This whole thing was an exercise in futility.

"T-Touichi-"

Not that he was complaining. As far as exercises in futility went this was one of the more enjoyable ones. Her thighs on either side of him, her hands on his back…in his hair…across his chest…everywhere that she could reach. She really had beautiful hands. Soft. She was soft. Every inch of her skin was so, very, incredibly soft. She had a very complicated skincare regimen and while Suzuki could not understand why she did it he had no reason not to reap the benefits.

He could get lost in it, the feel of her. Not just the obvious. There was more to this than the act of being within her vessel like this. That was something that set her apart from other women, this feeling she gave him, all of the feelings that she gave him. He had been with other women before and that had been…less. Yes, less was the word that he would use. He hadn't had the urge to touch them, not really, not in ways that didn't benefit him in any way. Brushing his hands across her shoulders, her neck, her stomach, grasping her thighs as she bore down onto him…oh yes.

Yes.

"Touichi!"

He was always Touichi when they were like this. He didn't know why, she was a mystery to him sometimes, but he didn't mind. Not in this situation, anyway, though she had never called him Touichi under any another circumstances. He didn't know how he would react if she did. If anyone else called him that, or even by his given name, they'd pay for their disrespect. Not her, though, never her. He made many allowances for her.

Nobody else EVER saw him like this, for one thing. Vulnerable. He was completely naked. That left him vulnerable. His aura was laid as bare as he was, too, which was another vulnerability that no one but her ever saw. Well daughter was home but she and son had been parked in front of the television with unhealthy snacks, soft drinks, milk drinks, and their tablets should the television bore them. He wasn't worried about the children disturbing them. If daughter saw his aura she'd do nothing, he had instructed the children to leave him and Masami alone until further notice, and Daughter generally did what she was told. She could control Boy to some extent, too, which was just wonderful. The last thing he wanted was his children disturbing him when he was this vulnerable.

The intimacy of it made it vulnerable.

This was an intimate act. He was literally within her body, he could not conceive of anything more intimate than that. He had been like this before, with other women, and he knew that she had been like this with other men, but that didn't matter. He knew that he could never trust another woman like he could trust her and she wanted for no other man. He made sure of that. He provided for her both materially and intimately. His powers had their uses.

"Toui-Touichi-!"

It felt good knowing that he had made her feel good. He didn't understand why. He understood mutually pleasurable experiences but not things that made her cry out like that. There was something about hearing her voice, feeling her hands digging into his arms, the way her spine would arch…all of it.

There were so many things that he didn't understand about her.

But he was not about to go and ask her now.

He did this for her. Mostly for her. This was nice, enjoyable even, but it was pointless. She had stated on numerous occasions that she did not want any more children. He didn't know why she was so opposed to having more children, the ones that they had were getting older so there was less for her to do, and she enjoyed taking care of beings smaller and weaker than herself. She was good at that, taking care of weaker beings, even taking care him…

"I love you!"

She loved him. He loved her. Sometimes he wondered if her version of love was different from his. He loved her because she took care of him, showed concern for him, and he found her company enjoyable. Even when they weren't like this he found her company enjoyable. Though this was, very, enjoyable. The way her hips bounced up and down in synchronization with his, the way one hand knotted itself in his hair and the other dug deeply into the flesh of his back, the way her mouth crashed against his…

And then she was very still.

Red and flushed. Her eyes glassy and unfocused. Her hands still around him, slackly, slowly running up and down his back. Her hair was fanned out around her like a crown, it was a crown, her crown, because she was his queen and he was her king and he would rule this world for her because she deserved it more than any other woman in the world because she was HIS and his alone and this was his and his alone and no one else would ever see her like this or be with her like this and this may have been an exercise in futility but…but it had still been enjoyable.

A mutually enjoyable experience.

But a truly futile one as well.

"Mmmm….stay and cuddle…" This part wasn't as enjoyable. He still laid down beside her and pulled her into his arms. Still not dressed. He needed to get dressed. He wasn't himself if he wasn't dressed. He didn't even feel comfortable wearing pajamas, Masami always got put out when he tried to sleep in his suit like normal, and being naked when he didn't have to be…it wasn't good.

He pulled his aura close again.

He used his powers to pull the blanket up over them. There. That was a little better. It wasn't that she was there, with him, seeing him like that…it was that he was like that. Not dressed. Not himself. It was pointless, this part of it, even more pointless than what they had been doing before. At least before it had been mutually enjoyable. This was just warm and cold at the same time. His skin was sticking to hers uncomfortably.

It wouldn't have been so bad if they had actually been working towards something.

"Touichirou…I missed you so much…" she was nuzzling him now. He had researched this, why she was like this afterwards, and it was a side effect of the chemical rollercoaster that they had just ridden. They were, or at least she was, in a sea of dopamine and oxytocin. Chemicals that the mind released in an effort to create a better pair bond for the child that they could have produced. He wondered why he never felt it, what she must have been feeling. She was still…blissed out was an expression that he had heard, before. He understood the physical pleasure of it but he didn't much understand this.

What was the point of a pair bonding experience when they were already pair bonded?

They hadn't produced a child, there was no chance of that, so what was the point of this part? He hadn't much wanted to do this in the first place, he had other things that needed doing since he would be leaving Japan again soon, but she had set the children up in front of the television and pulled him away by the hand. It had been too long, she had said, which he understood. Women were not so different from men when it came to needs like that one, and it had been a long time since they had last been together like that.

And it was enjoyable.

But also quite futile.

So very pointless since she still didn't want to have any more children.

"I've missed you as well." Said Suzuki not lying, not really. He had missed seeing her and speaking to her and laying beside her at night but not in the way she did. She cried, sometimes, when she set eyes on him after a large amount of time had passed since they had last seen each other. Her presence was enjoyable. He enjoyed her presence…and he enjoyed the presence of very few people. She was his, that was it, she was his most perfect person. That was why he did this with her.

"Do you have really have to go again?" asked Masami. Suzuki's face remained placid, it did not display the annoyance he felt, though his aura told another story. Not that Masami could see it. That was good, he hated it when her feelings got hurt. He was expected to do something about it when she was upset though even after five years of marriage he still had no idea what it was that he was doing.

"I have to." He said simply. She nuzzled him again and he wished that she would stop moving. Their skin, his skin, felt very unpleasant as it peeled away from hers.

"You've been out of the country so much this year…you missed Sho's birthday, even." She said softly, her voice reverberating into his chest. That was true, he had missed Boy's birthday, though he had send a gift. More animals for is menagerie. The gift was appreciated of course, Boy loved animals, so Suzuki did not see the problem. Boy's birthday had been, in the grand scheme of things, just another day. There had been no reason for him to be present for it. Not like for Daughter's birthday. Daughter was an esper and it was important to see how much her abilities has grown year by year, that was all.

"God…why am I still talking about the kids? Ugh…" she sounded frustrated there. He touched her hair in a gesture of comfort even though he didn't know why she was frustrated with herself in the first place. If she didn't want to discuss the children then she shouldn't have brought them up.

"It's just….it's hard for them, sometimes, with you away so often and for so long…" said Masami softly. He kept playing with her hair even though it had a layer of sweat on it. Parts of it had been matted down, mostly likely from the position she had been in, and he used his powers to slowly unknot her hair. It was easier to touch it that way. She also seemed to find this process enjoyable. That was human instinct. It came from back when humans had to pick lice off of each other when they were primates. This he understood. This he could do.

"It's hard for me, too…being away from you. I miss you." Said Masami

"If you want to have sex more frequently we can." Said Suzuki. He thought that they were having more than enough sex, once every four to six weeks was plenty when one was not trying for a baby, but maybe an increase in the number of times they had intercourse would lead to an increase in her desire to have another child. Or maybe it was just a numbers game and eventually she would get pregnant even with that little miracle of family planning she took every single day. He had no idea where she kept them. If he had then he would have simply sabotaged them in some way. He did not understand why she didn't want to have another child. Maybe she just didn't see that it wouldn't be much of a burden on either one of them. He had several cults devoted to him and they could and would gleefully send more money at his behest. They would also trip over themselves to help her care for their new God. Well the son of their current God…and he so hoped he had a son next. Boy was somewhat of a disappointment and he wanted to know if it was just something wrong with Boy himself or if having a child with a non esper had been the reason for Boy's complete and total lack of psychic ability.

Really, a new child would be no problem at all.

He did not understand her one bit. It wasn't even so very difficult caring for children. They were mostly a collection of wants. Once those wants were filled they left you alone. Like with Boy and Daughter. All they really needed were their tablets and some junk food and they were fine. He could not begin to understand why she hovered over them so. Why she was always taking them out into the world even though she complained about the hassle.

Women were strange beings.

"It's not about the sex….I just miss being with you…ok? It's hard being…being alone all the time with just the kids for company. Isolating." Said Masami

"Do you want me to send some people to keep you company?" Said Suzuki. He was already thinking of who he could spare. The only person he had in the area was Fukuda…he supposed that Fukuda could have been moved into the house…no. Absolutely not. The feeling is irrational. Masami had no reason at all to be unfaithful to him….but still, the thought of any man but himself in his home threatens to make his aura spike.

A spike of yellow.

Not good.

He exorcised that emotion. It made no sense. She was there, with him, and she had no reason to ever be unfaithful. He fulfilled all of her needs. She had no reason to be…to want to be unfaithful. That emotion had been illogical so it had to be exorcised. All emotions were so illogical. They just got in the way and made him lose control…and he could not afford to lose control. Not when she was so close. Not when she was right there.

She was vulnerable.

But he was the most vulnerable.

"No, Touichirou, I want…I want to spend more time with you." Said Masami

"We're spending time together right now." Said Suzuki. He could not begin to understand this woman. Sometimes he liked it and sometimes he felt like banging his head against the wall until he, or the wall, collapsed. They spent a lot of time together, she was the only person in this world that he enjoyed spending time with! What more did she want from him? it wasn't as if the world was going to conquer itself, now was it?

"So if I want to spend time with you I have to sleep with you? Is that what you're saying?" she asked, though in more of a statement sort of tone. She had rolled off of him, too, and taken most of the blanket with her. He could see the pale expanse of his own skin…and he didn't like it. The freckles that dotted his body, the pale skin underneath them, the flesh and bone beneath that. His body. His vessel.

He was not his vessel.

He was more than his vessel.

"No. I'm saying…my words mean what they sound like. Right now, in this moment, we are spending time together." Said Suzuki trying to be as clear as possible. She needed to understand him because he could not understand her and one of them needed to be understood.

"I just….you don't get it. Touichirou, I miss you when you're away and I want you to be home more often." Said Masami sitting up. She had pulled the blanket up over her breasts and body, now, which Suzuki thought was very unfair. He tugged the blanket over with his powers and at least managed to cover the lower half of himself.

"I can't. I have to take care of-" said Suzuki

"Can't you delegate some of…whatever it is that you do? You're the President aren't you?" asked Masami

"I didn't get to be the President by giving away bits and pieces of my power. I have to leave, I have no choice, and what I do I do for you. I do a lot for you." Said Suzuki

"What? This house?" asked Masami waving her hand around to illustrate a point that Suzuki could not begin to understand. Yes. This house, this fortress, this 'castle' as Boy and Daughter referred to it, was something that he had done for her. it was the biggest house in the city, of course he would provide his wife and children with the best accommodations money could buy.

"Yes. The house, the money, the children, and this, as well." Said Suzuki

"What do you mean by 'this'?" asked Masami with her eyes narrowed in that way they did when a fight was brewing between them. They so rarely fought, he wouldn't even have called them fights, but she did. He had never fought her in the real way, the way in which he fought others, because he had no reason to fight her. She was his wife and she did her job. Plus she was a normal person, she had no reason to try and prove herself against him.

"Sex. You wanted to have sex so we had sex." Said Suzuki simply. That, apparently, had been the wrong thing to say. She tore the blanket off of him and used it as a robe as she got up. He sat up, too, and watched her curiously. He'd wait until she got dressed before he got dressed even though he hated being stark naked when he didn't have to be. He didn't want to upset her further. The happier she was with him the more likely she would be to have more of his children.

"I didn't hear you complaining." She said lowly. He did not understand what she was so upset about. They had been intimate with each other like she had wanted. She had finished, he knew what it felt like when she finished, and she didn't fake. That would have been even more pointless than having sex with no hope of making a child.

"I'm not complaining, I'm just stating a fact. You wanted to have sex so we had sex. There were other things that I could have been doing with that time but I chose to have sex with you because sex is a need and my job is to fulfil your needs. Even if the act of it was pointless beyond the mutual pleasure of it." Said Suzuki. Great. He had, once again, said the wrong thing. He wished that she would just write him a book of instructions. There were marriage manuals but they were often contradictory and the things that they agreed upon made no sense. Child rearing manuals were easier. At least there were books on child development that he could have read. Much less had been written on the subject of marriage and understanding the female psyche.

"Pointless?" she gasped out. He nodded.

"The point of it was to reproduce. You don't want to reproduce so it was pointless." Said Suzuki simply. Once again that was the wrong thing. He knew because she made a strangled sort of sound, well it sounded like she were being strangled even though he had never strangled her, nor had he had the need to, so he had no idea what it sounded like when she was being strangled. It still sounded strangled, though.

"I…I can't even right now." Said Masami. She held the blanket up with one hand and the other one massaged her temples like she had a migraine. She was not prone to them but if she were having a migraine she really should have called Fukuda. He'd clear that right up.

"You can…you can do whatever you want, ok? If that's the way you see it then…then you can do whatever you want." Said Masami. He closed his eyes for a moment and watched his aura. Yep. There it was, a power flare. He'd have to break himself of that if he wanted to set a good example for Daughter.

"I don't understand why you're so upset. I did what you wanted." Said Suzuki as calmly as he could. People were always so strange, so confusing, to him. He had always told himself that when he ruled the world he would have no more need to try and understand them, that they would have to try and understand him for once, but Masami was his wife…he would be trying to understand her for the rest of his life. Wonderful.

"You just said that sex with me is pointless!" said Masami. She was shouting loudly, much too loudly, in Suzuki's opinion. It was his understanding that children as young as Boy and Daughter were to be kept in the dark about the existence of sex for as long as could be managed. That would prove to be a bit difficult with their mother screaming at the top of her lungs…well it felt like, anyway.

"It's pointless but pleasurable. I didn't hear you complaining, you seemed to be enjoying yourself as I recall." Said Suzuki evenly. She let the blanket fall to the ground and began to gather up her clothes. He used his powers to help her, to try and re-establish a peace that he wasn't sure when he had broken, but that just seemed to upset her more. She snatched her clothes from his telekinetic grasp and put them on with much more force than necessary.

"You-you-you-! I can't get into this with you right now! God! And you wonder why I don't want to have any more children!" said Masami as she finished dressing. She kicked the blanket towards him, threw the door opened, and then slammed it shut. He had no idea what had upset her so, what he had done, but he'd make it up to her later. He'd bring her back something nice from…whichever country it was that he was headed to next. Yes, he'd bring her something and then that would be how they made their peace once again.

That had been so pointless.

He gathered his clothes up and dressed quickly, powers were helpful when it came to that. He'd take a bath if she wasn't in there already. He'd give her some space even though he had no idea what it was that she was so upset about. Women were such complicated creatures. He hoped that Daughter continued to take after him as she got older. He could not handle two Masamis. He could barely understand her as it was. Daughter at least was much easier to understand. She liked praise and toys and milk and junk food. Easy. He had no idea, he could not begin to understand, what Masami wanted.

He didn't need to understand her to care for her.

Even if their argument had been an exercise in futility.