Disclaimer:  I still don't own Suikoden, which is good because I'd suck at making video games.

Author Notes:  Hey.   Thanks for the feedback.  I'm going to try to shorten my author notes from now on.  That'll let you get right to the story.  Unfortunately, it appears as if the main plot won't be starting till the next chapter.  I really wanted it to start today, but I just had to get some Chris/Hugo goodness.  I hope that you won't mind too much.  Heh, I think you'll survive.  Okay, well… anyways… let the chapter begin.

Dreams and Nightmares

Chapter IV

Anymore Clueless

By: Luke 'Deathplight'

         Chris yawned and stretched as she sat up in bed.  She had been dreaming about Hugo.  The part that scared her most was that it was the most pleasant dream she could ever remember having.  Then Chris remembered what had happened the before her dream.  That was reality.  Hugo had confessed his love for her directly to her.  Any part of her body that had still felt sleepy immediately awoke.  The meaning of it all was so confusing.  She also realized that the headed she had had when she went to sleep last night had not disappeared completely.  Perhaps she just needed fresh air.  Yes, that was it.

         Chris got out of bed, cleaned up, and changed.  She then walked out of the inn and outside onto the cold earth.  It was still early even though the sun was already up.  Most of the residents were still happily asleep in her beds.  Chris walked the grounds and tried to collect all of the thoughts together.  What she had gathered so far was that last night Hugo had told Chris he loved her.  He also kissed her, and Chris returned the kiss.  He then somehow forced a promise out of her that she would consider if she could ever fall in love with him.  Did Hugo have her on a string?  It was almost as if she was willing to do anything he wanted.  Chris shook her head.  Sorting out her thoughts had in fact helped her clear her headache.  Now all she had to do was try and figure out what she was going to do about what she had collected.

         The Zexen captain continued walking around the castle grounds when she saw him.  Hugo was sitting in almost the exact same spot he had been last night.  His legs were hanging over the edge of the ground and were just inches from the lake.  Chris froze and just stood there, looking at him.  Hugo never turned around, but he knew she was there.

         "Did you sleep well?" Hugo asked her.

         Chris was slightly startled that he knew she was there.  She then thought about the question.  She couldn't very well say, 'Yes, I had a great dream about you'.  Instead she settled for, "I slept okay."

         Hugo just looked at her for a moment.  Chris watched as his eyes seemed to study her face.  Suddenly, he broke out a huge smirk.

         "You had a dream about me, didn't you?" he accused.  Chris was at a loss of how he could have possible come to that correct conclusion.

         "Wh-what makes you say that?" she asked trying to make it sound as if he couldn't be any more wrong, but Chris knew that she was failing at that.

         Hugo's annoying little smile remained on his face as he returned, "It's written all over your face."

         "Well that just goes to show how much you know," replied Chris.

         "It's nothing to be ashamed of.  I dreamt about you last night, too."

         Chris nearly kicked herself for blushing at that comment in front of him.

         "I'm sorry, but I did not have a dream about you Hugo," Chris lied.

         Hugo's knowing smile just wouldn't erase itself from his face.  "I know you're lying, Chris."

         Chris just stood there for a moment.  That grin was driving her crazy.  "Stop smiling!" she finally yelled out.  Hugo didn't obey.

         "If you were telling the truth my smile wouldn't bother you.  Just admit it, Chris.  You had a dream about me.  I know you did, but it's not like I said it was probably the best dream you ever had."

         "You're way too arrogant for your own good," stated Chris, and she leered at him.

         "I'm sorry, but you just look so cute when you glare like that," commented Hugo.  Chris didn't reply.

         The two remained frozen in their seemingly assigned positions.  Neither of them spoke for a while.  Hugo then finally stood up and turned toward Chris.

         "I feel like going for a swim.  Care to join me?" he asked and smiled again.  Hugo then removed his shirt and took off his sandals.  Chris was slightly surprised at his muscular build.  He had looked rather scrawny when his shirt was on.  Hugo was, there was no other word for it, hot.  Chris then scolded herself inwardly for thinking such thoughts.

         "You just want to see me with only my undergarments on," she accused and gave a playful grin.

         "Wow, you catch on pretty quick," he retorted.  Chris was slightly taken aback before she realized that he was just kidding.

         "Fine, just for that I won't join you."

         "Please…" Hugo then put a look that was so pitiful and sad looking that it was hard for Chris to refuse.

         "Nope," she said sternly.

         Hugo sighed.  "You're no fun," he said.  Hugo then stopped smiling and just stared at Chris.  He took a step towards Chris, and she instinctively stepped backwards.  Hugo gave a questioning look and stepped forward again only to get the same reaction from Chris.

         "Are you… afraid of me?" Hugo asked.

         "Oh course not," said Chris.  The idea was rather absurd.  Hugo then took another step forward.  Chris took another step back.

         "Then why do you keep stepping back?" he questioned.

         Chris didn't answer because she didn't know what to say.  She had no idea why she kept stepping back.

         "Does the idea of you ever falling in love with me repulse you that much?" Hugo asked.

         "No…" said Chris.

         "Please tell me that the reason you don't want to try caring about me is because your image would be destroyed if you ever married a 'barbarian'."

         "I never said I didn't want to try caring for you," said Chris firmly.  "Besides, I seriously doubt that me getting married to the Flame Champion would hurt my image, not that I care about my image, though."

         Hugo seemed to brighten up a little bit.  "Well, just remember that you promised to think about whether or not you could love me.  I wish you knew what I was feeling for you right now."

         Hugo smiled once again and turned back to the water.  He dove in and just swam around for a while.  Chris simply watched.

*~~~*

         Thomas and Cecile were watching Hugo and Chris from a window in the castle.  There was a pretty lengthy distance between the castle and the part of the lake that the two were at, but Thomas and Cecile were able to see enough to get the just of what was going on.

         "Could those two be anymore clueless?" Cecile asked Thomas.

         "I don't think they're clueless at all.  They just know that they have responsibilities and duties that they cannot just forget about in order to be with each other," Thomas returned.

         "It's kind of strange that us of all people are talking about somebody else being clueless about their feelings," commented Cecile.

         Thomas chuckled a little.  "I love you, Cecile."

         "I love you, too."

*~~~*

         Hugo pulled himself out of the lake and up onto the ground.  It had been a very refreshing swim.  Chris was still there.  Hugo thought it odd that she had been watching him the whole time.  He picked up his things and sat down next to Chris.  She was sitting on the edge of the lake with her legs hanging down, almost touching the water.  Hugo was relieved to find that she hadn't gotten up and walked away when he got closer.

         "I guess I should have gotten a towel," Hugo commented.  Chris nodded in response.  Hugo was very glad that Chris seemed to approve of his bare upper body.  She kept looking at him when she thought he wasn't looking.  Hugo had received enough compliments from the girls in his village to know that he was at least somewhat attractive looking.

         "So, did you enjoy watching me swim?" he asked.

         "It was okay," she said quietly in return.

         "I guess that means that you didn't realize that you were smiling the whole time?" he asked and raised an eyebrow.  Hugo smiled at the cute little blush that spread across her face.

         "You're really quiet," he said.

         She nodded.

         "Chris, I hope that things don't change between us too much.  Maybe I shouldn't have told you that I was in love with you, but I just couldn't sit well with all that on my chest.  I'm sorry if I gave my burden to you, but I needed to know."

         "I'm… glad you told me," Chris said.  "At least now I know in case I ever do fall in love with you, too."

         "I see."

         Hugo had dried enough that he could put his shirt and sandals back on.  His pants were still slightly soaked, but he could live with it.

They sat in silence when Hugo decided to throw another question up into the air.

         "Chris?"

         "Yeah?"

         "Do you think I'm handsome?" he asked.

         "Well… um…"

         "This is going to turn into another one of those discussions like whether or not you dreamed about me, isn't it?" he asked.

         "Yeah, probably," replied Chris.

         "I'm going to win this argument, too, aren't I?"

         "Whoever said you won the other one!" she exclaimed.

         "Well, I think it was pretty clear."

         "What do you mean!"

         "Well… you kind of just stopped arguing with me and gave up," returned Hugo.

         "Argh… you…"

         Hugo smiled and laughed.  "And I already told you that you're really cute when you glare at me like that."

         "Would you please cut it out!"

         "Hey, don't make me kiss you again.  You'll kiss back just like last night," said Hugo and raised an eyebrow.

         Chris stammered something inaudible.

         "We both know that you kissed me back.  We also both know that at least a little, possibly unconscious part of you wants to be with me.  There's no use denying it."

         Chris must have known that she lost this argument.  She said little else in her defense.

         "Hugo, you are too immature," said Chris very seriously.  This stung Hugo, whether or not Chris had intended to you.

         "So… you think of me just as a kid?" he asked sadly.

         "I didn't say that," stated Chris.

         "But that's what you meant isn't it?  Now are you actually trying to find excuses for not being with me?  Don't you dare say that you can't love me just because you're older than me.  We're both immortal."  Hugo then stood up and started to walk away.

         "Hugo, I'm sorry," she said to his back and stood up herself.  Hugo stopped and turned around to face her.  Chris walked over to Hugo and just looked at him for a moment.  Then she hugged him.  Hugo returned the embrace.

         "I am sorry.  I don't know why I said something like that.  One of the things that I like about you is that you can joke around a lot."  Chris pulled away from Hugo.  That action made Hugo sigh.  No matter how hard he tried he found himself unable to stay angry with Chris for any period of time.

         "It's okay.  I know you didn't mean it."

         Chris smiled at him.  "I'm hungry, let's get something to eat."

*~~~*

         Fortunately, the restaurant operated differently during the day.  They ordered their food, and once it was ready they just took it and left.  Hugo and Chris decided to eat in a room inside the ship.  Hugo wasn't sure what Chris thought, but he personally thought that the ship was the best part of the castle area.  There were rooms everywhere that could be explored.  The bath was still there, but somebody else operated it now.

         After they had finished they just roamed around the ship.  After they got bored with that they walked through the castle.  There were definitely noticeable changes.  The castle didn't seem quite as dumpy and dilapidated as it had before.  Apparently many people must have worked to try and clean it up.  There were new paintings on the walls, too.  Once they got bored with roaming the castle, Hugo suggested a new idea.

         "Would you like to go visit Iksay?" Hugo asked.  Iksay wasn't very far from Budehuc and would probably only take about a fifteen-minute walk.

         Chris nodded.  "Sure."

         Fubar hadn't returned so it was only Chris and Hugo on their walk.  It was a quiet little stroll and they reached the village rather quickly.  The town had been fixed for the most part and most of the damages were no longer present.  They walked around the town and headed in and out of a few of the shops.  The villagers here were very friendly and many of them offered greetings.  Nobody recognized Hugo or Chris, and neither of them could really complain about that.  They walked through the main path and headed up to the main windmill.  It had also been repaired.  It seemed that the farming season was doing rather well.  There were rows upon rows of crops all through the large field.

         Chris sat down on a bench and Hugo followed suit.  The sun was high in the sky now and was shining down.  There were very few clouds in sight.  The temperature was warm, but it wasn't unbearable.  It was a very beautiful day today.

         "I like this place.  It's very peaceful," commented Chris.

         "I like it too," replied Hugo.

         "What are you thinking right now?" asked Chris.  It had been the second time that she asked that question since their trip together.  This time, however, Hugo would answer it.

         "I was thinking that I love you and that I wish you would return those feelings," said Hugo.  "How about you?"

         "I was thinking about whether or not I could love you in a matter of time.  I think that I might eventually, but I don't know if I love you now or not."

         "Thank you for considering it."

         "You don't have to thank me.  I would think about it even if I hadn't promised I would.  Everything is just so confusing, lately," said Chris.

         "It's not as if we're short on time or anything.  Don't drive yourself insane thinking about it," returned Hugo.

         Chris smiled at that comment.  "Hopefully neither of us will die in battle, though."

         "Don't be so pessimistic.  If either of us ever gets hurt you could just use your Water Rune.  If you're not there to save me, I'll just use my wind."

         "Fortunately, you're so optimistic," replied Chris.

         Hugo turned to look at Chris.  She was so incredibly beautiful.

         "You know, I don't think that kissing you last night was such a great idea," said Hugo.

         "Oh?" she asked.

         "Ever since then I've been wanting to kiss you again and it's pissing me off because I can't."

         Chris chuckled a little.  "Do you know that saying, 'good things come to those who wait'?" questioned Chris.

         "Yeah."

         "Well in this case it's, 'good things might come to those who wait'."

         Hugo laughed a little.  "You're going to drive me insane someday Chris."

         They sat in silence for a while when Hugo suddenly, out of the blue, said, "I love you, Chris."

         "Argh, it annoys me when you say that," she stated.

         "Why's that?"

         "Because when somebody says 'I love you', the other person is supposed to say 'I love you, too', and I can't do that," she answered.

         "Nobody ever said you couldn't tell me that you love me.  It would all be so much easier if you would just give in to your feelings," said Hugo with a smirk.

         "Oh?  And what feelings would you be referring to?"

         "The feelings that keep telling you that you want me," Hugo replied.

         "I'm very sorry to inform you that I have never heard the voices of those feelings."

         "Yeah, I bet.  So when you agreed to dance with me to the song of the wind spirits, or you lean into me when we're riding on Fubar, or when you sighed sadly when I realized I was holding you and let go, or when you kissed me back, or when you kept looking at me without my shirt off when you thought I wasn't looking, or when—"

         "Okay, okay!  I get the idea," said Chris.

         "Oh, so you do admit that you want me," responded Hugo with a sly little grin.

         "I never said that," stated Chris in her defense.

         Hugo chuckled a little.  "You know, I think that we were meant to be together."

         "Do you now?"

         "Yep, and don't try to convince me otherwise," Hugo said firmly.

         "I won't," Chris replied.

         "So does that mean that you agree?"

         "I never said that either."

         Hugo sighed.  "I just can't win with you, Chris."

         "I'm sorry."

         Both Hugo and Chris started laughing for no apparent reason.  Once they quieted down Hugo had to ask a question.

         "Do you think we'd make a good couple?" he asked.

         "I don't know.  Why?"

         "Because both Cecile and Thomas thought that we were together.  I just thought that it was kind of odd."

         "Do you think that we'd make a good couple?" questioned Chris.

         "You know what my answer is.  I think that it's evident we would based on other people's reactions.  Of course, my opinion is slightly influenced by the fact that I'm in love with you."

         "I wish that you'd stop saying that," said Chris.

         "Why?"

         "I don't want you to give me your heart if I'm not sure I can give you mine."

         "Chris, I don't choose who holds my heart.  It just ended up that it was you.  The same thing goes for you.  You cannot make yourself love me.  All I'm asking is that if you find that you do love me, tell me and let us share our lives together," returned Hugo.

         "It's weird how you can be joking around one minute and very serious the next.  I think I like that about you.  It's nice to find a person that's not too serious but doesn't joke around at every second."

         Hugo raised an eyebrow.  "Really, now?  I'll have to remember that."

         He looked into her eyes for a moment.  Hugo then moved forward and gave her a quick, tender kiss on the lips.  It ended so quickly that it could hardly even be described as a kiss, but it was none-the-less.

         "I'm sorry," Hugo apologized for kissing her.

         "It's okay.  That was kind of nice."

         Hugo smiled at her.  "Do you want to head back to Budehuc, now?"

         "Sure," she replied.

*~~~*

         The sun had just finished setting and Hugo was lying on his back looking up at the stars.  He wasn't sure where Chris had gone.  She had said that she was going to go do something, but Hugo wasn't really paying attention to what she said.  The only thing he cared about was that it didn't involve him and her being together so he kind of tuned everything out.

         Hugo wondered if the stars had spirits, too.  Perhaps if somebody was able to get near them they could be heard.  While Hugo's mind was on the subject of the spirits he decided to focus himself and truly listen to them.  He always heard them, but he didn't carefully attempt to hear the complicated songs and rhythms at all times.

         The water came to his mind first.  The water was the rune that Chris had.  It had recently become his favorite spirit because the spirits of her rune seemed to help show and reveal her beauty and elegance.  Since the True Runes chose their bearers, her True Water had made a sort of connection with Chris as the True Fire had with Hugo.  The water always reminded Hugo of Chris.

         "How's it going?" came the owner of the voice that Hugo had just been thinking about.

         "Pretty good.  How about you?" Hugo returned.

         "Okay."

         "I missed you," Hugo said.

         "I missed you, too."

         Hugo was slightly surprised at that comment.  "Really?"

         "Yeah."  Chris lay down on the ground near Hugo and looked up into the blue-black sea.  "It's really pretty, huh?"

         "Yeah," Hugo said.  "You know, I was listening to the water before you just showed up.  I can here it really well because of the lake.  The water spirits remind me of you."

         "Is it because of my Rune?"

         "Yes."

         "I can clearly hear the water spirits now, not just my Rune.  I think I can also hear the wind spirits okay now too.  For some reason, I can hear the fire spirits of your Rune really well, too."

         "You can probably hear the fire because you've have been spending a decent amount of time with me lately, and you're becoming accustomed to it," said Hugo.

         "I see."

         "Do you remember the first time I showed you how to listen to the wind spirits?  That was only a few days ago, but it seems like such a long time ago."

         Chris chuckled a little.  "Yes, I remember."

         "Thinking back I can probably guess why Louis drew some conclusions."

         "It must have looked really suspicious, I guess."

         "I wonder what would have happened if he hadn't walk in…" Hugo thought aloud.

         "Hugo, I can't believe you would think about something like that."

         Hugo laughed a little.  "I don't think anything would have happened.  Your teachings and sense of integrity would have seen to that."

         "Yeah, probably."

         Hugo sat up in his position and looked out to the horizon.  The lake went on for a very long time before land could be seen and even that was very difficult to make out.  The shimmering water reflected the star studded sky and little ripples could be seen from the life that made it's home in the seemingly never ended depth of the water.  The water's reflection slightly blurred the light of the stars, but it was still visible.  Hugo then looked up at the forever reaching sky that's reflection could be seen in the clear body of water.  It was truly a beautiful sight.  The moon aided to the visual glamour of the night's sky and added a bit of light down onto the land.  For some reason, however, all of the visual beauty of the world in his mind couldn't match the beauty of Chris, both in her appearance and on the person she was inside.  Hugo shook his head and turned to look at the object of his thoughts and affections.  She was sitting up also and looking at Hugo.  She must have been wondering what was going on inside his head.

         Hugo placed his left hand on top of Chris' right.  She had been using that hand as a support on the ground.  He then turned to get a better look at her.  The light of the stars and moon was visible in the reflection of her eyes and only added to her beauty.  He placed his right hand on her cheek and just looked at her for a moment.  Hugo was just about to kiss her when he stopped himself and pulled away.  He removed both of his hands and slid slightly away from her.

         "What's wrong?" she asked him.

         "I was about to kiss you," Hugo admitted.

         "Oh."  Hugo couldn't help but notice the fact that her last word had seemed rather sad sounding.

         "Are you… disappointed that I didn't?" he asked her.

         "I… don't know.  I don't really understand much of anything anymore.  It's just to hard to digest all of this."

         Hugo nodded.  "I understand.  Would you have minded if I kissed you?" Hugo asked outright.

         "I'm not sure," said Chris.  "I very much doubt it."

         "I see," responded Hugo.  He sighed to himself.  "Well, I guess I'm going to get to sleep.  Pleasant dreams.  You'll be in mine."

         "I think I'll retire for the night, too.  I hope that you'll remember your dreams fondly," replied Chris.

         "Don't worry.  They will be."

*~~~*

         Hugo and Chris spent the next two days visiting with all of their old friends that still lived at the castle.  Fubar had returned the next day during the late afternoon.  Nothing of much interest had happened, but Chris and Hugo talked every night that they were at Budehuc Castle.  It became sort of a ritual.  It had finally come time for the morning that they would leave Budehuc.  They said goodbye to all of their friends, and Fubar, Hugo, and Chris left the castle area.

         "So, what's the plan?" asked Chris.

         "I guess we'll fly to Vinay on Fubar and spend the night there tonight.  Then we could ride to Brass Castle tomorrow morning.  If that's okay with you of course," replied Hugo.

         "It sounds like a plan."

         "Shall we get started?" questioned Hugo.

         "Yep," responded Chris.

         Hugo pulled himself up onto Fubar's back.  He then picked up Chris and set her in a position in front of him.  Fubar took off with Hugo and Chris sitting on top of him.

         Chris had leaned back into Hugo once again.  Hugo figured it must have just been a reflex.  She probably wasn't very confident with her ability to stay on Fubar and keep from falling off in the air.  That same urge to wrap his arms around her forced itself into Hugo's mind.  This time, however, he did not fight it.

         Hugo entwined his arms around Chris and she seemed to sit back even more into him.

After they flew away Hugo commented, "I think this is one of the only times I've really seen you relax."

"Hmm?" asked Chris.

Hugo laughed a little bit.  "I said that this is one of the only times I've seen you relax.  You're so relaxed you're almost asleep."

"Sorry," said Chris.

"You don't need to be sorry.  I like seeing you settle down a little bit"

Hugo and Chris didn't say much else for the duration of the flight.  He simply held his arms around her and was glad that she didn't seem to mind at all.  He smiled to himself when her breathing slowed, and he knew that she had fallen asleep.

*~~~*

         Chris slowly tried to open her eyes.  They felt as heavy as lead.  She must have fallen asleep after all.  Chris had no intentions of falling back to sleep so she forced her eyes to open.  She found herself looking up at Hugo.

         "Hey, you're finally awake," he said.

         "Why didn't you wake me up when I fell asleep?" she asked him.

         "Because you looked so peaceful and beautiful."

         Chris smiled inwardly.  Hugo definitely complimented her more than anybody else she had ever met.  She also noticed that the position she was in was different that it should have been and the sky rather dark.

         She looked around, and the first thing that she noticed was that they were in the Zexen forest.  That explained why it was so much darker than it should have been.  Now what she wanted to know was why she was almost laying down and why the first thing she noticed when she opened her eyes was Hugo.

         Chris slowly began to realize her position.  Hugo was cradling her to his chest.  His right arm was behind her back while his left was underneath the joint of her knee.  Hugo was lifting her up, but him holding her like that was helping her keep her balance in that position.  She shouldn't have been in that position in the first place, however.  Chris didn't really mind it, though.  The Zexen captain was too lazy to get herself into a different position or at least that's what she told herself.  Instead she just rested her head against his chest.

         Chris, Hugo, and Fubar had finally made there way towards the end of the forest.  It was still light outside, and there was a sort of light that guided them as they walked the paths of the forest.  They emerged from the forest and walked along the road until they reached the entrance to Vinay.

         "Do you think it would be a good idea if we got off Fubar and I set you down?  It probably wouldn't look very good to walk in like this," said Hugo.

         "I guess," responded Chris.  Hugo set Chris down off of Fubar, and then he dismounted.

         "Well Fubar," Hugo began.  "You can either fly wherever you want and be here in the morning or you can stay in the stables with the other horses."

         Fubar opted to fly wherever he wanted.  Once the griffon had left, Hugo turned back to Chris.

         "Did you like the trip over?" he asked her.

         Chris thought about this.  She didn't really know how to answer this question.  She admitted to herself that it was nice to wake up to Hugo cradling her like that, but Chris didn't think she'd ever be able to tell him that.

         "I don't really know.  I was asleep most of the time," she finally decided for an answer.

         "Well, I'll take that as a 'yes'.  It's pretty amazing that you were so relaxed you fell asleep."

         Chris smiled a little.  "It was probably just because I don't usually get much sleep."

         "Yeah, that and the fact that you felt so secure and calm in my arms," said Hugo jokingly.

         Chris didn't respond to that.  It was true.  She felt that there was no use lying about it.  He would be able to tell if she lied anyway.  Instead, she nodded slightly.

         That response had definitely caught Hugo by surprise.  He sort of did a double take and had an odd expression on his face.

         "R-really?" he asked.

         Chris nodded again.  Chris heard Hugo sighed.

         "Do you realize that you saying stuff like that is only making me fall in love with you more?" he questioned.

         Chris didn't respond to this.  Instead she simply said, "Come on.  Let's go inside."  She walked through the entrance and into the busy city and Hugo followed behind.

         The streets of the city were very crowded just as Chris had predicted.  The only time it was any different was when everybody in the town was asleep and those occasions were on the rare side.

         "So would you like to wander the streets aimlessly and check out a few shops?" asked Chris.

         Hugo shrugged.  "I guess so," he replied.  "There's not much else to do."

         Chris nodded and they walked the streets.  They would enter in any of the shops that seemed interesting and spent most of their time in the bazaar.  They tried to stay away from most of those annoying people that would look for excuses to talk to Chris.  Fortunately, Hugo wasn't lagging back and the fact that he was Karayan seemed to put a few of those people off.  There were still people that would walk buy and say something to Chris, but those were ones that they did their best to ignore.

         Once it got dark Chris and Hugo had gone to her house.  Chris watched as Hugo decided to sit one of the benches outside of the building and Chris joined him by sitting down next to him.

         "The stars aren't quite as bright out here," Hugo commented.

         "Yeah, the lights from the buildings get in the way."

         "I don't know if I would be able to live here.  I must admit, though, that if living here was the only way to be with you I would definitely try."

         Chris smiled a slightly at that station.  She definitely believed that he loved her.  The only question now was 'did she love him'?  The Zexen really hoped that she would figure it all out soon.

         Chris leaned against Hugo and closed her eyes.  She felt so calm that she couldn't help, but drift into a deep sleep.

*~~~*

         Hugo smiled at the sleeping woman next to him.  She was perfect in every way.  He had been sitting there watching her sleep for a long time.  Now he was becoming tired and decided he needed to get to sleep also.

         Hugo picked up Chris and gently cradled her.  He entered the house, and apparently the butler had already gone to sleep because he was nowhere to be seen.  He walked up the stairs to her room and set her down gently on top of the bed.  He pulled the covers over her body and set her bag down on a chair.  Hugo then sat down on the edge of the bed and just looked at her for a moment.

         "Chris, I love you.  I pray that someday soon you'll realize that you love me, too," he said quietly to her sleeping form.

         Chris then mumbled out his name almost inaudibly in her sleep.

         Hugo smiled to himself.  'She's dreaming about me,' he thought.

         "Good night, Chris," he said.  Hugo then headed to the guestroom that he had occupied the last night he was here, set his things down, and changed for bed.  Someday he and Chris would be together.  He could almost guarantee it.

*~~~*

         Mwahaha!  The end of chapter 4.  Again, I'm sorry that I couldn't start the plot yet but fluff is good when the proper dosage is used.  Hopefully you didn't try to ingest this entire story at once.  That could give you serious indigestion.  I won't promise that the plot will start by next chapter because I don't want to lie about promises.  I can almost one hundred percent assure you that it will start by the next chapter, however.  I hope I can get it out soon.