent statue, and not the other way around.

So I stared back at him just as weirdly, in part because I hadn't heard that nickname in almost two hours. I reminded him of the evil frog lurking somewhere in the shadows, all the while being careful to enunciate the syllabus in the one word statement: "Hiding."

He raised his eyebrow in confusion for a moment and, if I was reading his expression correctly, what appeared to be general amusement. "I thought we were playing Twenty Questions," Takashi lightly argued, with a secretive smile at something or another.

"That, too," I cheerfully agreed, blue eyes glittering with mirth, and love, and happiness, because Takashi was smiling! He freakin' smiled! At me!

BOOYAH~! My inner voices whooped with joy and commenced running laps around the big brain that I stored in my skull. He still loves us…!

"We are also hiding from Napoleon – the dictator, not the teenager," I bluntly said, adding the explanation while pointing to the ceiling in a professional sorta way. "Because ol' Napoleon Dynamite isn't French; rather, Napoleon Bonaparte is!" Crossing my eyes and sticking my tongue out like a child. "'Gosh!'"

To my surprise and delight, Takashi laughed at that bout of stupidity and then quoted, "'So, we're pretty much friends by now, right?'" His silver eyes widened almost immediately, before softening again, seemingly realizing that this was what I had been worrying about for the last half hour.

…was there even an "us" anymore?

In an attempt to rocket that thought right outta my mind, I focused solely on our (sort of weird) conversation and demanded, "You've seen Napoleon Dynamite?" I gaped at him in silence for a moment and then, after it occurred to me, whined, "Why do I have to be Pedro?"

"Because I am much sexier," Takashi gently teased, tapping my nose with his long fingers and then curiously tracing the subsequent blush that colored the pale skin a shiny Corvette Red. Vroom, vroom!

And I continued to blush furiously at the fact that my (yes, incredibly sexy) boyfriend had just said that, even jokingly. "But I'm so much funnier…" I mumbled in protest, crossing my arms over my chest and pouting at the ground, lips pursed together stubbornly.

Takashi cocked his head to the side, a small smile flitting across parted lips, and then seriously asked, "We are good friends, though, right?" His hand reached mine and, after nudging the limb with gentle demand, entwined his fingers with mine.

"Friends forever, Takashi-kun!" I softly assured him, smiling at the phrase that I had not said since childhood, and comfortably leaning my head against his shoulder. "In fact, I think you're my only real male friend since…" I inhaled sharply, and then quietly admitted, "…Caleb…"

"Caleb-san," Takashi murmured the name with a small twist of the lips and narrowing of the eyes. He paused in wary consideration, perhaps in thought, and curiously asked, "Is Caleb-san the friend that Hikaru and Kaoru have spoken of recently?"

"Caleb is my childhood friend." I nodded slowly, my mind wandering thousands of miles away and to the one person still around from the Old Days. "He and I grew up together – neighbors, classmates, best friends, the whole shebang." My hand tightened around his, squeezing the fingers with worry and sadness. "…I miss him."

My boyfriend hesitated, before quietly, almost politely, inquiring, "Do you want to return home?" He swallowed nervously, the lump in his throat moving up and down in a strange fashion, as though Takashi was worried about this, and had been for a while. "…to him?"

I was quiet for a moment, the question churning around and around in my mind, like a spinning top. And then, I turned to smile up at him, truthfully answering, "No, Takashi-kun. I have a new home now, and that home is here, with you, my strange family, and the deranged pack of animals that you and I call 'friends.'"

"Home," Takashi whispered the word in agreement, his gray eyes soft with happiness. He kissed my cheek lightly, pressed his forehead against mine, and stared down at me with the sweetest smile in the world. "Should you ever choose to leave Japan, I would really, really miss you, Sammy-chan."

"And I would miss you, sweetie, so very, very much," I whispered, cupping his cheek in my palm and kissing the faint stubble along the bottom of his chin. "In all seriousness, though, I am never ever going to leave Japan." My eyes stared solemnly into his. "Not without you, at least."

We continued to stare straight at each other, gazing from within the windows to our own souls and into the soul of the other half – sky blue to stormy gray, and stormy gray to sky blue. And I knew, without a single doubt in the world, that Takashi loved me. My boyfriend had not said it, though, and that was my fault. He probably thought I would laugh at him and turn the sweet confession into a joke – or worse, pretend that Takashi had not said anything at all!

Bravely, and somewhat stupidly, I opened my mouth to whisper the words again. "Takashi-kun, I…"

Takashi stared down at me, a million emotions flashing in his beautiful and serious eyes, before leaning towards me, with a soft, tender expression. I sputtered to a complete stop in the midst of the reiterated confession and stayed perfectly, silently still. Because I was seriously afraid that, if I moved, Takashi might change his mind and stop yet again. Silver eyes were shut, his black eyelashes fluttering softly against his cheeks, and I could feel his hot breath on my mouth. So warm, so sweet…

My own eyes shuttered gently in response, welcoming the bright darkness and the warmth of his touch. His nose gently brushed against mine, a soft bump of skin on skin. He rubbed his nose into mine in a sweet Eskimo Kiss, and I giggled softly at the sensation. His lips covered mine then, pushing gently into my mouth, and Takashi smiled. We moved together and tentatively kissed each other, first softly and then with increasing passion. And I smiled back into our perfect first kiss.

After I had pulled back, breathing hard with exertion and lack of oxygen, I stared straight at him with bright blue eyes, an earnest expression on my red, flushed face. I cupped his cheeks in my palms and stubbornly insisted, "I love you."

My boyfriend reached forward and brushed his lips against mine yet again, this time more insistently, and then smiled widely at me. "I love you, too, sweetheart," Takashi whispered, his silver eyes shining brightly.

I insistently tugged at his sleeve, tugging him down to my small height, about twelve inches below his mouth. With a small smile of absolute bliss, I leaned forward and kissed him again. And Takashi kissed back.

***Author's Note***

Please read and review! I would love to have about 415 reviews!

Your question for this chapter: Should I end the story now, or continue onwards?

Personally, I kinda like it where it is at the moment...