The redhead cautiously approached the auburn-haired person sitting at one of the tables outside the main campus cafeteria from behind. Being so engrossed in skillfully shuffling a worn, green deck of cards between two swift hands left the target wide open. The victim: Fiammetta Timo. The victor: Karma Akabane.

"You know, tesoro, I can tell when you're trying to sneak up on me." The person turned to give their would-be assailant a charming smile. "Because the angels always start to sing."

The redhead's lips curled back into a sadistic smirk. "Don't you mean screaming?"

"Heh, you're probably right but, demon or not, you're still my queen." As if to emphasize the point, fingers nimbly slipped the Queen of Hearts from the middle of the deck and waved it in front of orange eyes.

Karma rolled those tiger eyes as the words fell on pink ears. "You always try to be so damn smooth, ya know that? It's so damn cheesy!" Karma snatched the cards up and began shuffling them begrudgingly.

"But you still love me, right~?" A soft chuckle reverberated melodically as the words left and soft lips pressed against Karma's cheek. "Why were you narrating your sneak attack?"

"I thought it would be dramatic, and it got you to stop paying attention to those stupid cards of yours." Karma smirked. "I can do magic too and make those clothes of yours disappear."

Cheeks flushed a vivacious shade of red. "D-Don't do this to me now. I have physics in a half hour."

"Aw, c'mon. You can skip, can't you?" Karma whispered in low voice.

Peridot were eyes averted as a bottom lip was bitten back. "I can't miss this lab, Karma. D-Dio, c-can you get your hands o-out from inside my sh-shirt?"

"Are you being shy? It's not like we haven't done this before, Fino~." Karma teased, turning to straddle his lap. Her hands locked like a vault behind her boyfriend's head in order to make escape absolutely impossible. She leaned in to have her lips brush tantalizingly against his. "Only last week, I had you like putty in the palm of my hand." As if to emphasize her point, Karma let her hands wander down Fino's chest and abdomen again.

"Cazzo! Th-that's different! We were at your place then." Hands firmly grasped the roaming ones before they could find their way lower. Fino shook his wine-red face quickly. "Besides, aren't you meeting with the disciplinary committee later today?"

"Yeah, they're pissed 'cause I set alarm clocks to ring every minute and a half and hid them all around campus." She scoffed as she flipped her long velvet locks over her shoulder and turned around to lean back against Fino's chest.

Her male counterpart wrapped his arms around the girl's waist as he nestled into her neck. "You sure it wasn't because you rigged the vents with both chili AND itching powder?" He laughed dryly.

After a moment's thought, Karma grinned. "Yeah, it could have been that too. All the sneezing, naked people jumping into the pool was hilarious though," she remarked bluntly, scoffing. "Those assholes had it coming."

Fino sighed as he shooked his head with a slight smile. "You better not let them hear you say that, or else you'll be in even more trouble." After a moment, his cheeks puffed out around a pout as he shot his beloved an accusing glance. "I got caught up in that prank too, Karma."

"Buuut, I made you feel better after that, didn't I~?" The redhead smiled wolfishly and ran her hands along the Italian's thighs. "Been playing soccer again, huh?" she asked as she tried to grope him.

"Yes, and I see that you've been 'shopping' again," Fino, bearing strawberry cheeks, noted as he tugged on his girlfriend's red, black-lace trimmed bra strap peeking out from her shirt collar with a single finger.

Karma's allowed her sharp canine teeth to show in her smirk and emulated the aura of the Big Bad Wolf. "All the better to tease you with, my dear~ Don't you dare think Little Red Tsundere-Face is gonna escape getting eaten this time."

"I think the little one in red is you, carina," Fino replied simply as he affectionately ran his hand through her hair.

She growled and swatted his hand away dismissively. "You're going to be the red one after this, either from what I want to do to you or the slap you're going to get if you keep being such a damned cock-block!"

Humming, Fino brought Karma's hand to his lips and placed light kisses along her fingertips. Normally, she would have gouged out the eyes of any guy who did that with the long, painted-red claws she called nails, but Karma resolved herself to sigh, smiling affectionately at her adoring flame. Heavy-lidded harlequin green eyes sitting under full lashes met saffron eyes gazing lovingly back. They moved in for a kiss when the clock tower bellowed to mark fifteen after.

Fino leaned back and sighed as the couple turned their gazes annoyedly to the towering bell. He kissed his girlfriend's temple and caressed her cheek gently before grabbing his one-strap bag from the table and slowly pushing himself to his feet. Checking the time on his cell phone, Fino saluted Karma with his phone in hand, causing the jeweled dagger charm, a present from her, to swing as if it were saluting her too. "I have to get to lab, but call me if you need anything!" He smiled sweetly as he turned and took off running.

Karma crossed her legs and arms. Even when Fino didn't have time, he seemed to still make some for stupid mushy signs of affection. It was just part of him being forthcoming and sincere about how he felt about her. Although it was obvious that he loved her, Karma found herself questioning what made him so different from the other guys she had wrapped around her finger - that is, until they realized how much of a "Miss Demeanor" she actually was. Was it because he could see through her defenses and didn't care? Could he actually like those darker parts of her? Or was he just stupid? Karma clicked her tongue. Tch. How annoying.

She couldn't understand him at all, the way he first approached her for no other motive than to get to know her. Biting her thumb, she thought hard. They were both top of their class, but he wasn't trying to usurp her rank or put an end to her then already-famous pranking streak. Karma knew that he hadn't been trying to seduce her; it wasn't possible with that ridiculously-flustered state he'd get into when they first met.

The friendship had been really rocky at first, what with her trying to lose him at every turn, but they had soon-enough become best friends, studying, laughing, crying, running the town together under the vast, ever-changing American sky. Karma fiddled with the fraying end of a lock of her hair as she reminisced about the past two and a half years, almost unable to believe that they'd been dating for only the last year. She felt herself involuntarily smile as she thought of Fino's lush eyes and silly, shy smile that always seemed to be affectionately fixed on her.

Stretching limber arms under the afternoon sun, Karma stood and placed her hands on her hips. It was going to be another good day.

A voice from the campus P.A. suddenly burst through the speakers in an angry, frantic manner. "TO THE PERSON WHO GREASED ALL OF THE STAIRWAYS, MADE THE POOL DYE SKIN BLUE, AND LET LOOSE THREE PIGS LABELED 1, 2, AND 4 - YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE, MS. AKA -!" A throat was cleared and the voice began again in a forced, polite tone. "Please, whoever the culprit might be, although I already have a feeling I know who it is, come to the President's Office IMMEDIATELY."

The redhead snickered. "Aw, that secretary didn't credit me for the condom water-balloon fight in the freshman dorm! But, if she asks so politely, I have no choice but to go, right?" Sarcasm surged from her fluid voice as she stuck her tongue out indifferently and shoved her hands in her pockets and made her way towards the student center.


Fino lowered his tapping pen as Karma wandered into the physics laboratory later that afternoon. Ignoring the disdainful whispers of several of his classmates, he made his way over the doorway and took Karma's hands.

"What are you doing here?" he asked with concern. "Did something happen?"

Karma rolled her tired eyes. "I'm fine, but they wanted me to make something to counteract the dye in the pool. Apparently, the rich faculty doesn't want to pay a clean up crew. Even though it'd be easier to just drain the damned pool and refill it, they're using the excuse that this is going to 'teach me a lesson' or some shit."

Pulling her into a hug, Fino sighed softly. "I take it you want me to make the neutralizer?"

"Please and thank you," Karma muttered. "Do you need to go back now or can I kidnap you?" she grumbled, glaring at the other students as her fingers dug into the back of her comforter's shirt. "I friggin' hate their stuck-up attitudes."

Fino glanced at his professor, who doubled as his academic advisor, and smiled when he got the nod of approval to go. The Italian quickly gathered his stuff and wrapped his arm around Karma's waist as she led him outside the classroom.


Frustratedly, Karma kicked a miniature, red bell alarm clock aside as she plopped down on the floor of her room. It struck a larger pile of several dozen identical clocks, which all clanged together, reverberating, under the metallic impact. Inspired by the clamor, Fino patiently struck a few resounding chords on his green and white acoustic guitar.

The scowling woman, sighing heavily, plopped down onto the floor with a plastic bag brimming, stretched almost to its breaking point, with several jars and containers. She watched the man sitting on her unkempt bed strum, impassioned, for a few more chords before she dumped the bag's contents at his feet.

"All you need to do is see what I used and how much, right?" she asked boredly, sticking her tongue out.

Fino scanned over the contents on the floor and smiled. "Exactly. But…" Verdant eyes found Karma sighing heavily and staring blankly up at the ceiling. He placed the guitar aside and smiled softly. "Can we lay down for a little bit? I haven't seen you in what feels like forever…" He extended his hand and warm gaze to her.

Karma accepted his hand and found herself wrapped up in a tight embrace. She smiled bittersweetly. "Someone's being direct today. You aren't going to try to make an excuse this time?"

"I'm a horrible liar and you know it," Fino protested with a blush as he gazed at the woman just an inch away from him on the pillow. He adoringly brushed her loose locks away from her face and tucked them neatly behind her ear before returning his hand to rest gently on her hip. "You seem upset. What is the administration having you do this time?"

Karma rolled her eyes with a huffing scoff. "They want me to enter another math competition and take the team to nationals. The president wants me to do some tutoring too." She sighed as she played inattentively with Fino's cross earing. "Well, if it keeps me from being suspended, I guess I can spare some time. This is friggin' pissing me off, though."

He chuckled and pressed his lips to his partner's forehead. "Would you mind if I went to cheer you on?"

"It really won't be a big deal, but I wouldn't be able to stop you anyway, would I?" She smiled slightly and jabbed Fino's cheek with a finger.

"Ow!" The auburn-haired man pouted and rubbed his cheek with the back of his hand. "That huwt!" he grumbled, smiling as Karma started laughing lightly. "If I didn't go, I'd be surrendering the victory kiss to some other guy!" Fino protested the thought indignantly.

Karma smirked. "It's a promise, then, but what if I want more than a kiss?" She wiggled her eyebrows jokingly as she repeatedly winked exaggeratedly and grinned toothily up at him.

Fino hummed in thought. "Then you'll have to win. You always do~."

"Would you ever assume otherwise?" She replied, wearing a cocky smile.

"Of course not, amore." He placed a light kiss on her lips. "But, I would say that I'm a winner too. You know why that is?" Fino watched those lips purse as if to warn him against continuing, but he just chuckled. "Because I feel like a winner every time you smile at me."

Karma scoffed. "That was even cheesier than before!"

"Is it more like mozzarella or provolone~?" Fino laughed at his own bad joke, only to get a hard pinch to his nose. His voice now nasally, he squeaked out a "Mi arrendo! Mi arrendo! (I surrender/I give up!)" from a scrunched-up face. Once released, he shot a pouty look at his love. "What was that for?!"

"For the stupid comment! Kono baka! (You idiot!)" The redhead sighed, but couldn't help but break into the slightest of giggles as the boyish person across from her laughed lightly at her attempt at being harsh with him - which always failed, not that she would ever admit it. She stared into his smiling face for a few moments longer before moving in to kiss him, lingering as if to seal their lips together for eternity.

Fino's eyes shut in surprise but he intuitively kissed her back, gently fitting them together. When they pulled back, hesitantly and slowly, amber met emerald and suddenly lips fervently connected once again, trembling under a turbulent and rolling magnetic storm brewing over the soft, subdued undercurrent of a dancing flame. Simultaneously, hands grasped at the other's clothes desperately until a knock suddenly pounded on the door.

Sighing, the couple separated begrudgingly as they separated. Straightening her disheveled clothes, Karma got up and went to throw open her door with a sour expression.

"What do you want, Ryan?" She demanded. "I'm more than a little busy."

The average-looking male grinned. "I heard a juicy little tidbit about our star mathlete taking the team to nationals!"

Unamused, Karma slammed the door in his face. "Fucking Ryan! He's always in our business and gossiping about one thing or another!"

"Should I interview the rest of the team?" he called through the door.

"Go screw yourself, Ryan!" Karma spat back.

"Fine, fine. At least I'll keep it quiet - unlike you two!"

"HEY!" Karma threw open the door with a growl and glared him down as he retreated back to his own room. She closed the door again with a huff and an annoyed scowl. "Fucking Ryan…"

Fino buttoned up his shirt and laughed lightly, holding his arms open to welcome Karma back into his embrace. He sat, holding her on the bed for a few peaceful moments before placing a kiss on her cheek.

"He isn't so bad, is he?" Fino asked tentatively.

"Not so bad? It's his fault that people thought you were dating that girl you were tutoring…" Karma sighed. "And how many times has he interrupted us now?"

"... Fucking Ryan," he tried to say, albeit awkwardly. "Fucking Ryan!" he exclaimed with more confidence.

Karma laughed and turned to wrap her arms around his neck. Slowly, he brought his arms around her waist and buried his face in her neck. He breathed in the metallic scent wafting from her skin and smiled against her collarbone. He lived for these tender moments. She was C43H66N12O12S2 (Oxytocin). She was C10H14N2 (Nicotine). The reasons why he craved her constantly, the one person who made him feel like he could melt forever.

"Karma?" Fino called quietly. He bit his lip back, afraid of sounding too much like a child. "I love you… I'll always need you, just like this. I'm only ever me when I'm with you."

Karma closed her eyes and rested her head against his, hiding her blush in his hair. "Hey, save that sappy stuff."

Fino laughed into her neck. "You fight well," he offered as he laced his fingers through her long locks.

"Oh?"

"But you kiss better~."

Rolling marmalade eyes, Karma placed a gentle kiss on Fino's lips. Affectionately, he dotingly placed kisses on her forehead, cheeks, nose, neck - anywhere he could reach and everything he loved. Laughing she rested her head against his chest and the two's will to do anything dissipated like the last rays of the setting sun outside their open window.


Left Brain: Hello readers.

Right Brain: Wait! (Applies Filter) Ok, you can continue!

Left Brain: (sigh) I hope you enjoyed this little gem Right Brain wrote. Sorry if Chapter 33 got to you... That one paragraph does test the upper limits of T. To C, was it endothermic enough for you? ...Joking! Right brain and I are on Hiatus. We plan to get back to posting in July... Late August at the latest. Sorry to all of you waiting, especially Guest 3. We are literally half a continent and an ocean apart right now, so collaboration is at a minimal at the moment. (Pushes filter away) Was that really necessary?

Right brain: Yes! (o 3 ~)/