Eto rocked on her feet as she waited outside Juuzou's apartment. Today was his birthday, and she had the gifts she had bought him all wrapped up. He opened the door and smiled.

They talked for a little bit, Juuzou opened his gifts, and he ate cake. Sen said she wasn't hungry.

It was now 11:00 at night, and they both laid in bed.

"Sen," Juuzou said softly.

"Mhm?"

"I- I feel like we don't see each other enough."

Sen's heart lurched. Was he cutting things off? She cold feel the tears begin to burn in her eyes.

"Look," she stammered. "I want to be able to spend a lo of time with you, but with my job… I'm trying, Juuzou. I love you, I really do."

The tears began to dribble down her cheek. Naki must be making me soft, she thought, images of the blond ghoul who was always crying flashing through her mind.

"Woah," Juuzou said, pulling her close and wiping her tears. "Why are you crying?"

"I love you," Sen said. "I don't wanna break up."

"Oh, that must've come out wrong!" Juuzou said, throwing his hands up in the air. "No no no, breaking up is the last thing I want. I actually-," he stuttered and he blushed and smiled. "I got a pay raise and I was thinking…"

"Yeah?"

"Of getting a new apartment," he said, grinning and blushing. "A bigger one. And I thought that maybe— maybe we could move in together."

Sen's eyes grew wide. "You mean it?"

Juuzou nodded.

"That's perfect!" she squealed, throwing her arms around him. "I love you!"

"I love you too," Juuzou said, and he kissed her.

The next week, the couple began to look for an apartment. They looked at several, and eventually settled on a relatively spacious one in the 20th ward. A couple weeks later, they had moved into their new apartment.

Juuzou had insisted on picking Sen up and carrying her through the doorway, and the half ghoul thought it was the cutest thing ever. It took Juuzou a month to sell his apartment, but Sen, not to Juuzou's knowledge, never actually sold her apartment.

Noro now resided in the apartment, and Eto kept things that she needed to keep hidden there, such as her magenta dress and scarf and bandages.

It was getting harder and harder to serve Aogiri like she needed to, with her sleeping next to Juuzou every night. She had decided to continuing refraining from any urges to go beyond making out with her white haired boyfriend. However, even though she didn't act on them, nothing could stop the thoughts that would sometimes run through her head; usually at the most inopportune times.

This inopportune time happened to be an Aogiri meeting. Thoughts were running through her head when Ayato cleared his throat.

That snapped Eto back to reality, and everyone sitting around the table was staring at her.

"Tatara asked you what more you've discovered on what the CCG knows," the blue haired boy said.

"Oh," Eto said, blushing in embarrassment. She looked around the table. Noro, Tatara, Ayato, and Naki were present. "Nothing really," she stammered.

"You've been gone almost all the time and you have absolutely nothing to show for it?" The white haired man said, raising an eyebrow.

"Um…" Eto said, stomach flopping around. "Well I've always been able to warn you before a raid."

"Do you have obligations elsewhere?" Tatara asked, eyes boring into the bandaged ghoul.

Eto became aware of Naki shifting in his seat. He gave Eto a desperate look.

Naki, please don't give anything away, she prayed silently.

"No," she said, doing her best to keep a calm demeanor.

Naki shifted again.

"Naki," Tatara said, turning his attention to the blond ghoul. "Do you have something to share?"

"N-no," he stammered.

"Well, then this meeting is done," Tatara said, standing up.

Eto briskly stood and hurried to the door.

"Eto," said Tatara. "You stay."

"Why?"

"I need to talk to you," he paused and narrowed his eyes. "Alone."

Eto gulped. The other ghouls filed past her as they walked out, and Naki gave her a pitiful look as he passed. When they were alone, Tatara starting shaking his head.

"What?" Eto asked, heart hammering.

"I thought you were smarter than this."

"Than what?" The Owl thought she was going to throw up.

"Don't play dumb," Tatara snapped. "I see you guys talking alone to much and shooting looks at each other to not know what's going on."

Suddenly, Eto felt confused. Was he talking about Juuzou?

"I—."

"I don't want to hear it," Tatara said, cutting her off. "Look, I don't know if you and Naki's relationship is actually being in love or whatever or if it's purely physical, but I can't have that getting in the way of Aogiri's progress."

It took all of the one eyes ghoul's strength not to bust up laughing. Tatara thought Naki and her were sleeping together!

Not wanting to give away that Tatara was wrong and let him wonder if it wasn't Naki, then what was causing the distraction, Eto just bowed her head. "I'm sorry," she muttered.

"Good," Tatara said. "Now run along," he said, as if she was a child.

Eto skipped out the door to go find Naki. She found him waiting in the lobby of the abandoned hotel they were in.

He jumped up when he saw her. "Eto!" he exclaimed. The eyeshadow that was smeared all over his face indicated that he had been crying. "Does Tatara know?"

Finally away from the horribly misinformed Aogiri executive, Eto began to laugh hysterically. Naki just stood there and gave her a disturbed look.

"No," Eto said, trying not to laugh. "He thinks that we're sleeping together!"

"You and me?" Naki exclaimed, blushing a little.

"Yeah, he has no idea what the truth is!"

"Good!" Naki said, nodding his head. "But really, why don't you show up anymore?"

"We moved in together," Eto explained. "So it's hard to sneak out."

"How long have you been dating now?"

"Almost eight months," said Eto.

"Wow," Naki said. He was quiet for a moment. "I want coffee."

"Then let's go get some," Eto said.

Naki frowned. "You're all dressed up. "And it's—," he paused to glance at his watch. "One in the morning."

"If there's a will," Eto said, walking towards the doors. "There's a way."

"You seem to listen to that for everything in your life," Naki commented.

"I suppose," Eto giggled. "I have to be back before four because Suzuya might wake up though, okay?"

"Okay," Naki said, and the two friends slipped out of the building and out into the streets of Tokyo, and then proceeded to melt into the night shadows.