Yay! The next chapter! Sorry for the slight delay, but actually I've been working on a new fic called "Nightmares" that I just posted in the "M" section. There's only one chapter so far, but check it out if you want.

To my reviewers…

Xeora: It's here! Please don't jump out the window! I can't live with that on my conscience!

Riiku: Aw shucks. Thanks a bunch! Please don't die after the beach scene though. I've already got one suicidal reviewer… (Points upward.)

Deona Lindholm: I figured someone might think that! But I figured I could turn in into a romanticish setting, for Canaan's sake. Oh, and there will be some S/A in this chapter!

Kyone: Okay, I feel better. Few!

SephirothsGoddess: Okay. Truce. Hope you like the beach!

kikyogirl900: Yep, that's his name! Freaky, huh? Glad you like!

Rikkali: Yay! You're back! I'm so glad you like the fic! I liked you're little analogy of Canaan being a schoolgirl and all. He is isn't he! Bruhaha!

Starting fic.

The sun beat down heavily over my head. It was powerful and merciless, but thankfully I had the protection of a large umbrella and SPF 45. I was lazily lounging on my towel on the private beach of Gaignun and Jr. Everyone was scattered about, some swimming, some playing ball, others sitting around like I was. Actually, Jin had wrested KOS-MOS and Ziggy into, get this, seashell hunting a little while ago. Brave man. Bless him for getting her away for a while…

I stifled a yawn.

Jr. wasn't kidding when he said we all had to come.

He had literally marched down the cabin hallway at six in the morning and started banging on all our doors. He was relentless, and started shouting very obnoxiously if we were taking too long. chaos and I both tumbled out of bed and barley had time to get ready before Jr. began ranting again. So half-asleep and completely out of it, we yanked on our swim clothes and stumbled out with the others.

Apparently Jr. wanted us to get out there early because he didn't want the "main beach time" to be while the sun was high overhead. He figured we could get our main sun time done when it was still relatively dark. Then we could retreat to the shade when it got hot. It made sense on paper, but he still could have warned us about the crack of dawn wake up call. Or we could have gone at night. But we did get to see an awesome sunrise.

So anyway, I guess all in all it had been worth it. The chance to be outside, just relax for a change, and watch a scantly clad chaos run around for hours on end.

I swear that boy has no modesty. He always wears the smallest shorts know to humanity. Then again, not complaining too much.

Plus, I actually got a chance to swim, and I didn't sink like a rock as I originally thought I would. I had gone through a basic swimming class, it was a requirement for any Realian entering military services, but it was just technique and numbers; I had never actually gotten into the water. Dog paddling around wasn't difficult to learn, and it was actually kind of fun. But of course chaos jumped in with me and gave me some pointers. He was a lot more graceful in the water then I was. But that was to be expected, now wasn't it? So I listened carefully and did my best because there was no way I was going to drown on his watch. But then again, he would have to save me...and give me CPR...and stuff...

Ahem...

But now I was just lying around drying off, watching him play volleyball with MOMO, Allen, and Jr.

chaos and Jr. were partners. Big mistake, for they were winning by a mile. chaos surprisingly had a nasty spike, and Jr. was quick and had a good return, despite his height challenge.

Actually, MOMO wasn't half bad either. It was just that she had Allen for a partner. He was too much of a scardy cat to even hit the ball. The only reason he agreed to play in the first place was to impress an on-looking Shion. His plan was having disastrous side effects. Every time it was hit toward him he panicked and usually ran to get out of the way. When he did get the guts to go after it, he couldn't get the ball over the net.

Slam!

Jr. hit the ball and sent it blasting toward Allen, who made a pathetic attempt at return. The ball just ricocheted off his hand and fell to the ground with a plop.

"Alleeenn..." MOMO whined.

"Allen!" Shion called from the side lines, "Stop being such a wimp! Get in there and play!"

"Yeah Allen, be a man!" Jr. teased from the other side of the net, "The ball's not going to hurt you...much!"

chaos just smiled and shook his head.

His eyes traveled to where I was sitting and saw me watching the match. His smile widened and he waved at me. I meekly waved back, a little embarrassed that he had caught me starring at him.

The game continued on.

Jr. served the ball and MOMO hit a nice return. chaos pegged it back, and then MOMO hit a tricky shot to the corner. Jr. barley managed to get to it, and hit the ball high in the air. It headed straight toward Allen, who got a panicked look on his face. Again.

"Go for it!" cried Shion.

Not likely. He's going to chicken out again…

However, ignited by Shion's words of encouragement, he got a determined look on his face. He dramatically leapt up to meet the high-flying lob. He met it in mid air and hit it downward with tremendous force. It was a perfect spike that slammed to the other side. For a split second, everyone looked rather impressed.

That is, until it hit chaos dead on in the face.

In an instant I bolted up and ran over to him. He was bent over on the ground, clutching his face. Everyone was hovering around him worried and unsure of what to do.

I pushed my way through and knelt down in front of him.

"chaos," I said, trying to stay calm, "Where did it hit you? Are you bleeding?"

His face was scrunched up in pain. "Between my eyes...on the bridge of my nose..." he mumbled through his hands, "I think it's bleeding, but just a little bit."

"Let me see," I said firmly, taking away his hands.

He had a nice black bruise where the ball had made contact and his left eye was slightly puffy. His nose was bleeding, but thankfully it wasn't broken.

"Anyone have a handkerchief? Towel? Tissue?"

"Here, use this," Shion said quickly, handing me her towel.

I tipped his head back carefully and plugged up his bleeding nose.

"Hold it there for a while," I ordered him, "Jr. can you get some ice?"

"Will do," he said, hurrying away.

"Is he going to be all right?" asked a worried MOMO.

"Yes. Luckily nothing's broken. But he's going to have a lovely bruise on his face for a while."

Shion got a relieved look on his face. Then an angry one. She jumped up and glared at Allen, who had been watching the scene unfurl in horror.

"You careless jerk" she yelled, "You could have really hurt him! I hope you're happy Allen!"

"But..." he squeaked, obviously hurt, "I didn't..."

"You should be ashamed of yourself! I should smack you in the head and see how you like it! I aught to ..."

She continued to rave as Jr. came back with an ice pack.

"Here," he said, handing it to me.

I gently placed it on chaos' bruised face and held it there.

"It's cold..." he whined.

"It'll help the swelling go down," I said flatly, "Let me see your nose."

He took off the towel and I inspected his face once again. The bleeding seemed to have stopped for the time being.

"Come on," I said, helping him up, "let's get you in the shade."

He wobbled to his feet and supported himself against my arm. I slowly led him over to the umbrella, carefully watching my steps to prevent him from blacking out. Shion was still yelling at Allen, and was now getting backed up by MOMO and Jr.

I looked on in sympathy.

I felt sorry for him, I truly did. He must be miserable now that Shion, the woman he was desperately trying to impress, was angry as heck at him.

However, I didn't stop to defend him. It was still his fault that my one and only had a bruised forehead and bloody nose.

We sat down on the beach towel under the welcome shade of the umbrella. chaos still looked a little out of it, and rightfully so.

"Is it my imagination," he asked with a sigh, "or do you seem to be patching me up a lot lately?"

"It isn't your imagination," I said plainly, "Let me see your head again."

He removed the ice and I inspected the damage. His swollen eye had gone down a bit, but the bruise was still a deep purple color.

"How does it look?" he asked, "Will I live?"

"Of course you will. The bang-ups should clear in a day or so, if you keep ice on them for a while."

He pouted a bit, but put the pack back on.

"Speaking of injuries," I continued, "how is your hand? I noticed you took all the bandages off."

"See for yourself," he said with a grin, while extending his previously burned hand.

I took it and looked it over, carefully running my fingers across the smooth surface, trying not to enjoy myself too much.

Hmm, no swelling, no blistering of any kind, still a little pink, but looking better than it did yesterday.

"Does it pass?"

"Yes, it has healed very nicely. I don't think we have to worry about it too much anymore."

"You mean you don't have to worry. I didn't even notice I had it in the first place," he said teasingly.

I let out a "Humph" and dropped his hand. I was slowly coming out of my "protective" mode that had initiated the instant that stupid ball made contact with his face. Protective Canaan was someone you didn't want to mess with. But I relaxed now knowing that he was out of danger for the time being. My eyes looked him over carefully, and I enjoyed the comfort of him being so close.

I can't believe how freaked out I was when he got hit. It was like my world had come crashing down. I had to see if he was all right. I would die if anything serious happened to him. He doesn't deserve to get hurt.

"Hey Canaan," he said suddenly, "I really didn't get a chance to thank you for your help yet, did I? I thought it was really sweet the way you were so concerned and rushed over to help."

"It was nothing," I said modestly, "I was just helping out."

He grinned at me.

"You know..." he said, his face turning a little more serious, "I've been noticing you go through a lot of changes lately. What's it been...three days since that little…incident shall we say? You've experienced a lot, but I was wondering...have you ever felt happy yet?"

"Of course I have. Why wouldn't I?"

He pointed an accusing finger at me. "Then how come you haven't smiled? You never smile. I've seen a sarcastic smirk a few times, but never a smile."

I was stumped. He was right, wasn't he? I haven't smiled yet even once.

"I haven't really thought about too much..." I admitted, still perplexed.

"Are you just...not used to yet the concept yet?" he asked.

"I guess..."

He smiled kindly. "There there, I didn't mean to make you upset. Don't worry about it too much, okay? I'm sure it will come to you in time."

I nodded my head and felt a little better. I noticed that Shion and the others had finished giving Allen their "talking too." He was slumped over, eyes downcast, a complete wreck. Again, I got a sympathetic look on my face.

I would fling myself over a cliff if chaos called me a "careless jerk."

chaos looked over to Allen as well.

"Poor guy..." he said, "I should probably talk to him, shouldn't I? It might help to smooth things over with Shion."

I raised my eyebrow. "So you have noticed."

"Yes, well, you see a little while ago Allen was mopping around after Shion had turned him down for a casual "get together." He was real bummed. I happened to bump into him, and he kinda spilled everything out. It's a shame he can't seem to just tell her..."

"Yes...a horrible shame," I said a little bitterly.

He stood up.

"Here goes," he said.

He walked toward Allen. I took the liberty of tuning in and listening to their conversation.

"Allen? Are you all right?"

Allen's eyes shot up.

"chaos? I'm sooosorry!" he cried, flinging himself at chaos' feet, "I was so careless! I can't believe I did that! Please forgive me!"

"Allen," he said kindly, "relax. Stand up."

Allen wobbled to his feet, but was still slumped with shame.

"Allen, it's not your fault. That spike could have hit anyone. My face was the one that just happened to be in the way. So no need for apologies, okay?"

"Okay…" Allen said, smiling weakly.

"Say, where did the others go?" chaos asked.

"They said they were going for a walk. They said I couldn't come..."

"Listen, I'll go catch up with them and smooth things over. They were rather hard on you. I'll go and talk to them, okay?"

Allen's face lit up. "Really? You will? Wow, thanks chaos!"

"You're welcome," he said with a grin.

He glanced past Allen. "Would you like to come?"

I jumped realizing he was talking to me. Slightly embarrassed that he had caught me eavesdropping, again, I replied, "No no, I'll stay here."

"Okay then, I'll be right back," and he went to catch up with the others.

Allen sighed in relief and seemed a lot happier. Then he got a disheartened look again.

Now what?

He started to meekly shuffle to where I was sitting.

What does he want now?

"Uh, hi Canaan," he said with poorly masked nervousness, "How's it going?"

"What do you want Allen?"

His extra wide grin faltered. His façade broke and he blurted out, "Forgive me!"

"What?"

"Well..." he said laughing nervously, "I know you kinda have a thing for chaos, and I didn't want you to, you know, beat me up because I hurt him, and..."

I bolted up and glared at him, seething with rage. "You're aboutto get beaten up right now if you keep talking like that."

"Whoa whoa!" he said bringing his hands up in defense, "I didn't mean to get you angry! But it's kinda obvious, to me at least, how you feel about him."

"One more word Allen, and I swear I'll..."

"Wait! At least hear me out!"

I folded my arms and looked at him carefully. "Fine. But speak quickly."

"Okay, the fact of the matter is, I know when someone has feelings for another person. Call it a gift, call it experience, whatever. I saw the way you acted at that outing a few nights ago. I saw how you avoided my questions when we bumped into each other only a few hours later. And just now, I saw the way you keel-hauled it over to chaos when he got hurt! Don't deny it!"

I continued my death stare.

"There's nothing to be ashamed of, you know. I have nothing against the fact that you're both guys. People can't help who they fall in love with. It just, happens, you know?"

I pondered this.

You can't help who you fall in love with…

Isn't that the honest truth…

And then I finally fell back on the ground, defeated. "Got that right," I grumbled, "I've been through all sorts of trouble for that little mischief."

"Aha! So you do admit it!"

"It would be pointless for me to continue my denial when you have me so obviously read."

He chuckled and flopped down next to me. He said, "That chaos is a tricky character, I will admit. You never know what he's thinking. And as regards to troublesome, I can empathize. Every time I go with Shion on some mission, I'm terrified I'm going to get shot, or electrocuted, or eaten. Or worse, something horrible may happen to her."

"I know what you mean. I could have gone existing quite happily without continuously stressing over the well-being of some guy."

We both sighed.

"However," I continued, "in the end, they are worth it, aren't they?"

"Yeah..." he said dreamily, "But Canaan, even though it's hard to be certain about anything with him, I do know this about chaos; he does care for you. A lot. I'm not sure if it goes beyond that, but he still cares."

"Well, I guess I can live with that for now..." I said with a sigh.

We sat in silence for a while contemplating our better halves.

He stood up suddenly.

"I'm going to do it!" He said triumphantly.

"Do what?"

"I'm going to tell her! I feel empowered! I can send her a note telling her to meet me somewhere...give her a nice gift…then pop the question! Yes it's perfect!"

I inwardly smiled at his enthusiasm. "I'm envious of your courage, Allen. I wish you good luck."

"Thanks Canaan!" he yelled, running off toward the Elsa, "Oh, and your secret is safe with me!"

It better be.

I shook my head at Allen's silliness and relaxed on my towel, enjoying the few minutes alone. It was nice not having all the noise and mayhem around. I listen to the ebb and flow of the waves. There was a soft breeze. My eyes began to get heavy. The sun was setting. Two dark figures were on the horizon. Then I knew nothing more.

I jerked awake at the sudden sound of approaching footsteps. I looked around trying to get my bearings, and realized that I was still on the beach. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes, then contemplated what had gone on while I slept.

I had a dream, didn't I? I didn't know I could dream. I suppose it's possible, but not really probable. Technically it could be a mass of unfiltered data just floating around in our subconscious, but still, it was really weird. Something about suits, the color blue, and a plate of shrimp.

And chaos...

My face rose a couple degrees in temperature.

Oh yeah...that part was...erm...interesting...

Very interesting...

I didn't know that was floating around in my subconscious…

He…he…he…

Ahem…

The object of my lusty dream was currently walking towards me.

"Canaan! Wake up sleepy-head!" he called cheerfully.

I yawned, pretending to have just woken up, and asked, "How long was I out?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe a little more than an hour."

"That long? What took you?"

"Oh, I ran into KOS-MOS, Jin, and Ziggy on their seashell hunt. Had to stop in and say "hi." Sorry."

Ahh, of course, KOS-MOS...

"Anyway, everyone's mostly gone back to the Elsa. Better head there as well, huh?"

I stretched. "Okay...Hey, what about all the beach stuff? Shouldn't we take it back?"

"Naw, Jr. said to just leave everything here."

I slowly got up and grabbed my towel, draping it over my shoulder. We headed for the Elsa in silence, side by side. As we walked back, I stole a glance at the beautiful sight right in front of me. chaos was walking with a peaceful look on his face. He looked to his right at the water.

"Wow, what a sunset," he commented, "Lovely, isn't it Canaan?"

Sunset? What sunset?

Sorry if that last bit was confusing. I got the idea from a comic strip, and basically the idea is that Canaan was too busy ogling over chaos to notice the sunset. That's the "beautiful sight" he was talking about. There's going to be major plot development in the next chapter, so stay tuned!