Here's another chapter for you guys. I hope it's long enough. And thanks for the great reviews I've had so far.

PnkSaKuRaSyAoRaNS2 – I'm glad you took time to read it. Hope to hear from you more! Take it easy. D25 – thanks for the review. Keep R&R! Cole the Demon Hunter – hehehe! Thanks! There will be more great chapters coming so stay tuned. Zionne – I hope it keeps going "up" as you say it. lol Mrs. Ishida-to-you – you can definitely say SEXY! Kuruta – I'm glad you love it. Keep R&R! Angel – hey, girl, how's it going? I'm so glad to hear from you again. I hope you're doing well. I tell you, there will be some "Mushy" (as you say it) scenes in this chapter. I hope you like it.

Chapter Nine: Sleepless in Odaiba

Flashback

America - six years ago

Matt showed up in New York City five days after her arrival. There was a loud banging on the door that Mimi found herself reaching for a can of teargas her roommate had given her. Then an all too familiar voice yelled out, "Tachikawa! Tachikawa if you're in there you better open this door before I break it down!"

Mimi froze in shock. It couldn't be.

"Tachikawa, I mean it!"

With her breath held tight in her lungs, she yanked open the heavy door. The air then left her lungs in a sudden 'whoosh' as he pushed her back into the apartment. "What the hell did you think you were playing at?"

"Well, goodness, Ishida, it's lovely to see you too. Did you fly all the way over here just to bully me, or is this a social visit?"

He glowered down at her. "A note! You left me a fucking note! What am I to you, a milkman?"

Mimi was shocked by his anger. She'd seen him angry before, saw him punching holes in walls after his parents were killed. But never before had his anger been directed at her...not once.

"If I told you, you'd have tried to stop me."

"From running away from all the people that love you when you're this low? Now, why the hell would I do a stupid thing like that?"

Her voice was unnaturally calm. "That's why I left the note."

His anger seemed to fade in front of her eyes. Instead he stared at her, seeing right through to her very soul. With a deep sigh he ran shaky fingers through his hair, & then he looked at her again. "You scared everyone to death, did you know that?"

She was still calm. "I'm sorry."

There were several moments of silence, & then, "Are you okay?"

"You could've asked that over the phone...it would have been cheaper."

"I don't give a damn about the money. I was fucking worried about you."

Mimi noticed how tired he looked. Dark circles smudged his eyes, a beard was growing on his normally clean-shaven cheeks, & his shoulders were slumped with fatigue. Did she do this to him? Did he fly all the way from Japan just to check if she was all right? With a twist of her heart, she realized she'd do the same thing for him. It was just the way they were.

"I'm doing okay, Matt."

He raised a dark eyebrow at her. "You call me Matt again & I'll know you're not okay...okay?"

She smiled softly at him. "I didn't want you to worry. I just needed to get away for a while."

"Is it because of Michael?"

She looked away, her eyes focusing on the rain sliding down the apartment windows. "Partly."

Matt stepped towards her. "And what else?"

As he got closer she stepped away from him. "I needed to find out what I wanted to do with my life. And I knew I didn't want to be with Michael."

"Can't you do that at home?"

She smiled a sad smile at the window. "No."

"Why not?"

"Because it's too complicated there. How can I decide what I want when I'm surrounded by all the things that everyone else thinks matters most? They don't see how I could possibly be missing anything from my life."

"That's obviously a girl thing because you lost me on that."

With a deep breath she turned to face him. "I need time. I need time to find out who Mimi Tachikawa is & what she wants. All my life I've been Mom & Dad's little Mimi, your Mimi, & then Michael's Mimi. I don't know who I am anymore."

He looked her straight in the eye. "Will you come home again?"

"Someday."

"Promise me, Tachikawa."

"I promise."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Cross your heart & hope to die?"

She finally laughed. "Keep this up & I'm never coming home."

End of Flashback

Mimi couldn't sleep. It wasn't any great surprise that she couldn't sleep because she hadn't had a good night's sleep for days now. Ever since…well, ever since her life had gotten complicated. Damn him. How could he do this? How could her friend…her reliable, funny, caring, & protective friend…suddenly have caused her to turn into a frustrated, jealous, over-emotional insomniac? It just wasn't fair. And it didn't make any sense at all.

She glanced over by the clock at her bed. Three-fifteen in the morning & she was nowhere close to being asleep. Puffy tested his claws out on her lap & she jumped from the window seat. "Ow! You too, Puffy? I think the whole world's making me miserable."

It wasn't that she was angry about Michael's suggestion. No, it was more the fact that she felt so jealous at the idea of Matt with another woman. Doing the kinds of things she wanted to do so desperately that she couldn't sleep at night any more for thinking about it.

By four o'clock, she changed into jogging pants & a light sweater. A little run would tire her out & then maybe she could have a lie-in.

Sexual frustration was a bitch, she decided.

Matt couldn't sleep. He never needed that much sleep to begin with, but he usually got the sleep he needed…until recently. He had to admit he was beginning to miss sleeping. Well, the kind of sleeping where a person closed his eyes & didn't think or feel anything until he woke up again.

Women! And to think that Michael actually thought he needed another woman to cause problems in his little ordered life. He was in trouble with Mimi again. It wasn't even his fault this time & yet he was in trouble. Really, it wasn't as if he'd done anything wrong at all. Nope, he was completely innocent.

The digital clock on his bedside table read three-thirty. Punching his pillow, he rolled over. He doesn't have to apologize, he hadn't done anything wrong. It was Michael's dumb dare, not his. And it wasn't his damned fault she got jealous.

Three-forty. He threw the covers back & sat up. So what if he thought Rachelle was attractive? He wasn't going out with anyone at the time. What about now? Could he even say he's with someone? Confused…that's what it is, confused….and frustrated. Very, very frustrated. He wanted to kiss Mimi again so badly it was physically hurting him.

Turning on the bedside lamp, he began to pace, his bare feet padding softly on the warm wooden floor. Maybe if she'd never come home he could have continued living his life in the same calm, orderly fashioned way he used to. But even so, he wouldn't trade his friendship with Mimi for anything. When his parents died in the accident, she had become his only family.

He glanced at the clock again at four. To think that the little girl with braces he teased mercilessly got her revenge by changing into some sex goddess female; a female who tugged at his fragile libido every time she glanced up at him with those warm eyes. Damn her.

Well, she need not think that he owed her an apology. She had spent the entire evening flirting with him & teasing until he wanted to kiss her senseless & do much more. Nope, he wasn't going to apologize. No way.

He went downstairs to make coffee at four-thirty. She was standing with her arms outstretched, leaning against the doorframe as she tried to catch her breath. With her head down, she didn't see him come into the kitchen.

With only the dim light from the porch behind her, she was silhouetted by a soft glow that made her hair glimmer. Matt watched the rise & fall of her breasts, heard the gasping of her breath in the still night air, & saw the glisten of moisture on her skin. It was like an extended version of his hot & heavy night-time dreams. He couldn't tell which one was real or which is fantasy. He swallowed hard & his body hardened. Damn, how was he supposed to fight against someone who embodied all of his fantasies?

Still breathing hard, she looked up & saw him.

"I'm sorry."

Turning to face him, she placed her hand on her hips & raised her chin. "For what, making my life difficult?"

He gave a smile. "Well, yeah, that's one thing. And then there's Michael's stupid suggestion."

She bowed her head for a moment. "That wasn't your fault. You don't need to apologize. I just overreacted."

Okay, that worked. He took a step close, looking around the room. "I, uh, was going to make coffee. You want some?"

He felt the raw tension between them tingling in the air. It had never been there before, at least not that he could remember. And he wasn't quite sure he liked it much.

She laughed. "No, thanks, the last thing I need is something to help me NOT sleep."

"Right," he moved forward again. "I know how that goes."

"I thought if I run it might tire me out." She watched him with guarded eyes as he walked across the kitchen. "Another Americanism, I guess."

"Yeah," his eyes were fixed on hers. "Insomnia is a terrible thing."

"Ishida, stop."

He stopped & stared at her.

"I can't do this anymore." She held her arms out in surrender. "I can't keep tiptoeing around you like this while the rest of the time I'm so damned frustrated. This is awful…I mean REALLY awful. I don't think I've ever felt so bad like this my entire life."

"I know."

"And the thing is, if I felt like this with anyone else then I'd walk away, or…well, I guess I'd do something about it. But I just can't seem to decide what to do anymore."

"Me either."

"I'm so scared."

Matt nodded. "Me too."

"If this doesn't work, we have to start all over. We'll never be the same & I don't want to lose you as my friend."

"You won't." He steeped closer.

Her voice was shaky. "You can't guarantee that. And yet, even though I tell myself that nothing is worth losing my friend over, I still can't stop wanting you."

"Ditto."

Mimi shook her head, staring up into his dark eyes. Then, taking a deep shaky breath, she threw herself forward & kissed him.

It was a frantic, hungry meeting of mouths. All the frustration built up inside them was spilling out into a desperate joining of lips & tongues. This time there were no reservations, hesitations or doubts. Mimi stood on her toes & pushed her body as close to him as she could manage with the layer of clothing between them.

A groan rumbled low on his throat as he enclosed her small waist with his arms. His mouth moved desperately over hers. This was what he spent sleepless nights thinking about. This was the only think that made sense anymore. He did nothing but think about how it felt to kiss her & now she was here in his arms, her body tight against him & yet not tight enough. She moved her hips across his & his lower body responded immediately.

Mimi felt it & she smiled against his lips. It was the first time in a very long time that she felt in control. She moved her hips against him again & he rewarded her with another low groan. He wanted her as much as she wanted him.

Moving her hands from behind his neck, she wriggled to get her arms underneath his so that she could touch him without having to separate their mouths. Her fingers found the bottom of his t-shirt & pushed it upwards so that she could lay her palms flat against his well-toned stomach.

As she moved her thumbs along the band of his short he tensed. Dragging his mouth from hers, he looked down at her flushed face.

"Mimi…" he lifted his hands, brushing the back of his fingers along her cheeks. "Slow down. We don't have to do this in a hurry."

Her eyes flickered open & she smiled slowly. "Doesn't it? You speak for yourself."

Matt laughed softly. "All these years & I never once dreamed we'd be doing this. You're making me absolutely crazy…you know that, right? I've never wanted anyone this much in my entire life."

"I hope so, Ishida, because then we'll be even." She spread her fingers wide on his abs. "This is the first thing that felt completely right to me in a long time."

His breathing quickened. "We can't do this while Michael & Kynna are here." It was almost a question. Then he smiled a lazy, sexual smile, his voice a husky whisper. "They might hear."

"I know," she moved her thumbs down again. "But that doesn't mean we can't practice a little."

The desperate need inside him invited the paranoid voice in his head to be slightly curious as to why it should matter whether they made love while Michael was in the house. But then, it was him who made the statement. All his body knew was how much he wanted her. It didn't give a damn about Michael's feeling on the matter.

Leaning down, he touched his mouth to hers again for a long, slow kiss. Then he raised his head an inch. "I guess I could make a deal with you to be quiet?"

Mimi smiled at the teasing tone in his voice & the sparkle in his blue eyes. "Ishida, somehow I don't think it'll be you making the noise."

He took a deep breath. Then, as he touched his forehead to hers, he moved his fingertips softly across her back & grabbed her bottom, pulling her closer to his hardened body.

She gasped. "And I'm not kidding about that."

"I want you to make a LOT of noise," he whispered.

Her heart raced. "Matt…"

"Which is why we're going to wait until we have an empty house & all the time in the world."

Despite how much her body ached, she knew he was right. "You do realize if we wait much longer we're going to be so frustrated that it's only going to take us about five minutes."

Matt lifted his head & smiled a slow, sensuous smile. "It's going to take WAY more than five minutes. I'll make sure of that, Tachikawa. Trust me."

AN: Oh, they were so close! Did you like it? I hope you did coz there will be more of that stuff coming in the next chapters. Don't forget to review!