Hello, everyone! Welcome to another chapter! Where do I even begin… I struggled with a concussion as well as a Thrombophlebitis in the left side of my neck that led to my brain after the accident and was having memory issues with my short-term along with speaking troubles. I could remember my husband, my family and friends, but I had troubles remembering things from the last 2 years. It wasn't until last week when I began remembering things and have recovered nearly everything I had forgotten. I still get migraines, but the medications are helping a ton. Thank you all for being patient and waiting! Anyway, on with the reading!

Console

His fingers gripped the steering wheel until his knuckles grew white. Something within him screamed to keep his foot pressed against the throttle as his eyes stared out across the asphalt. The air was pierced with the sound of gunshots and glass shattering. Smoke filled his lungs as the sensation of rolling overcame his senses. Someone was screaming, but who? His eyes slid from the black road that was constantly appearing and disappearing in front of him to find- "Akiza!" She was reaching for him as the world tipped.

Yusei's eyes fluttered slightly as the remnants of the dream clung to his consciousness. They glanced towards his bedside table clock and blinked at the hazy figures as his still somewhat fogged brain registered the numbers. Why in the world had he woken up at two in the morning? He was just settling back into his pillow when he felt something twitch against his back. They must have shifted onto their other sides in their sleep, him facing door as she faced the window. He shifted as silently as he could so that he was facing her back. His head rose from the pillow as the sound of muffled sniffling reached his ears, wide awake and aware of how her body was trembling. Heart heavy with worry, he slipped his arm between her neck and the bed as his other arm wrapped around her waist.

She didn't resist his embrace as his arms wrapped around her from behind. The pillow she had been snuggling into was moist with the tears that she had silently shed. "I'm sorry, did I wake you?" she whispered, not trusting her voice to be any louder due to the tightness of her throat. Thanks to the wine and excitement of the party, she had fallen asleep fairly quickly and without a problem. That didn't keep the nightmares from visiting her though and she had woken up close to midnight from one. This one in particular had caused her wake and find herself in a cold sweat and found her two feline companions nuzzling her face, their eyes reflecting the moonlight coming in from the window.

His body shifted so that Akiza's molded with him. "Do you want to talk about it?" When he received silence, he released her and turned on the beside lamp as he sat up. The worry in his heart intensified as he spotted Star and Bullet at her side. Star in particular was nuzzling her chin with more vigor than Yusei had ever seen. "Then would you like to join me for an early morning snack?" Akiza cast a glance towards the clock as she wiped the last traces of tears from the corners of her eyes. She insisted that she was alright and that they should return to bed. Her eyes grew wide as he gently grasped her hand and pulled her to her feet, easily catching her when she lost her balance for a split second. "How about we get some fresh air then?"

It was as if Bullet and Star sounded their approval before jumping to the floor. Their eyes were wide as they looked from one signer to the other. The night was clear with no cloud in the sky, allowing the stars to twinkle brightly as if they were diamonds, and the full moon bathing everything in a pale silvery glow. Tonight was a perfect night for her to go out. Their ears drooped as she sighed, using a hand to comb her hair briefly before she turned to the scientist.

"It's two in the morning, Yusei," she forced her lips into what she hoped was an assuring smile as she attempted to retreat to the bed. "Let's just go back to sleep." Her eyes widened as the bed knocked against the backs of her knees, causing her to tumble backwards onto the mattress…with Yusei! All breath left her as they fell onto the bed, Yusei keeping his weight off her by bracing himself against the mattress with his arms. Their faces flushed brightly as they discovered that their lower halves were pressed intimately against one another; one of her legs had wrapped itself instinctively around his own that wasn't mere centimeters from making contact with her womanhood. Horror filled her as she recalled that she had opted out of wearing bottoms to bed tonight and attempted to clench her thighs so that her undergarment wasn't visible. A surprised gasp escaped between her lips as all her actions managed to achieve was to bring his knee flush against her clothed nether lips. "A-ah!" She was startled with how breathless she sounded, blushing at the almost needy tone that had entered her voice.

He would have instantly pulled away if it wasn't for the sudden softness against his being, not to mention the leg tangled with his own. Her hair had come undone from the messy bun and was now splayed out across the mattress and her nightshirt. By the stars, he was trying his hardest not to let his eyes wander from her face but all her wiggling around was awakening something that he hoped she couldn't feel. Shivers shot down his spine as her movements suddenly shifted his knee against her nether lips. Her gasp made his blood boil and the hardness between his legs grown ten-fold. "S-sorry," he whispered, reaching down and gently unwrapping her leg from his own. Yusei was unable to look her in the eye as he removed himself from her and shifted to sit on the other side of the bed. "I'll be right back." And with that, he slipped out the door, leaving her to her thoughts.

His footsteps were heavy as he made his way down the staircase and slipped into the kitchen. The granite countertops sparkled subtly in the hanging lights above the sink that he flipped on. With a wave of his hand, water began to flow from the bronze faucet. Yusei stuck his head under the running water as he cursed himself. Akiza was undergoing a crisis with Darwin, why in the cosmos did he have to come off like a hormonal driven low-life?! Another wave of his hand ceased the water's flow as he clenched his eyes tightly, attempting to force the tent to relax once more. "Stupid," he muttered under his breath as he finally accomplished his goal. "Damnit it, she probably wants to move back to that house than stay here."

"I wouldn't say that," Akiza called from the kitchen doorway, a pair of newly acquired workout shorts peeking out from the under the nightshirt. Her head was tilted slightly to the right and her hands were clasped behind her back, though her cheeks still held a faint pink tinge. "Don't beat yourself up too much, okay? It was just an accident." She slowly took steps toward him and began dabbing at his soaked hair with a small cloth. His eyes fell to the tiled floor as she gently massaged his head with her fingertips, nearly sliding shut as her fingernails traced patterns across his scalp.

Before he had realized it, they had found their way to the living room and his head had been placed in her lap as she leaned against the armrest of the faux leather couch. Her movements had never once stalled and the simple yet fluid motions helped ease her racing mind. "I dreamt about the accident."

Yusei's eyes widened as she spoke of her dream. His heart clenched as she explained that the sight of him unconscious in the driver's seat with blood trickling down his face had been haunting her this whole time and his breath caught as she shakily confessed that she had used her power to get them out of the totaled vehicle but had been powerless against the members of Viktor's gang. "I felt so helpless as they tore you away from me…" she whispered, biting her lip as tears stung her eyes.

"But you weren't," he offered a smile as he tilted his head upward so his cobalt orbs could meet her toffee. "You were able to kill their engines without so much of a blink and I never knew that you saved me from the wreckage. I thought they had pulled me out, but I'm so surprised and proud at how much control you have." His hand rose and brushed a few of her tears away with his fingertips. "Akiza, I've been telling you this from day one and I'll say it again: you have to love yourself first if you want to find true happiness."

She nodded. His words had stayed with her all these years and she had worked up a sense of self worth that she was prepared to show him when she had invited them to stay with her, but then everything spiraled out of control. Everything that she had been working on, all the self-motivation and self confidence boosting had gone down the drain in just a few short evenings between Darwin and the accident.

"I wish you could see what I could," Yusei whispered, sitting up and facing her as his hands cupped her face. "Your eyes sparkle when you talk about your friends, your smile lights up the room, the honesty in your words makes those around you appreciate your opinion, your unbelievably beautiful brain with it's quick thinking and problem solving, and the way that you glow when you talk about things you love such as gardening." His heart clenched tightly as her cheeks tinted with pink. She was so beautiful, inside and out, and he wanted nothing more than to prove it to her. "Akiza, I already love you for you. If you need help in loving yourself, I can help you."

Akiza's heart stopped at his words. "What did you say?" They had only said it to each other once, maybe twice, but the way he had said it just now… She moved so that her hands rested against his chest as his hands fell to her waist. "Please…say it again."

Yusei's cobalt orbs darkened into sapphire as her caramel locked with his. He gently brushed his lips across her own, earning a soft sigh before he stole her breath away with a gentle yet passionate kiss. Her eyes slid shut as his lips moved hers in a slow and sensual dance that caused her heart to hammer against her chest, the ghost of a moan in her throat as one of his hands rose and brushed a lock of her hair behind her ear. "I'll say it as many times as you need," he whispered, kissing every inch of her face as she practically clung to him. "I love you, Akiza. I love you so more than I can ever express."

"Yusei…" Her eyes fluttered shut as he embraced her gently, placing her ear against the spot where his heart was. The strong rhythmic beating was so soothing and the warmth radiating from him was blissful. "I…love you…"

His lips lifted into a smile as Akiza's eyes slid closed and her breathing deepened. Yusei grasped one of the thin blankets from the back of the couch and draped it over their figures while settling into the sofa. "I hope you have sweet dreams this time," he whispered, kissing her hair as his own eyes slid to a close. One eye cracked as two light weights hopped up onto the sofa. Star and Bullet briefly nuzzled his face then settled themselves along the couch's back rest.

Well? What do you all think? Hopefully it wasn't too horrible. Let me know in the comments!