I'm gonna try and do a better job of explaining my problem this time. See, my views for the month of August stopped on the 23rd, even though I got alerts for reviews, follows and favs after that point. The other part of the problem is, I'll be looking at the "Story Stats" graph and I'll scroll it to the right to look at earlier days. When I go back to the current days, I'll find the graph has moved. Sometimes, it shows the views ending on the 22nd, not the 23rd, or it'll stop between those two dates. Whatever's been going on seems to be at least partially fixed at this point, as it showed I've gotten three views today. FeelingDreamy has told me they've encountered the same problem, so I was just wondering if anyone else has as well.

Wow, long note. Anyway, let's get back to what you guys came here for: the story!

Enjoy! ;p

So, she's finally coming back.

He laughed, switching his camera view to Akane's bedroom. Her parents had kept the same interior-holo on since Akane had left for Tokyo, so she'd feel like nothing had changed when she came home. He'd always known she would. That her stay in the city was a temporary thing. After all, this was where she really belonged, even if she didn't know it yet. It was only a matter of time. One thing bothered him, though. The man Akane had said she was bringing with her.

It wasn't that it actually mattered, he could easily take care of that obstacle, but it meant Akane would have more trouble accepting the path her life was supposed to take. He shut down the video feed, getting up from his "master controls" and heading to his bedroom. He had hacked his interior-holo so the room was split down the center. The bright, cheerful colors from Akane's side hurt his eyes, but he knew she'd love it. His side was more subdued, but it complimented hers perfectly. He'd made sure of that.

"You're going to love it here, Akane," he said aloud. He eyed the doll lying on her half of their bed, dressed in the frilled yellow shirt and matching shorts he'd stolen from her dresser years ago. He'd made do with it all these years, but now it was time to move up to the real thing. It would take longer than he had planned with that other man in the mix, but that would only serve to make the game more exciting.

You're finally going to see what you've been missing all this time, Akane, he thought. He shut off the interior holo, revealing the door hidden underneath. He practically had to turn sideways to go through it now, the top of his head an inch from scraping the top of the frame. The small room beyond was his most closely-guarded secret, a testament to his love for Akane. Photos of her throughout her childhood plastered the walls, another of his dolls dressed in her favorite skirt and top from high school. Yet more clothes she'd thought she had misplaced while packing for her move to Tokyo.

He went to the back wall, where the most recent pictures of her were. He hated cities, knowing they did little more than taint and corrupt, but risking that for even just one or two shots of her further proved how much he cared for her. And once she returned, she'd see it, too. He was sure of it.

There's just a few more things to plan, he rubbed his hands together. They were tough and calloused now, a constant reminder of how much things had changed. He chuckled, knowing she'd never be able to resist him now. He'd finally free her from the mundane life she'd lived so far, show her what it meant to be cherished.

Welcome home, Akane…

Akane rubbed the back of her neck. She'd taken over packing Shinya's duffle bag for their weekend getaway, knowing it'd never get done if she left him to it. It was proving to be more difficult than she'd thought, his few casual clothes consisting mainly of T-shirts and capri sweats. Besides the jacket he wore on the job, it was starting to look like his dress shirts and a few pairs of socks were the only things allowed outside his black and navy color palette.

"You sure you don't have anything a little…brighter?"

Shinya scoffed, putting her tablet down. He'd been reading up on her hometown, a small, quaint place about three hours' drive south of Tokyo. In that time, she'd opened every drawer of his dresser and rifled through his closet, looking dismayed at the limited selection.

"I've never been one for 'bright' colors," he said, cringing slightly when she gave him that doe-eyed stare. She'd started pulling it a few months into their relationship, quickly learning it always made him cave. This time he didn't even try to resist, knowing it wouldn't get him anywhere. "Ugh, fine…"

He went to his closet, dragging a box out of the corner. His mother had sent it to him after he'd become an Enforcer, though to this day he couldn't figure out why.

"There should be a few things in here," he set it on the bed, taking off the top. The first couple layers consisted of pictures and a few little mementos of his high school years, the rest made up of his old clothes. He chuckled, seeing each outfit had been sealed in its own protective bag. She'd done the same thing whenever she'd had to put clothes into storage, telling him it'd be less work if they ever decided to use them again. He scratched the back of his head. "Not sure any of it'll still fit, though."

Akane took out one of the bags; dark gray pinstripe shorts and a colorful shirt that looked like it was covered in streaks and splatters of paint.

"So much for not being one for bright colors," she said with a smirk. He groaned, surprised when she thrust the bag at him. "You said you weren't sure it would fit. Try it on."

He rolled his eyes, tossing the bag back on the bed before stripping down right there. After all, it wasn't like she'd never seen him naked before. He looked at Akane, a soft smile touching his lips. No matter how humiliating this trip might turn out to be, if he was with her, it'd be worth it. And having something else to tease her about wouldn't hurt, either. He leaned across the bed to grab the bag, catching her lips with his as he did so.

"You owe me for this," he whispered. She clicked her tongue, tapping his nose.

"Just put the clothes on."

"Yes, Mom."

She scoffed at that, nonetheless smiling while he changed. The shorts fit the same, the shirt a bit tighter than he remembered. Not surprising, considering how skinny he'd been back then. When he was done he turned back to her, gazing at her expectantly.

"Well?" he asked. She rested her elbow in her palm, putting a hand on her cheek as she pretended to ponder the question. After a moment, she threaded her fingers through his belt loops, tugging him forward. He caught himself on the headboard to keep from falling on her.

"The clothes look fine," she whispered huskily. She tugged lightly at his shorts again. "But I think you look even better without them."

He chuckled softly, leaning close to steal another kiss.

"Well, that makes two of us."

So, we play a bit of the pronoun game in the beginning, partially because I haven't come up with a name for that character yet. XD

And I really hope Shinya and Akane aren't too ooc while preparing for their little trip. We don't really get to see much of them outside their working relationship, (there's what, two or three scenes like that in all of season one?) but I think it'd be something like this. Akane seems like the type to use her cuteness to her advantage if the situation calls for it. And Shinya seems like the type to pout when he falls for it. XD