Maybe I don't understand men, or maybe it's just you – and I need to know the truth.

Every night, you come to me, lie beside me and touch me when you think I'm asleep. Your hands are tender, your eyes are soft, and you are beautiful and gentle.

And you are nothing like the man I know when the sun rises.

I don't even need to say it. You're a pig in the daytime.

So which is the truth, Mugen? I need to know, because I'm falling in love with who you are in the moonlight. And I'm scared, because if I fall for you, I will be too fragile for your insults in the daytime.

I'm scared – and maybe you are, too – but fear won't stop me anymore.

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Fuu was warm under the lightweight blanket. Her eyelids grew heavy and she'd nod off for a few minutes, but then she'd rouse herself, just enough, to peek at Mugen. She would see him fidgeting, staring at the moon, or (gross) scratching himself Hours seemed to pass because she was waiting, and so was he. After awhile, she could feel his presence next to her. Fuu didn't need to open her eyes. She could hear his clothing whisper and the floor creak slightly as he shifted his weight, easing himself closer to her. She felt him recline beside her, and a moment later, felt his now-familiar hand stroking her face.

"Mugen." She sighed softly. His hand stopped for a few seconds, frozen. She rolled toward him with a gentle smile, then reached her arms around his neck and pulled him closer. Their foreheads touched. She massaged her fingers through his hair, which she never would have imagined could feel so soft. Mugen closed his eyes and soaked it in. Fuu mustered up her courage, arched her neck just slightly, and kissed his lips softly. She paused, wondering what would happen next. Mugen breathed her in, wanting her scent, her essence, to penetrate his senses. Slowly he moved to kiss her back, just as tenderly, and this time a little longer. A sigh escaped his throat as he pulled her closer. Feeling that Fuu didn't resist, he gently rolled onto his back and pulled her on top of him. They kissed while his hands caressed her back, somewhat tremulously, from the back of her neck to the curve in her spine. He didn't dare bring his hand lower, for some reason he felt unsure.

"Why are you shaking?" Fuu whispered as she kissed along his jaw and the muscle that ran the length of his neck. Mugen held onto her a little tighter.

He kissed her forehead tenderly. "Because of you," he whispered quietly. He opened his mouth to say more, but couldn't find the words. How lame would it sound if he admitted that, aside from his mother, Fuu was the only person to give him anything – concern, caring, fish – for free? And how sissy would it sound if he confessed that he fell in love with her long ago, and that all the insults and name-calling was his pathetic, immature way of protecting himself?

So he blurted out lamely, "I don't want to fuck anything up, Fuu."

Fuu looked up into his dark eyes, which looked so sad and gentle. His face looked too sad, she decided. She smiled slightly and pushed the side of his head. "Baka," she teased. Then her eyes softened as she rose up slightly, kneeling astride his chest as she held his face with both her hands, her fingertips blessing the rough skin beneath them.

She ran her fingers through his wild hair before bending down and kissing his nose, his cheeks, the scar on his eyebrow, his lips. Mugen cradled her with one hand behind her head and the other at the small of her back, and he rolled her onto the futon. He breathed in the scent of her hair, sighing as he exhaled. Lying underneath Mugen, Fuu slowly drew her hands to the edges of her underclothing, pulled loose her obi and opened it underneath him. Mugen drew in a breath – the glow of Fuu's bare skin under the moonlight was almost too much to bear. "Oh damn," he exhaled. Fuu felt a little uncomfortable under his gaze, and squirmed at the thought that her breasts truly were too small. Mugen shook his head and slowly ran his hand over her slender form. "You're beautiful, Fuu. God, you're so beautiful."

Scared and excited at the same time, she wrapped her arms around Mugen's neck, pulled him close, and embraced what the night had to offer.