Mari was having a dream she was being squeezed by a python and dragged underwater. When she woke up, she found out why. Reality had affected the content of her dreams.

They were laying on their sides facing each other. Denji's arms ensconced her midsection, compressing her ribs and preventing her from inhaling a complete breath. His hands pressed against her shoulder blades pulling her into him to squeeze her even tighter. No wonder she felt like she was being embraced by a something big and muscular.

One of her breasts acted as a pillow for Denji's head. Snoring up a storm and drooling to boot, the moisture seeping from his mouth had trickled between her breasts and soaked the bed under her. That explains the river in her dream.

"Ew," she murmured, trying to ignore the wetness. Grunting and attempting to wiggle in his arms accomplished nothing because she was barely able to breathe much less move. "Denji? Denji, wake up."

"Mmmmm," he groaned and hugged her tighter.

"Oh, my God," she wheezed. I never imagined I'd die like this! She slapped his back lightly like a wrestler conceding the match. Her lungs needed air. "Denji, wake up."

"Mmmm, these pillows are amazing. So soft," he mumbled, nuzzling in between her breasts.

Mari started giggling, a choked, gasping type of laugh but she was laughing nonetheless. Her jiggling breasts pressed against his face and vibrated his body. The movement roused him enough to loosen his arms allowing her to noisily suck in a deep breath before he hugged her to his body again.

She had no idea how he could breathe with his face buried so deeply in her cleavage. Tugging at his earlobe, she tried to pull his face back but he stubbornly pressed his nose to her sternum. Grabbing a fistful of hair at at his crown, she pulled - hard - extricating his face from what had obviously become his happy place.

The rumbling snore through his nose was amplified by his open mouth. Mari contemplated if he sounded something like this when he was in his Chainsaw Man form. After learning of his identity, she had found herself pondering what he would look like. Would she be terrified of him? Disgusted? She was not sure if she ever wanted to find out how she would feel about Denji after seeing him in his Devil form.

Growing desperate to awaken him, Mari pinched his nose and placed her hand over his mouth to cut off his air supply because he was still limiting her ability to breathe. His arms unwound from her body which enabled to inhale a deep breath at last. Before his hands could seize hers, she quickly pulled them away.

"What the fuck?" he mumbled sleepily, flopping over onto his back and sucking in air.

"Are you okay?" Mari asked, propping up on her elbow to look at him.

"I was having the weirdest dream," he said, staring at the ceiling. "i dreamed I was sleeping in the clouds. The were so soft and warm."

"Hmm, imagine that," she murmured, placing her hand on his chest over his heart.

The heart of a Devil beat there. Pochita had loved this human enough to save him. Maybe some Devils knew more about love than some humans. Mari could feel the smile forming on her face as she watched Denji raising his arm toward the ceiling, curling his fingers in a grasping motion.

"I always thought clouds would be cold. And wet," he added, opening his hand. "I'm sure you'd fall right through them. A storm came. Then there was thunder."

Mari bit her lower lip to withhold a giggle. That must have been he was snoring.

"The cloud covered my face, and I couldn't breathe. I was getting choked by the damn cloud. But even so...despite that...the dream was so nice," Denji yawned, stretching his arms above his head.

Mari took hold of his forearm as his arm dropped toward his side. She pulled his hand down to her breast. As soon as his palm touched her skin, his fingers flexed to hold her breast.

"Sometimes reality is better than a dream, isn't it?" she asked, leaning toward him to kiss his lightly blushed cheek.

"Not until now," he replied, turning his head to look at her. "Reality kinda sucked for the most part, and my dreams were my only escape."

"Yeah, I know what you mean," she returned, stroking her thumb across his cheek as she cupped his jaw.

Her reality had certainly gotten a lot better since he came into her life. She felt like she no longer needed her old escapes of wine, prescription pills, and sleep to cope. He had given her the courage and desire to change a lot of things about herself.

Mari moved over on top of him, straddling his hips. Pressing her mouth to his, accepting his seeking tongue, she felt his erection shift under her as if he was letting her know he was fully awake now. Without breaking their kiss, she balanced on one hand, reaching down with the other to take hold of him and guide him into her body.

Denji moaned into her mouth, his tongue stroking hers. His hands grasped her hips to hold her as he pushed up into her, lifting both of them from the bed.

Her palms flattened against his chest, her fingers hooking over his collarbones. She pushed herself up to be sitting on top of him. Sliding her hands down his pectorals, she leaned forward to slide her body upwards.

Taking advantage of her current position, Denji's hands went to her lightly swinging breasts to touch and squeeze, pinch and caress, to his heart's content while she rocked her body on top of him. He would not mind if she woke him up like this every morning.

Mari arched her back and lifted her face to the ceiling, calling out his name to the sky. He pinched her nipples as if acknowledging the pleasure he was bringing her by heightening it with that little dab of pain. Thrusting her body down onto him then grinding her pubis into his, she pushed him and her both to the edge of ecstasy. Drawing her body back to the tip of his penis, she surged forward with a fast and hard thrust of her hips.

Denji sat up, hooking his arms under hers to grasp her shoulders and pull her downward. Before she reached the hilt, he thrust his hips upward to impale her harder. Her arms went around his shoulders, pulling him close as she swayed her hips to push them both closer to a climax.

"Oh, Denji," she gasped, clamping her knees onto his hips to increase the speed of her undulating hips.

Arching her back into him, throwing back her head, she opened her mouth to emit moans steadily rising in volume as she ran for that blissful finish. Her body started to convulse with the beginning of her orgasm. His arms lowered to enclose her waist as her hips shuddered and ceased their rhythmic movements.

Oh, that's it! I made her come...damn, Denji thought, observing her riding out the orgasm, her entire body moving in jerky, uneven motions.

"You're so fucking beautiful," he panted, staring up at her.

Totally lost in the pleasure, her eyes were closed tightly but her mouth open wide in a silent scream. Her tanned cheeks were given even more color by her intense magenta blush. Seeing the pleasure he brought her enticed him to quickly follow with an orgasm of his own.

Mari rode him a champion cowgirl while he bucked under her, jostling her around so violently she crammed his face between her breasts to hold on more securely to his shoulders. When he finally stilled, they were both shaking and breathless, embracing each other as if they were the only thing keeping the other grounded.

"Mmmm," she hummed, content and happy to be in his arms and relishing the warm afterglow of fantastic lovemaking.

Neither would dare to call it mere sex. Denji was not only sexually gratified but completely fulfilled. He had not just achieved a goal but he felt satisfied and happy. This experience was something so far removed from being disillusioning and downright regrettable like the others. For once, reality exceeded his fantasy.

Even Mari would have to admit Makima was right. Sex really is different when genuine emotions are involved. And that is why it's called making love.

Mari had experienced empty, meaningless sex. That was one of the reasons why it was so important to her for Denji to not have another disappointing first. Sex with him was something she had never experienced before either. She felt satisfied, tranquil - a sense of completeness. There was no empty sucking hole left inside of her as if something had punched through her chest and stolen a part of her heart away. Instead, she felt as if he had given her something; perhaps a part of himself, to fill in those voids her poor choices had created.

"I understand the difference," Denji whispered, embracing her tightly before releasing to permit her to breathe.

"You're a part of me now," she whispered, kissing his cheek. She placed her hand over his heart. "You've become a part of my heart. You know exactly what I mean...don't you?"

"I do," he assured her, placing his hand over hers.

Mari cleared her throat to stuff down the ball of emotions there. She blinked rapidly to push back the tears that wanted to fall. Although she did not want to move, she knew they needed to get up and prepare for the day.

"Come on," she said, dismounting him to stand beside the bed. Taking him by the hand, she encouraged him to get up. "Let's go take a shower together. Nayuta will be here soon. You should be ready to greet her when she arrives."

While the water heated, Mari sat out fluffy white towels for them. Denji stepped in first, reaching for her hand to pull her in with him. The water bounced off his chest and into her eyes. As she rubbed them to get it out, he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her under the jets of water from the showerhead. The water soaked their hair while he kissed her. The rivulets of water ran down their faces and between their lips when he tilted his head to shift his mouth over hers.

"I think I've created a monster. A love monster," Mari added with a giggle. She had laughed more since knowing him than she had in years.

"I'm defnitely addicted to you," Denji admitted.

"And you have become my drug of choice," she confessed, smiling up at him.

"Vitamin D injection?"

Mari unleashed a braying donkey laugh. She covered her mouth to hold it back, her cheeks reddening. Denji pulled her hand away from her mouth.

"Don't ever hold back. Laugh as long and as loud as you want to, and don't be embarrassed," he said, kissing her forehead. "I love making you happy."

"Oh, Denji," she sighed, permitting the tears to slip from her eyes. He couldn't see them anyway since the water washed them away.

Mari grabbed the bottle of lavender scented shampoo, squeezing some into her hand then into his outstretched palm. She did not expect his hands to go into her hair to begin massaging the soap into a lather on her head. Pushing up on her tiptoes, she returned the favor by washing his hair.

Denji groaned happily, a little smile forming on his face, when she used her fingernails to scrub his scalp. He closed his eyes, relishing the sensation of her massaging his scalp.

"What are you cooking for breakfast?" he asked, his empty belly growling as if on cue.

"i am going to make you a traditional American breakfast," she replied, pushing his head under the water to rinse out the soap.

"American breakfast?" The water burbled across his lips as he spoke.

"I think you'll like it. Eggs, bacon, pan fried potatoes, and toast with lots of butter and jam."

As if he did not like the sound of it already, she really had him at the mention of toast and jam, his absolute favorite.

"It's homemade jam too," she added, running her fingers through his hair. "I made several flavors. Blackberry. Blueberry. Pear preserves. Orange marmalade."

"You made them?"

"Uh huh."

His mouth watered. As much as he wanted to rush to get to breakfast, he was really enjoying her hands running all over his body with the strange scratchy poofy thing and vanilla scented body wash. He liked her fancy, nicely scented soaps.

Denji typically used a plain old bar of soap scented like...well, it smelled like soap. He didn't know another way to describe it. At least it got him clean and made him smell good. This stuff would make him smell like her. He actually liked the idea of being able to smell her on his body all day long.

"You're not putting those back on are you?" Mari asked when he grabbed his school uniform pants.

"Well, I could go next door and grab something," he suggested, grabbing the towel to wrap it back around his waist.

"To keep you from walking half naked down the hall and neighbors freaking out, I can give you something of mine to wear for now."

The idea of literally getting into her pants intrigued him. Denji sat down on the bed while she dug around in her closet for something. He could see an entire chest of drawers shoved in the back hiding behind her jackets and other cold weather clothes she would needing soon.

The weather was already cooling down but Autumn had not yet fully arrived. After the intense heat and stifling humidity of summer, a change in temperature was more than welcome. Snuggle weather was coming which would provide him with more opportunities to cuddle her.

"Here," she said, throwing a huge ball of gray and mustard yellow cloth at him.

The gray was a pair of sweatpants. They might be loose and long on her but on him the pants fit tightly and hit him mid calf. The hooded sweatshirt fit better. She probably had to buy shirts two sizes bigger to accommodate her ginormous rack anyway and this had been bought even bigger to be loose so it fit him quite well.

"There. You look comfortable," Mari said, pulling a black tank top over her head. She put on another pair of gray sweatpants and a black hoodie.

She pulled a fabric headband out of the pocket. Pulling it over her head, she pushed it back into her hair. Black cat ears peeked out of her hair. The silver sequined triangular middles of the ears separated the jet black fabric from her equally black curls.

"You look cute," Denji complimented her. With no make up on and her curls all askew, she looked like a kid wearing her big brother or father's clothing. He looked like a dope wearing his adorable girlfriend's clothes - and he couldn't be prouder of the outfit.

"I was thinking about making cold udon noodles for dinner. I can make them ahead of time and not be stuck in the kitchen," Mari said as they walked toward that destination. "Ginger sesame noodles. Salad and pickled radish for sides. Something light and easy. And we've got the cake for dessert. Sound good?"

"Yep," he responded, taking a seat at the counter to watch her while she cooked breakfast. "Are you nervous about meeting Nayuta?"

"Very," she sighed, exhaling a deep breath. "I'm afraid she won't like me. Especially since..."

Especially since she's a reincarnation of Makima, Mari thought without saying the words out loud. From what little he had told her, Makima treated Denji like a possession, a toy to be played with until he broke and was no longer useful. But he had loved her dearly.

Her lips pressed together into a thin white line of fury. He was not trash; something to be disposed of after that woman attempted to use him up. She hated Makima without even meeting her for treating him that way.

Denji studied her as she moved fast, her hands trembling slightly. Maybe she was concerned Makima was jealous and possessive as well as controlling. Perhaps she feared that part of Makima might awaken inside of Nayuta if she felt like someone was stealing the affections of her loyal dog. But he would not allow that to happen. Nayuta had been brought to him for that very reason; to rid her of the selfishness and cruelty which was such a big part of Makima.

"Don't worry. She'll love you," Denji assured her.

"I hope so," Mari sighed, not sounding convinced.

"Just like I do," he added, a big smile stretching his lips when her eyes flew to his face.

Mari walked over to the counter, leaning across it to deliver a gentle kiss directly to his lips.

"You're so sweet. I love you too."

Mari cooked the bacon first. Once it was removed from the pan she tossed in the diced potatoes to cook in the bacon fat.

"Why did you chose American?" he asked. She was getting too deep in thought. The frown of concentration had turned to an angry glower.

"I am American," she said, pouring them both glasses of orange juice.

"That explains why the English words were so easy for you," he said, accepting the glass of juice from her. "Why did you come here?"

Mari ran her finger around the rim of the glass, resisting the urge to open a bottle of champagne to make a mimosa. She wanted the alcohol to numb her rattled nerves, but she didn't want to rely on that crutch anymore. Being sauced wouldn't make a good first impression either.

"I answered an ad to teach abroad. I should have known something was sketchy when they did not require a college degree. I had just graduated from high school, had no real prospects for a future, and wanted to get away from my home life. It was...not so great," she said, not wanting to add details because then she would have to think about the reasons why it was not so great.

"I'm guessing things weren't much better when you were brought here," he said, watching her shake her head slowly as she stirred the potatoes. "What happened?"

"I was put to work in a hostess club," she replied, once again refraining from from further explanation. "Since I didn't know the language and didn't have anyone to help me, I had no choice but to stay. There was one girl at the club who knew English so she began to teach me Japanese."

That explains a lot, Denji thought. So that was her night job. Now he knew why her accent was odd, and she pronounced words strangely. He understood why she used to sleep all day, why she was living alone, why she was so lonely, why she drank so much, and why that asshole was in her apartment. Her job naturally presented her with terrible prospects, only allowing her to find love in all the wrong places. She was in the wrong place to begin with.

"Meeting you made me remember I wasn't worthless, that I deserved a better life. So I never went back to the club. I went to a temp agency and signed up. Thank goodness they were able to start placing me immediately but it's still going to be tough. I'd rather struggle and get by on less money than deal with that shit anymore," she said, beating the eggs mercilessly. She glanced at Denji. "Besides, I knew I couldn't stay there and be with you. I didn't want to lead a double life and be ashamed of who I am any longer."

Denji thought about Hirofumi Yoshida always insisting he hide his identity of being Chainsaw Man. He had never been embarrassed by being a half Devil and actually regarded it with a sense of pride. He thought he would never get a girlfriend unless they knew about the Devil inside of him. He wanted to blast his secret out to the world, letting every woman know, in the hopes of convincing one to be his girlfriend.

To his surprise, in the end, it was being himself, just plain Denji, who brought him a girlfriend. She had not known, nor did she care, about him being Chainsaw Man. His alter ego did not impress her. She saw and loved the real Denji which made him love her even more.

"Here ya go," Mari said, breaking him out of the prison of his thoughts. She slid the plate and refilled glass of orange juice over to him. "Bon appétit.

"Bon appétit," he repeated what had become their special phrase.

Stabbing the fluffy scrambled eggs with his fork, he stuffed them in his mouth. The closest thing he had eaten to this consistency was a rolled omelet but these were like soft little clouds.

"Good?" she inquired, pushing a separate plate stacked with toast across the counter to him. She then set out the four jars of jam she had mentioned along with a little crock of butter.

"Uh huh. Very good. Did you make this butter too?" he asked, pulling out the little spreader with a cow's head sculpted in clay on the end of the handle.

"No. I don't have the patience for all that shaking and stirring," she said, opening the jar of orange marmalade.

Denji found it difficult to believe she didn't have the patience for that. She had exhibited great patience with him particularly when he tested it by asking the same question a dozen times during his math lesson. He was glad there would be someone so patient to help him with Nayuta.

"I better get started on dinner soon so it will be ready," she stated, poking at the last bite of her eggs.

"Don't worry about it. Relax. Everything will be just fine."

Easy for him to say, she thought. He would never have to deal with the pressure of meeting her parents and getting their approval. Lucky him. Mari couldn't care less what her parents thought about anything in regards to her life, especially after she reached out to them for help.

She had finally earned enough money to buy a phone. She nervously placed a collect call, unable to afford the charges herself.

"Mari? Mari! Oh, my God! Are you all right? We haven't heard from you, and we were so worried. Are you okay?"

Mari had burst into tears upon hearing her mother's voice.

"What's wrong? What's going on?"

"Mama, I wanna come home. I'm so scared. They lied to me. This isn't what they promised at all. Tho-tho-those men..." Her voice faltered when her breathing hitched and she was forced to inhale several short, shaky breaths. "Those men were human traffickers. They brought girls here to force them to - "

Her father had snatched the phone away from her mother when he realized it was her who had called.

"You made your bed, now lie in it," he growled at her using an old worn out adage to cruelly tell her to deal with the consequences of her actions. Then he hung up. She never tried to call again, and they never called her either.

It wasn't her fault those soulless, money grubbers had tricked her and many other people. They pretended to be recruiters, placing ads on job sites to lure both men and women. They had looked respectable enough in their dress shirts and ties like clean cut company executives conducting real job interviews. She had been one of the lucky ones who was not forced to do outright sex work on the streets.

After taking a bite of her toast, Mari grimaced. The marmalade was so sour it made her lips pucker.

"Ugh. That's a little bit bitter. It needed more sugar. You don't have to eat that."

"It tastes fine to me," Denji insisted, demolishing the first piece of toast.

Maybe it was the memory more than the food that imparted the awful taste in her mouth.

"It's great with the pears," he mumbled around the mouth full of food. He was about to take a bite of the second piece of toast covered in butter, blackberry jam, and more of the orange marmalade. He lowered the food from his mouth, staring at her. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she lied, cramming food into her mouth despite having lost her appetite. "So you really like it?"

"Yeah. I do. But what's really bothering you? Please don't lie to me again and say nothing. I'm not stupid."

"I know you're not stupid. It's just...my past...well, my parents - "

The knock on the door interrupted her. Denji hopped off the bar stool, reaching inside the sweatshirt to grab the grip on the end of the pull chord which immediately made her even more nervous.

There was a second booming knock on her door that caused her to flinch and gasp. Mari started toward the door but Denji stopped her on his way around the end of the counter.

"Stay there," he told her, pushing her back into the kitchen with a gentle hand on her belly.

The knock sounded again, echoing through her apartment. Things had been quiet, eerily quiet lately, with no appearances or attacks from Devils or Fiends of any kind. Even Hirofumi Yoshida had grown antsy and was expecting a fight any day. Hopefully, Kishibe was just early with Nayuta but Denji still had reason to approach the door cautiously.

"Hey, is anyone there? Sorry to bother you, but I'm looking for someone."

Denji exhaled in relief, letting go of the chord. It was Kishibe.