Hilary held up two identical plates. "Which one do you think?"

Kai stayed quiet, only shrugging as he continued to type at his laptop.

"You were supposed to take the day off to help me,"

He sighed. Closing the laptop and setting it aside on the couch, he looked her in the eye. "They look exactly the same."

"Ugh," she groaned. "You're useless here,"

"I voted that we hire a designer,"

Hilary crawled on the couch. It was really the only piece of sitting furniture they had at the moment. She'd already gotten rid of everything else, but this he wasn't letting go.

"This is our home, we need to pick the pieces together,"

Kai wanted to laugh at how serious she looked. He was starting to see parts of the girl he didn't know he'd been missing.

She announced that she was moving in by telling them they were going to renovate. Kai didn't understand her reasoning. When his grandfather died, other than changing a few pieces to match his preferences, Kai hadn't touched anything. All of the items served their purpose, so why change?

But Hilary came in like a whirlwind. She insisted they picked out every piece together, no matter how stressful it was.

And it was stressful. Mostly because he didn't care.

"It's a plate. You eat off of it."

"But which one do you like more?" She held them up again.

Kai pointed to the one on the left. "That one," he said and then reached for his laptop.

"Are you saying that because you like it or because you want to end this conversation?"

Kai put the laptop down, concluding that the conversation was not, as he hoped, over. Maybe if he stayed silent long enough, she'd get distracted and focus on something else.

She put the plates of the coffee table in front of them - one of three that she'd brought in to try in the space. It was clear to him that she was disappointed. "That's what I thought,"

"I don't know what to say," Kai shrugged. "It's a plate."

"Kai," she said slowly. "I can't read your mind."

"I don't think you need to for this. It's not like I'll hate anything you pick,"

"Really?"

"To be honest, I probably won't notice the difference."

She visibly deflated, shoulder slumping with a heavy sigh.

Hilary turned to him. "How about we play a game," Curling into his side, he could see the devious smile tugging at her lips. "If we play it right, we'll both be winners."

"Doesn't sound like a game I'd like,"

"Oh, you'll like it. Trust me."

Kai didn't want to give in to her schemes but she was trying so hard and if this cheered her up, then perhaps it would be worth it. "What are the rules?"

"For every piece that I hold up if we can agree on it, we kiss. The more pieces we agree on, the more kisses that shall be enjoyed."

"You think you can buy my participation?"

"You've always been very goal orientated so let's find out," she arranged the plates on the table in front of them. "On the count of three, we'll both point to the one we want."

When they both pointed to the left, Hilary smiled and leaned in to kiss him. It was a light, gentle kiss, one that was only meant as a reward. As she tried to pull away, Kai drew her back down.

"No, no," she said into the kiss.

Kai laughed. "You were right," he smiled into the kiss, "I think I like this game."

He rotated her so that she was lying back on the couch with him moving over her. She turned her head, laughing as he continued to kiss her cheeks and neck and forehead.

He turned her head so that she was looking directly at him. "I feel like I'm winning already,"

Afterward, she decided she didn't need his help after all.

Ah, now we really are nearing the end, huh? So as it turns out, they're happy after all.

Thanks so much to you faithful readers. I'll see you next time - konix