Kuki walked purposefully down the street, gripping the single red rose tightly in his fist. He was going to her, to the woman he loved, to apartment where he now lived. He was going home.

Home. That word had lost its meaning so many years ago when his father died and his world began to change - and not for the better. He had almost found another home in the house he had shared with his squad mates. However, all of the chicks had fled the nest following the death of Shirazu and subsequent "death" of Haise Sasaki and unexpected return of Ken Kaneki.

Thankfully, she had come into his life at the right time. Kuki Urie found safe harbor in the arms of Miyu Nakashima. She had taken him into her heart and her house, giving him a home. With her he felt safe and secure. At last he had found the shelter he needed to be able to love again.

A smile tugged at the corners of his stubborn mouth. The surge of happiness inside of him when thinking about her made him want to smile. Unfortunately, negative thoughts plagued him, threatening to steal away that happiness.

How long do you think it will last? How long before she breaks your heart? Everyone disappoints you and hurts you. They always do. Idiot!, his doubts and insecurities taunted him. His worst fears played in his head, giving him enough information to make his heart waver uncertainly before he could push the thoughts away.

Who would she betray him with? Would it be Arima or Kaneki?, he sometimes pondered. Despite her making it quite clear, not only to him but both of them as well, she wanted nothing to do with either of them and that their past together entailed nothing romantic, yet that damned, hateful little voice kept stirring up doubt and would not leave him alone.

Worse yet, would she begin to fear the monster inside of him, the monster he could feel himself changing into little by little? His stomach contracted painfully from another irrational cause for dismay and paranoia plaguing his mind. She had divulged small tidbits of her past revealing her own monstrous ways, but she was a terrifying creature of a different caliber. At least from what he knew about her. Sometimes he still wondered if there were far more terrifying revelations about her to come.

But he did not care. Kuki Urie had already made up his mind to love her. Besides, she seemed to understand him in a way no one ever had - and most likely never could. That in itself was a rare thing indeed and nearly impossible to find. All of his silly, stupid doubts would have to move aside.

Kuki used his key to unlock the back door leading to her apartment above the recently abandoned coffee shop. He sighed sadly looking into the darkened space. Hopefully, one day soon she would be better and would reopen the shop. Running the cafe had made her happy.

Opening the door to their apartment, the scent of roasted chicken assaulted his olfactory receptors. His mouth watered in anticipation. She cooked dinner for him almost every night. It was going to be a good night because he genuinely looked forward to eating her food. Lately, he had more and more 'good' times where food appealed to him more than the idea of eating human flesh. Food tasted delicious again. Yet another reason he liked coming home to her.

Kuki saw her sitting in her huge chair, reading a book, a blanket covering her lap, and cup of tea on the small table beside her. The curtains fluttered in the cool breeze blowing into the apartment. Autumn was coming, and she welcomed the respite from the summer heat by opening the windows each evening. She was the picture of contentment sipping her steaming tea.

Miyu looked up from her book, smiling at him. Small spots of pink tinted the apples of her cheeks. He hoped the blush stemmed from her being happy to see him instead of another fever. Recently, she had become fatigued, spending most of her hours in bed. Bouts of fever had come and gone with no real reason. She refused to go to the doctor. He worried about her.

"Hi," he said, suddenly feeling shy and awkward when her golden irises met his. Her eyes stayed that color most of the time as if she had grown too weak to hide their natural color. Or perhaps she no longer felt the need to hide that part of her from him anymore. He could not be sure.

"Welcome home," she returned, rising to greet him.

Kuki accepted her embrace, taking her into his arms to squeeze her tightly. He kissed her neck, delighted when she shivered in response to his gentle touch.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, resting his hands on her hips when she leaned back from him.

"Better," she replied, her smile appearing forced. Her fingers deftly unbuttoned his jacket. "No fever today."

"That's good. I brought you something," he announced, raising the half opened, blood red rose so she could see it.

"Oh, it's beautiful," she returned, taking the rose from him to bury her nose in it.

Kuki removed his jacket and hung it on one of the hooks beside the door. He watched her as she scuttled to the kitchen to get something to put the flower in.

Not having any vases, she improvised with a parfait glass. After filling the tall, conical glass with water, she stuck the rose in it and put it on the table already set with plates and silverware.

Kuki allowed the smile to take hold of his lips this time. She paid attention to the small details, the things that most people would overlook finding them meaningless. She always made him feel special.

His eyes drifted from her head down to her toes. She had pulled her hair up into a loose bun, a few spiral curls framing her face and laying against the back of her neck; a half-hearted attempt at a hairstyle with lovely results. Dressed sloppily and comfortably in a blue, black, and white plaid shirt with a complementary royal blue tank top underneath and black yoga pants, she was a gorgeous mess.

"What are you staring at?" she asked suddenly, breaking him out of his reverie. "Do I look that bad?"

"No. You look that good," he countered, moving toward her. He gathered her into his arms, kissing her lightly on the lips. "You're beautiful."

"You're crazy," she giggled, pressing her cheek against his chest. Her arms enclosed his waist, hugging him. "I received a letter from my father today."

"Oh?" He had no idea what that meant. Was it something good or bad? She had been writing a letter to her father the night they had confessed their feelings to each other. But that was weeks ago and nothing else had been said about it.

"I'm going home, Kuki," she said.

There was that word again. Home. Where did she call home? He had stupidly believed her one and only home was here with him.

"So what does that mean?" he asked, wrapping his arms around her shoulders.

"I need to go home. I'm sick," she admitted without elaborating.

Details, woman! I need details!, he wanted to yell at her.

"I have to go home for a cleansing ceremony. I've been inundated with too many bad feelings and bad memories...too many negative things. I wish...I wish I could explain better but..."

"I won't lie and say I understand completely, but I think I get the gist of it," he said, sincerely trying to grasp the meaning of it all. All the negativity she had absorbed from Kaneki, from Arima - from him - was affecting her physically making her suffer bodily ailments. "Can I come with you?"

"Are you sure you want to do that? The ritual is really quite extensive and difficult. Besides, the colony doesn't take well to outsiders. And my father - "

"Well, shouldn't I meet him anyway? Or are you not sure I'm the one you want to be with?"

Miyu stepped back from him, gazing at his face. He could not discern if she was angry or hurt by her mostly blank expression. Probably both.

"You'll learn more about me. Perhaps some things you don't want to know," she warned him.

"What are you so afraid of? What secret are you hiding that you don't want me to know? You know everything about me," he argued.

"Do I? Do I really?" she challenged him petulantly.

"Arima knew everything about you. All of the bad and the good. And he loved you anyway. Do you think I can't love you more than he can?"

"You're right. He knew all of the bad," she confirmed. "The bad part of me is why he loved me. He adored the monster inside because it resonated with the one in him. You got to know the human side of me first. I don't want you to hate me for what I really am, for the part of me I can't change."

"I see. Do you really think I'm that shallow? Besides, you already knew what I am. You knew before you even talked to me that I was part ghoul. It's not fair."

"Nothing about love is ever fair," she agreed, exhaling loudly. "I'm going to be gone a long time," she informed him, switching tactics when listing her reasons why he should not go with her. "Months perhaps. A bit of an exile is required. I have to be cut off from strong emotional influences."

"Including me?"

"Yes."

"Well, that will give me plenty of time to get to know your father." Although not particularly thrilled about the idea of being left alone with her father for weeks, possibly months, he would do it for her sake. If he could get on her old man's good side, that could unlock a wealth of knowledge about her past, particularly her childhood.

"How will you take that much time off work?"

Damn. This woman could argue like a defense lawyer.

"I'll take a leave of absence."

"Will they allow it?"

"I don't know. Things are kind of a damn mess right now at headquarters."

"Then it's probably not a good time to take a lengthy amount of time off."

"I want to be with you. To help you through this. To know you better. I want to meet your father and tell him I want to be the man in his daughter's life who will love her and take care of her. I want to do things the proper way," he said, his voice rising with the intensity of his emotions. He might even ask her father for permission to marry her, but he did not want to tell her that. The woman was already skittish and ready to bolt. "Why are you trying so damn hard to talk me out of this?"

"Because I'm scared!" she shouted.

"You think I'm not?" he scoffed, grabbing her by the arms. His eyes locked with hers, holding them to convey his feelings so she would not misunderstand his words or his intentions. "The only time I've been more unsure and afraid was when I was told my father was dead. I closed myself off from everyone. I never wanted to feel anything for anyone again. But you..." He shook her lightly when her eyes drifted from his to regain her full attention. "But you broke through that wall. You made me want to try again. And damn you, I fell in love with you. Don't shut me out."

"Th-that's n-not my my in-intention," she stuttered, her lower lip trembling.

Kuki stared at her, his heart flooding with a tender emotion that brought tears to his eyes. God, he loved her. He was a fool for her. Her cute little stutter when she got nervous melted his heart. Her brilliant yellow eyes were shiny with unshed tears making them glow. She sucked in her quivering lower lip to hold it steady with her teeth. Childishly defiant while in a grown woman's body. She must have looked like this when she was a little kid and her father admonished her for one reason or another.

"You know what," he murmured, his voice low, shaking with powerful emotion. "You are the most annoyingly stubborn person I've ever met."

"I could say the same about you," she retorted, her lip poking out in a pout.

"You have said the same about me," he reminded her. "So many times, especially in the beginning, I wanted to hate you. I think that's why I tried to convince myself something had gone on between you and Arima or even Kaneki. I hate to admit it, but those thoughts still run through my head. You terrify me with how you make me want to love you," he said, easing his grip on her arms.

"I know how you feel," she told him, reaching up to cup his jaw with her hand.

She smiled at him, stroking his cheek with her thumb; a comforting gesture that dispelled the aggravation that had built inside of them during their fight. Standing on her tiptoes, she kissed him tenderly on the forehead, then the lips.

"Sometimes I'm not sure if it helps or hurts that both of us are struggling with the same fears and insecurities about love," he murmured, placing his chin on the top of his head when she fitted herself into his arms.

"Yeah, me too."

The timer for chicken in the oven dinged, interrupting their quiet moment.

"Dinner's ready," she proclaimed unnecessarily, attempting to slide out of his embrace.

"Hey," he said, encircling her shoulders more securely to keep her from getting away. "We can do this."

"It's not going to be easy," she sighed wearily.

"No one ever said love is easy." Using a play of her owns words against her, he parried successfully in their ongoing word war.

"Oh, good one. That sounds like something I would say," she laughed, playfully thumping him on the chest.

Kuki was as tired of arguing as she was. At least he had worn her down enough to make her stop. He was going with her no matter what even if he had to follow her. A little on the stalkerish side, he would admit, but desperate times call for desperate measures. The thought of losing her frightened him more than anything he might find out about her.

"I know. That's why I said it. You better get dinner out of the oven." He reluctantly removed his arms from around her body.

Miyu took the dish out of the oven, bringing it to the table to put on the waiting metal trivets. Leaning over, she kissed Kuki on the lips.

"Welcome home, my love," she said.

Kuki could tell that was her way to reset the evening, to begin again and get past their emotionally volatile argument. He placed his hand over hers that lay on his shoulder.

"There's no place I'd rather be."