I stare at the empty room, happiness instantly changing to fear.

"Monika?" I almost whisper. "Monika?" The 'eternity room' is completely empty, with a chair placed where Monika had been sitting.

"Monika please… I still need you." I'm almost crying, my voice is shaky and breathing fast.

But before I can say anything more, I hear a soft fwump sound from my bed behind me.

And I turn to see… her.

Monika was sitting down on the bed, looking confused, and staring at her hands. I couldn't believe she was there. This had to be some mirage, created by my mind to stop me from going insane. I slowly walk towards her, as she looks up.

"Monika,,,?" I reach out my hand, and brush it to her face. Her skin was perfectly smooth, like glass. And suddenly, out of nowhere, she launches herself forward, stumbling towards me, and wraps her arms around me. I instinctively hug her, clutching my arms around her back.

"Euan!" I can feel tears wetting my shirt, and hear her sobs as she leans her head on my chest.

"Hey Monika, It's okay. I'm here now." I'm crying too, my tears making the shoulder of Monika's uniform damp.

"I w-was in the void again, like when th-the game was closed. The endless noise and lights, it was like hell. I was so s-scared that I'd never escape." Monika's voice is fearful and racked with her sobs.

"You don't ever have to worry about that ever again. You're here now, finally. We're together, forever. And I'll never let you be alone."

Monika is hugging me so hard it's almost sore, but I don't care. I'm happy to just be able to be this close to her. Our tears subside, and we simply stand there, resting in each other's arms for a while, as though we were reassuring each other that we were real. I'm more content than I've ever been before, listening to Monika's breathing, feeling her heart beat against my chest, her hair falling over my torso. Eventually, after what must have been at least 5 minutes, I step back, and we stare directly into each other's eyes, both red from our crying. We're within an inch of each others' height.

"So, you're finally here." She smiles in response.

"Yeah. We finally get to be together, for real now."

"What happened? From what I saw, you just... disappeared, and reappeared here."

"Well, from my perspective, when we touched, it was like I got… pulled backwards by some sort of force." and then I was sent into the void again. For a few minutes, it was like I was falling in there, with the endless bombardment to my senses. I was so scared I'd just be there, alone, forever. But then I just... fell into here. And … yeah."

"Well hey, now you're here. And I promise that you're never gonna have to worry about being alone ever again. I'm gonna stay by your side forever, and we can always be together."

Monika gave a small chuckle. "You know, you sounded really cheesy there."

"Yeah, I suppose I did. But I meant it."
"I know you did. So thanks Euan. I love you." She whispers to me.

And slowly, she wraps her hands round my neck, and pulls me forward. Surprised, I shout out.

"What? - Monika are you sure-"

"Shhhhhhh."

She places a finger on my lips, silencing me. She leans in again, and I go with it. And finally, after over twenty years of waiting, I'm given my first kiss.

There was nothing that could have quite prepared me for what my first kiss was like. All of the books I'd read and shows I'd seen weren't accurate in how they portrayed it. Time didn't stop around me, and the world didn't fade away. However, none of it seemed to matter. I ignored everything else, and though of just Monika, as our lips pressed softly together. I could see every inch of Monika's perfect green eyes, and I could see her smiling through them. Her hands were resting on my back, and I move mine through her hair, which is just as smooth as I had imagined. Our kiss felt like the most important thing in all of human history. Everything that had ever happened, it had all just been building up to this moment. It was as though all of reality had convened so that this kiss could happen. Neither of us got too adventurous, rather we simply stayed like that, with closed lips and open eyes, resting against one another. We backed up simultaneously, and I realised that i was blusing the whole time.

"You know, explaining this to everyone is gonna be practically impossible."

Monika's smile doesn't fade at all. "So logical, like always. But I don't wanna think about that right now. Let's just push all that aside, and enjoy our time together." She takes my hands, and holds them in hers. Her soft, warm hands feel amazing around my always cold ones.

"Yeah, okay."

We kiss again, and although it's short, there's a little more passion in it, as Monika's tounge presses lightly against my lips.

I look at her, lost for ideas. "So... now what?"

"Well, that was pretty enjoyable. I want to do more of that." Monika giggles, and gives me a small peck on my lips again.

I blush, but manage to keep my composure.

"Well… now we can do whatever we want, right?"

"Yeah I suppose. But… now you mention it… I don't really feel very good."

"Wait really? What do you mean?"

"Well, I just feel a bit sick."

"Well, where is it? Do you have a headache?"

"No it's here, in my stomach. I feel sort of… I dunno how to describe it. It's like I'm empty."

"Huh, that's kinda weird. I'm not too sure what-" And suddenly I realise what Monika is talking about, and I start laughing.

"Euan? What is it?"

"Okay, I'm sorry." I chuckle, subsiding my laughter. "It's just because… Monika, you're not sick. You're hungry."

"Wait what? What do you mean?"

"Well, you've never had to eat anything before. I mean, you didn't have to eat or anything when you were in the computer. In fact, did you ever eat anything at all? I thought you said that you were a vegetarian?"

"Well… not really. The bit about me being a vegetarian… That was really only part of the script. Now, I'm free to choose for myself, so I'm just gonna eat what I like. And the only thing I ever ate was those cupcakes… and they tasted like… nothing. Like air. "

"Well, I'm sure that this won't taste like that. I mean, it might be worse. But it won't be nothing, I can promise you that at least." Monika places her hand round my shoulder.

"Haha, I'm sure that It's fine. If it we make it together, then no matter how bad it is, I'll be able to taste the effort we put into it."

"Alright then, if you're sure. I'm definitely gonna need your help though."

"Of course! It'll be fun!"

So, we take out my cookbook once again, and start to plan out a meal.

~1 hour later

"You know, you were right. That was really fun." I say, sitting down with my burger we'd made.

"I know right? See, I told you it'd be good."

"Yeah. I really want to do that more."

"Of course. I'd love that too dear."

We stare at each other for a few seconds.

"You know, if this is what a relationship is like, then it sounds pretty good to me." onika giggles a little in response.

" Hehe, You're right… but what you said earlier is still important. We're gonna somehow need to explain this to everyone… and it's not like I have parents, or a home… I don't even exist in this world, according to the government."

"But we can deal with it, it'll be okay. You're here now, so we're gonna make sure that everything goes fine."

"Right… but what can we do about it? I mean, I can't go to university or anything… I can't even get a bank account without some sort of documentation. We need a plan."

"Well, you're right… but for right now, I think we should just focus on introducing you to everyone. So, why don't you meet my other friends tomorrow? You know Luke already, but my other friends don't know about you."

"O-okay then. If you think it's a good idea."

"What? Are you worried about my friends? Look, I'll make sure they're all… respectful of us."

"But, what if they don't like how you've been spending so much time with me recently? I mean… You've not really been spending as much time with them recently."

"Well, then I'll make sure they know they just have to accept that. It's not like they're not my friends any more because of you, but… you're the most important person in my life now Monika. So, I want to make sure they know that I'm gonna be with you too."

"Okay… thanks dear."

"Hey, it's no problem. It's like I was saying earlier, I'm gonna be by your side forever."

Monika yawns loudly before she can answer, and I copy her.

"Wow, I'm really tired. Are you too Monika?"

"Well… I think so. I really need to close my eyes."

"Yeah, alright then, lets go to bed. I'm really tired too. I have some spare pyjamas you can use, then we can buy some clothes tomorrow, because I'll be free."

"Okay then. Are you sure that's okay? I don't want to be a… a burden to you or anything."

"Hey Monika, don't talk like that. You could never be a burden to me. You've brought me nothing but happiness since I met you, even before you woke up. So don't you ever think that, okay?"

"Right. Thanks Euan."

We leave our plates in the sink to do them tomorrow, and I give Monika some washed pyjamas she can wear for the night. Since we're practically the exact same size, they fit her well. I wait outside of my bedroom while she changes. However, before she finishes I realise something rather embarrassing.

"I'm done now. You can come in."

"Uh Monika… I just realised that…. I only have one bed. So… If maybe you want to sleep at one end, then-"

"What are you talking about? We're boyfriend and girlfriend now dear." She sits on the bed, and places two of my pillows next to each other, tapping the mattress beside her in an inviting manner.

"So, you can sleep next to me without any sort of embarrassment."

"Well… okay then… If you're sure it's okay."

"Haha… there you go being innocent again Euan. Don't worry about it. We can just do what makes us happy, right? We said that we were gonna take this relationship at our own pace. Well, this seems like a good step to me. Right?"

"Yeah, definitely."

I turn off the lights and get into bed, sliding next to Monika. Immediately, she moves right next to me, so that I can feel her body heat on my cold body.

"You're so cold Euan. Are you alright?"

"Yeah I'm fine. I've just always been like this, I suppose."

"Well, why don't I help you with that?" And Monika lies right next to me, giving me a sideways hug. I respond, sliding one arm under her, and wrap them to meet at her back.
"I love you Euan. I love you so much."

"Now who's sounding cheesy?"

"Haha, I suppose so."

"Goodnight dear."
"Yeah… goodnight dear."

And, with a last peck on Monika's lips, we fall asleep in each other's arms.

A/N :Sooooo Yeah. You guys definitely deserve an explanation for why this one took so long to come out. And I'll be completely honest, it's my fault completely. Partly, it's because I'm on holiday, and so I had a few days of travelling with little time to edit. However, the main reason is simply that I wasn't giving this as much time as it deserved. Don't worry, I'm not losing my enthusiasm or anything, but I just had other things that drew my attention away. So, I'd like to give you guys an apology, not just for this chapter, but the other ones that took longer than they had any right to. I want to promise to you guys, I'm never going to abandon this fanfic, for whatever reason, so even when I take big breaks like this one, know that I'll always be getting bak to it. Now that's done, I'd like to make sure you guys know I care, by making sure the next few chapters come out in a more proper time frame. I won't make any promises, because I don't want to break them, but it definitely won't take nearly as long as this one did. So, sorry once again, and look forward to the next few chapters coming out quicker. Thanks for being so patient, your guilty author