All together now: Awwwww….

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Knives knew that there was only one thing to say that would soften her heart towards him. The only trouble was in forcing the words past his throat in a manner that didn't sound like he was having to push them out. While waiting for his body to adapt to the necessity, his hand reached up and started to stroke her hair.

"I'm sorry. I was wrong," he said after a couple minutes, the words finally slipping past his lips easily. He was proud of that.

Anne opened her mouth to retort, something biting no doubt, but then it registered on her what he said. She blinked a couple times and pushed herself to sit up, then asked, "Excuse me?"

"I was wrong. I'm sorry."

She was quiet for a moment, then glared at him. "You're just saying that so I can't be mad at you."

He felt that was obvious, but wasn't fool enough to say so.

She continued to glare at him, and he continued to stroke her hair, unperturbed. Finally her stare melted, and she leaned in against his shoulder. "Why?" she asked, her voice hitching on the single syllable.

He pushed his way a little farther onto the bed before replying. "Many reasons, but none of them very good ones."

She sighed and gently nudged his ribs. Correctly interpreting this gesture as a means to let him know he was to continue or else, he echoed her sigh and began to list them. "First off, it was convenient. She was there, and I was there, and she seemed to be enjoying herself. It was easy to let her try to fill that place that you created, then deserted. And if I wasn't entirely happy, well, I was content with Ace, and contentment is not an entirely bad thing. It's certainly easier than trying to be as happy as I was with you about."

"Then, her being a plant made things easier." Anne stiffened against him, and he sighed again. "No. Not for that. Because she isn't going to grow old and die on me. I don't think I could bear having you and watching you grow old, only to leave me to live my life alone again when you finally left this one. Much easier to settle for something that demands less of me, that doesn't hold as much of my heart as you do.

"Ace is easier to like. She makes herself so, desiring nothing more of me than all my company and my bed. You sit here and demand that I conform to your standards of behavior, that I need to change to be worthy of you, but she never did. She took me for what I was, and that was enough for her."

"Was it enough for you?" Anne asked quietly.

"I was content. But not happy. Ace could never make me happy. You can. You do. There is only one woman on the planet that I adore, that I desire beyond all others, no matter how convenient they may be. You."

She sniggled closer to him, burying her face in his chest. "I'm sorry," she mumbled.

"For what?" he asked, keeping the tinge of humor he felt from the words.

"I should have come back. I shouldn't have left for so long."

"You should have, yes."

Her shoulders shook a little as she continued. "I just couldn't, Knives. You know how I said that the plants are dying? The reason I gave for staying here? Well, I didn't tell you that one of the plants died while I was researching." She paused and took in one shaky breath. "I felt her die. She just gave up, just slipped away. I see her corpse floating in the bulb, and it sickens me. But even worse, when she died, the load on the others increased. They were all going to die off, Knives. They were all going to give up, and I had to promise to them that I would make things better. If I left, if things went wrong when I was away, if something happened and they all died, it would have been all my fault. How could I risk that? How could I risk having all their deaths on my conscience? And what if you didn't want me when I came back? What if I had risked all of that for nothing?

"I was hoping to maybe come and visit after the trial. If it worked, if it eased the burden from the plants like it is supposed to, then I could leave them with hope and they wouldn't die while I was gone." She stopped and looked up at him. "I never meant to lie to you. I didn't know I was a plant until the day Meryl shot me. And then it seemed like a bad time to just blurt it out."

"You should have said something."

"Why? What difference should it make?"

"None. Everything. I don't want to have you and hold you for such a short time. I couldn't. Vash may be strong enough to love Meryl and still survive her passing, but I don't think I can love you and live if you die on me."

She looked up at him, startled. "You said it."

"Said what?"

A smile crept across her face, lighting her eyes. "That you love me."

"Did you need to hear me say it to believe it?"

"It's something no woman can ever hear enough of, as long as it's true."

"I love you." He leaned over and kissed her softly on the lips. "Haven't you been listening? That was the whole problem in the first place. It's not safe to feel this way about anyone."

She kissed him back, then pulled away and, with a twinkle in her eye, said, "Life isn't safe, Knives, no matter how much we want it to be."

"I know. I'm here, aren't I? Even with no promises, I came after you."

"I knew you would. And then when I finally started to doubt, to think that maybe you had gotten tired of chasing after me, here you are." And she kissed him again.