Chishiya is hesitant at first to leave the caravan so soon again. The figure mostly hidden beneath the blankets is in anything but a good condition, and the stuffed fabric doesn't hide the quivering of her limbs the slightest.

While he most likely made the game easier for all of them by seeing through the sequence, it has still been a tough day for her and she really needs to rest. And they have already run out of most of the food in the morning, so why not grab the already filled bags today before the weather, animals or other players reduce them to nothing, forcing him to collect it all together again?

The wind blows still heavy, but at least the rain has stopped for a while and the quietness is perfect to think about what has happened during the day so far.

He doesn't love her. No, that stubborn human waiting for him back home might love him, but he doesn't feel the same about her. And still… The moment she has been at the edge of death, there was something going on inside of him. Not that he'd have shed a tear or something – Chishiya doesn't cry. He isn't sure if he could, even if he wanted to.

But… seeing her so lifeless, her face as peaceful as during the night, knowing that she was about to give up… He didn't want her to go. The moment she stopped breathing, those mere seconds had felt like hours to him, and it had been enough to bring back the emptiness. It had been good while it lasted – the familiar hollowness inside of him, something he was used to and has welcomed all his life, but as soon as she opened her eyes and started to breathe again, he was… relieved?

Chishiya still doesn't care about others, no matter how hard they suffer or whatever misery they're going through. There is just one little exception: her. She has probably been the best choice for the chair, judging by the other players inside that game, with the right mix of honestly and strength to endure those shocks long enough. And yet he couldn't ignore the pain inside her voice.

A part of him had been angry at her for not displaying the right doors more subtle to avoid major shocks, but the minor ones hurt her nonetheless. So there was this other part inside of him, hoping – despite the fact that he truly enjoyed the system of the game once he had understood the principle of the doors – that it would be over soon just so she could be freed of that chair.

No, he doesn't love her. But she still has managed to make herself someone important to him.

Why her, out of all? Chishiya clearly remembers all those moments back in the Beach where she had tried to catch his attention. Hopeful looks, failed attempts to start a conversation, physical contact which he clearly disapproved back then. More than once, he had been sure that she wouldn't get out of their game alive, even hoping that she would fail and leave him in silence. Stubborn as she was, she always managed to survive even the harder games and would search for his closeness soon after.

When had he stopped feeling so annoyed by her desperate attempts? There had come a time where he'd simply accept her presence as long as she didn't cross too many borders, and when she did, he'd make sure to let her know.

While she will probably never stop being stubborn and even annoying at times, Chishiya has come not only to accept her close to him, but to enjoy it even. She has somehow managed to turn from a bothersome pimple into a trinket that one likes to carry around, and even Chishiya has to appreciate the effort behind that change. He could have simply headed to the Diamonds game alone, since it had been closer to them anyway when the King of Spades showed up. But in that mere heartbeat where he had to decide, he chose the other game knowing she'd survive a psychological challenge rather than the King of intelligence.

Chishiya finds the bags exactly the way they left them, carelessly dropped to the ground with parts of the food scattered on the concrete around them. A shadow disappears in the darkness of a house entrance the moment he comes near, but Chishiya doesn't bother to look what animal it has been. Probably a stray dog, one of the few that have not starved yet, either because they were locked inside homes or couldn't find anything to eat in the open themselves.

Humans are just like those dogs, he realizes. Within a working society, everything is taken for granted: food, flowing water, electricity and healthcare are only a few points of what one becomes used to have available at all times. Take that away, and people are lost like dogs, not knowing where to get their food and comfortable life. They'll keep themselves alive with canned food and instant noodles, but they'd probably starve before finding out how to grow food themselves.

He'd find a way for sure – not that Chishiya has much interest in that. It has been the comfortable part about the Beach always providing nourishments and such, and even now, he wouldn't ask for more than the ready meals. But he'd find a way to survive, no matter what. He's not one of those idiotic people.

Although tonight, he is able to prove once more that he'll never show any interest in cooking. It's usually the part taken care of by the woman he shares the caravan with, only that she won't be able to do that tonight. She is stubborn enough to try for sure, but with the tremble in her legs, she'd have slumped to the ground if he hadn't been there just in time to catch her.

So it's up to Chishiya to get something ready for dinner while she cuddles herself back into the blankets and watches him with a sleepy grin. He has to mostly carry her to the table while completely ignoring her halfhearted apologies. Definitely better this way with her drugged up with pain killers than being forced to bear her complaints about the ache all night.

The food turns out edible and serves the purpose, and Chishiya leaves the dirty dishes inside the sink so she can make up for his cooking tomorrow when she's better, for he has done enough for now. After all, he brings himself to stow away their errands so he won't stumble over the bags in the morning. He'd rather sit down and read and enjoy some well-deserved silen-

"Chishiya…?"

Her voice is feint and hesitant, and this alone is enough to cause him to look up. She doesn't look at him but instead down at her hands, lying in her lap with a heavy tremble while she only managed to undress her jacket before the tremble became too strong. Even without seeing her eyes, Chishiya can sense that she's close to tears. Not that it'd be something special.

"Can… can you help me?"

Helpless. Just like a stray dog.

He sighs and puts away the glass with Bolognese still in his hands before he kneels down in front of her. What happens is just a normal reaction from her body to the electrocution she has experienced, and she should be glad that she managed to escape with not more than that. And yet… it doesn't leave him unaffected to see her in this constitution.

"It will stop eventually."

Big eyes turn to him, equally filled with worry and surprise. The flicker of the gas lamp mirrors in their iris, and they're shimmering with the delicate layer of tears. He only drops his gaze for a moment so his fingers can locate the button of her jeans, since that's what she is not able to do herself right now. From the very beginning, he has associated her with a lost puppy considering the way she always stared at him. Childish and naïve, and yet… loving, no matter how cruel he'd act towards her.

"Why maybe?"

Her heart beats fast against his skin as he pulls her up and the jeans down her bottom. Of course she'd eventually ask that.

"Because, and I'm sure you still remember, I already told you before that this place isn't suited for such emotions."

Which is still true. Love inside the Borderlands is dangerous and hindering. Chishiya pulls the jeans off her legs and then stuffs her socks inside the shoes which he places neatly under the bed. Maybe this will be the first morning where he won't stumble over her carelessly thrown away clothes. "Giving in to them is a high risk, because it can turn into a possible weakness that should be avoided at all costs."

Like when he entered Hearts game just for a slight chance to save her life. Only a couple of weeks ago, Chishiya would have chosen to be selfish and head for the Diamonds game, as it was not only closer but also something he had been way more eager to clear.

He leans against the mattress and lifts up her shirt. Goose bumps cover her skin, although it's not cold at all inside the caravan. Chishiya is no fool, and the heavy movements of her chest can't hide at all what's going on inside of her. While he himself refuses to call whatever it is that he feels for her love, she has never tried to hide her emotions. At all times, she has been ready to lay herself bare in front of him – now even in the literal sense.

"Realistically speaking, I should have avoided any of this from the very beginning. I should have never let it come this far." It was foolish from him. But for some reason, Chishiya doesn't feel regret.

"And yet you did."

"And yet I did." Because he wanted to, he realizes now. He allowed her to become his weak spot because he enjoyed the way it made him feel. The way she was able to fill the emptiness inside of him with something warm, even though he despised it at first, called it pathetic and childish.

Her hand moves up to his face, and Chishiya leans into it while ignoring the trembling of her fingers. The teary film in her eyes has vanished, though they're still watching him with a mix of excitement and embarrassment. "So…?"

Still leaning against her hand, Chishiya moves a bit closer to her face. "It took some considerations, but I've come to a conclusion."

It's alright if she's a weakness in his life. Out of all people, he should be able to handle it with his cleverness, so why not allow it as long as it's pleasant? Why not take the knowledge about his personal weak spot and turn it into his own power?

Chishiya doesn't love her. Or maybe he does, but why would that matter? As someone who never experienced being loved before, he doesn't even know how it should feel. Love doesn't have a meaning to him. But there is something he knows for sure, which is that he wants this naïve, over-emotional and way too stubborn woman to stay with him. And that is what's important.

"Be my strength."

The kiss barely stops for one of them to catch their breath until their lips meet again. Chishiya tastes the metallic note of her blood still on them, and suddenly there's something salty as well. He opens his eyes and pauses immediately at the sight of tears streaming down her cheeks.

Within a moment, he sits back up and searches for a small white pillbox somewhere in between the sheets. "Do you need more painkillers?"

He should have known that the effect of those pills wouldn't last long. She should be long asleep, curing the wounds from today's game instead of… this.

With a frown, Chishiya watches how she touches the wet skin of her cheeks as if she didn't realize the tears herself, and to his utter surprise, she smiles at him. Her hands embrace his face once more and pull him back with more strength that he'd have given her credit for, and from the corner of his eye, he finally makes out the white plastic he has been searching for. Stubborn being! If she's in pain and refuses to take more pills, she'll keep both of them awake with her lamenting all nig-

"I don't know why I feel that I have to tell you, but… I had a dream about you and me, long before there actually was a… well, you and me." She barely leaves him a chance when she rests her head on his chest, and it seems that the trembling of her limbs becomes less intense with every breath she takes.

"Back then, you almost kissed me, and it was the most wonderful thing my brain could think of. I woke up before it happened though, and it made me sad at the same time because I thought it would never really happen. But it did happen, and I guess I only now realize how overwhelming this actually is."

His hand, still able to move freely has found the pillbox and tightened around it as he heard her sob against his chest, but it relaxes as she continues to speak. So it wasn't the pain that made her cry – she just had one of her very emotional phases again. Pah.

"It seems that some part of you back then knew that it was a bad idea to long for something you couldn't have." Chishiya releases the pillbox but doesn't push it away, in case it will be needed soon.

"Dream-me even called you an arrogant bastard."

The hum coming from him as an answer is obviously misinterpreted by her, because he can hear the smile in her voice as she asks: "don't like being called arrogant?"

People have called him many things already, and they have rarely been wrong. Selfish, manipulative, dangerous… "Technically speaking, my parents were already married when they conceived me, so bastard wouldn't be the right term."

This makes her laugh, and it feels good to know she's recovering. Goose bumps still cover her skin, but it's not the temperature causing them.

"Part of me always knew that you were untouchable, that we were not made for each other."

Made for each other. As if there is something like destiny or predetermined love. The sole reason she is here now is her relentless character, because she has never viewed Chishiya as untouchable, which she proved more than enough. "But you didn't want to accept that and kept on being stubborn."

"Exactly!"

They wouldn't be here now if she had listened to him one of the dozen times he told her to leave. All the times he had tried to get rid of her, make her fall in love with someone else. It is good that she didn't.

"Fortunately I decided against pushing you off the roof back then."

"And against drowning me in that pool."

Chishiya snorts, thinking back at that night. She had crossed a border, and he made that clear to her. Nothing else. "And I told you tha-"

"It doesn't matter that you said you were not going to kill me, because it very much felt that way."

He rolls his eyes in expectation of a starting discussion or maybe more tears, but to his surprise, she simply continues to kiss him, and her hand rests on his chest afterwards. "I don't think it's fair that you're still fully dressed while I'm exposed to you like this."

So his assumptions had been right about her intentions. The excitement, the goose bumps, the huge puppy eyes… Until now, their relationship has never gone past the point of hugs and kisses. But it seems that she wants to change that now. Which probably is Kuina's fault, since she had complained openly about it all day long during her visit.

Not able to wipe the grin off his face, Chishiya grabs her clothes from the corner of the bed. "Is that so. Well, this is easy to fix. I consider it fair then if I helped you dress up agai-"

A foot kicks the clothes out of his hands sooner than he can react, and the caravan is filled with the sudden sound of her laughter. She still chuckles when she sits back up and starts to unzip his hoodie, which she manages surprisingly well considering the state of her hands.

He enjoys the warm sensation of her fingers brushing over the skin of his shoulders, but even more does he enjoy the way her face reddens. She wants this to happen, but the sheepishness can't be hidden from her features. As soon as Chishiya gets rid of hoodie and shirt, her hands return to his now bare skin, and his body reacts immediately.

The fact that her emotions lay as bare as an open book has been something he despised at first. But seeing the fascination and admiration in her eyes while her finger moves down from his collarbone to his stomach feels good, although he is able to perfectly suppress the shudders caused by her touch.

She pulls him into another hug, now nothing more than skin against skin, and Chishiya deeply breathes out at the warmth engulfing him. Keeping his fingers on her back, his hands wander up in slow and circling movements, which immediately increases the goose bumps covering her whole body now. Her bra is quickly taken off, and he gently pushes her back into the sheets.

Shy hands reach up for his hair, caress it slowly and gently, and Chishiya has to pause a moment due to the very pleasant feeling it causes him. He rarely allows her to touch his hair, but this time…

While she goes on with her touch, Chishiya uses the moment to look upon her almost completely naked body. It's not perfect and has its flaws, moles, and scars, but that's what makes a human body so fascinating. He circles the reddened spot at her shoulder where the bullet has grazed her during the Witch Hunt, moves on to the bandaged scar from the Jack of Clubs and rests at the bruised wrist. So many scars from this world that will never vanish.

"I want to kiss you." Her voice is breathless and causes him to chuckle, but Chishiya is too busy to move his hands down to her hips to give in to her pleading. "Soon."

Her cheeks flush again when the last piece of clothing is removed, but she doesn't try to hide her body. "Still doesn't feel fair, don't you think?"

This isn't the time to mock about fairness, as Chishiya is once more reminded that his body wants to have a talk in the whole situation as well. And some parts especially answer with relief when he removes his remaining clothes, which the woman in front of him notices immediately.

She stretches out her hand once more, but other than expected it aims for his chest and moves down to his side, and the ticklish feeling is too much for him to remain unfazed, causing a certain stubborn to react with a wide grin.

"Don't tell me you are ticklish!"

"I am not."

Her grin widens even more. "Oh yes, you are." She tries to repeat her action but quickly finds herself pinned down at the sheets by Chishiya, who definitely won't turn this into a childish play involving tickles and such. Breathing heavily, she attempts to kiss him, but Chishiya moves away from her face with a smirk.

"What are you doing?"

"Keeping you from doing things you're not supposed to do." Despite this little game, he actually enjoys the view exposing itself under his grasp. Her, with reddened cheeks and quickened breath, unable to move. And yet she keeps smiling at him.

"So many days, and you still haven't learned the most important thing about me?"

That she tends to cry multiple times a day, that she doesn't know how to keep her clothes tidy or that she-

Suddenly she manages to free her arms from his grip and it is now Chishiya who lies on his back with her arms holding onto his wrists. It'd have been a walk in the park to free himself from that, since she is in no way stronger than him, more so with her current injuries, but it is enough to leave him impressed.

"I like to break the rules." She kisses him again before he can even open his mouth, and this time her kiss is more demanding than playful. Chishiya feels soft and warm skin against his, and his most delicate part reacts immediately by pressing itself against her stomach.

Every space between them is overcome the moment she wraps her arms around his upper body and pulls him into a tight hug, and Chishiya only stops to pull over a condom that has been left by the former owners of this caravan.

"Let me be your strength… forever."

Those soft words spoken by the woman lying under him quickly turn into breathless sighs and gasps, and Chishiya lets himself dive down into this new world of sensations. This is not his first time with a woman, but never before have there been such… emotions coming along with it.

But for the first time, he doesn't despise those emotions. He doesn't try to hide them.

Although it could make him weak, although it could distract him from the important matters in the Borderlands… after everything that happened in the past weeks… it feels like the absolutely right choice.