A/N: It's been a while since I updated, and I apologize. I've been in writer's block, but I think I've gotten past it and can finish this part in the next month. I'm grateful for all those who read and I would greatly appreciate a review. Take a minute and tell me what you think of it.

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Yu-Gi-Oh GX, not the song with which this story shares a title.

Chapter 7

Aster POV

It had been over a month since I had to miss Dana's ballet. I still felt awful about missing it, but everyone else seemed to have moved past it. It was actually the morning of Valentine's day so I decided to not think about that. Zane and I were never one to get excited for this holiday, but a lot of things had changed since we got engaged. One of those things being that I was away from Zane more often. Loren had gone through all this trouble to schedule all these things and I couldn't just cancel them. He had pulled a lot of strings to get these events for my publicity. It was doing great things for my career, but awful things for my personal time with Zane.

I was in the bathroom brushing my teeth. I rinsed my mouth and opened the top drawer of the counter. I smiled at what I had hidden there. I had gotten a ring to match the one Zane had gotten me, only it was a darker silver than mine. I was going to give it to him tonight after our Valentine's dinner. He'd made reservations for a restaurant in downtown. It wasn't too fancy, but we rarely ever actually went out to a restaurant for a date. We either cooked here or went to the cabin. It was going to be a good change.

But before that I had a publicity thing to do in South Domino City. Some Valentine's Day promotion for pro dueling. I really did not like all these things that Loren had me doing, but it had actually gotten my reputation to spread to more countries.

I put the ring in the inside pocket of my suit jacket and left the bathroom to seen Zane in the living room. 'Hey, Aster. Happy Valentine's Day." He gave me a kiss on my cheek. "So how long will this thing take?" I could hear the unhappiness in his voice no matter how he tried to hide it. I knew he wouldn't voice his concerns about it because he didn't want to me to think that he thought I was prioritizing my career over him. Really I would give up my career in a heartbeat if my choice was between him and my career.

"Loren said it would be done by six."

"Good. I made reservations for six thirty so what's say we just meet at the restaurant?"

It would take a while for me to get back and plus I'd want to change before I went to the restaurant. "Sounds like a plan." I kissed him properly and he wrapped his arms around my waist pulling me close. I gripped his shoulders tightly. This man was my fiance. The person who I loved enough to give the rest of my life.

I pulled away smiling. I ran a finger across his chest mischievously. "You know, I'm not meeting Loren for and hour and half. That would give us enough time to . . ."

He smiled catching my meaning. "Twice."

"God, yes." I kissed him again as Zane dragged me to the bedroom and shut the door behind us.

I had been through so many interviews, signingings and picture flashes. Surely I was finished by then. No. My watch only read 4:23. I still had an hour and a half left. Loren grabbed my shoulder.

"Aster, there's a Valentine's dueling special. I had to pull some strings, but I got you in the lineup. Your duel is up in fifteen minutes against Gerald Frederick." He was the number eight pro duelist.

Loren . . . I was so sick of him adding stuff on to what I had to do. "Loren I'm meeting Zane for dinner at six thirty. I can't afford to do anything more. I have to leave at six."

"Aster this won't take that long. Plus I can't pull you now. It took a lot to get you in."

I sighed. He really need to consult me on these things. Henry barely ever scheduled me for things and when he did it was only by my request. By now with Loren I had done baseball games, basketball games, card signings, TV shows, festivals, carnivals, fairs, everything Loren could get me into. And now I was doing Valentine's Day duels at some convention.

"Fine, but only one duel."

He smiled and pulled me to the dueling arena. We were down by the floor with the other duelists. One was just starting. Two rookies I didn't recognize. I took a seat on a bench while Loren went to talk with someone else I didn't know. I reached into my pocket and pulled out the box. I held it in my hands to remind me of what was going to happen tonight.

"Whatcha got there?" I looked up and saw my next opponent. Gerald Frederick. I had only met him once at a championship tournament, but had never dueled him. He sat down next to me. "Is that a ring box?"

I didn't really want to divulge my personal life to this dueler I barely knew, but for some reason I found myself just talking?

"Yeah it's . . . for something special." I smiled.

"Are you proposing to that Truesdale fellow tonight?" Zane and I had gone public about our relationship after I'd rejoined the league. He looked concerned. "Not that it's my place to get in the way of your personal life, but isn't Valentine's Day a cliche day to propose to your boyfriend? Make it special, Phoenix."

"Oh, it's not like that. Zane proposed to me a month ago on New Year's Eve."

"Wow, really? Way to go Truesdale." He smiled. "So what are you doing with a ring?"

"I figured I shouldn't be the only one with a ring." I showed him my left hand.

"Oh wow, Truesdale sure has great taste. Silver is your color. Who knew that brooder had a romantic buried inside. Honestly, the fact that the two of you came out in a relationship was shocking. The two of you seemed like you hated each other after that first duel. and you two seemed like such loners."

I guess I hadn't thought about that. "It's true we weren't exactly friendly after our first meeting, but that changed relatively quickly. Then we . . . you know."

"Falling in love is a wonderful experience. I've been married for six years and I fall in love with her more and more every day. You're gonna love it, Phoenix."

I put the box back in my pocket, a certain question running through my head. I didn't have very many friends so there weren't many people I could ask about this . . ."

"Hey, Gerald, do you um, have any advice for me for married life?"

"Well," He thought about it for a minute. "It's gonna be tough at first. You'll be out of the dating phase and into the commitment phase. You're going to be giving the rest of your life to this person so make sure you hold onto them. Very rarely does one find something they care so much about so now that you've found it, you can't let go. You need to give him a lot of your time in the beginning. It'll seem like you're spending a lot of time with him, more time than you thought you could give but if you drift apart then you're gonna lose him for good and he'll be gone. Don't let that happen."

"Wow, this isn't going to be easy is it?"

"Nothing worth keeping was ever kept easily. You have to fight for it."

That was the most insightful thing I had heard in a while. I loved Zane so much and was willing to fight every person on Earth for him and I'd definitely keep him. "I'll do anything for him."

"Good. That's the way you need to think." Just then the duell had ended with cheers for whoever won. "I guess we're up, Phoenix."

Loren came up to us then with another person who I assumed was Gerald's manager. "Aster, there's a slight problem. The duel's being delayed due to technical difficulties. It should be running in twenty minutes, half an hour tops."

"This better not interfere with my plans with Zane, Loren."

"It won't don't worry."

Half an hour later Gerald and I took our places to start the duel. I couldn't drag this duel out like I normally would. I'd play around with them for a while, make them seem like they might win and then I'd crush them. But I had to get this done fast.

Much to my dismay, Gerald was putting up a good fight. I guess all of the top ten duelists in the league got there for a reason. I did eventually beat him, but it took way longer than I thought it would. We shook hands and he congratulated me. "Now go have fun with your boy."

I smiled and then walked back to Loren while I checked my watch. 6:04. I was already running late. I walked straight past Loren to the exit knowing he'd get the message and follow.

He ran up to me to catch up and was on the phone with someone, but I didn't bother listening. We'd made it out of the hotel where the convention was being held only to be met by two people. "There they are." Loren knew them I guess. "Aster this is the new president of Giant Skies Gaming, Hugh Leeman."

My eyes narrowed. "Giant Skies Gaming. I'm not too fond of them after what they did to the Gordon family." The news of the threats against the Gordon family was all over major networks. They mentioned the kidnapping of two minors associated with the Gordon family and company, but never divulged their identities. They also left out the fact that the son of the old CEO son's had raped one of my closest friends. That charge was dealt with in criminal court. "Considering I'm close friends with a member of the family."

Mr. Leeman nodded. "I am aware of what Mr. Howell did to the Gordon family, but I bought the company clear the name of the company. After some time it won't be the name Giant skies that's sullied. It will be the name Howell. I ensure that this company is going in different directions."

Well that was comforting to hear. Since both father and son Howell had been imprisoned the company was up for purchase. I didn't think anyone would actually buy it though.

"But that unpleasantry aside, it's great to finally meet the Aster Phoenix. Do you have time for me to buy you a drink?"

"Well, actually-"

"Hold on a moment Mr. Leeman." Loren had interrupted and pulled me aside. "Aster get a drink with him. Five minutes that's all. Don't make a bad impression with him. You could always use more sponsors."

"But Loren, I have to get the restaurant to meet Zane."

"Please Aster. Five minutes that's all."

I groaned and I should have said no, but, "Fine. Five Minutes, that's all.

Zane POV

I really had gotten to the restaurant too early. It was 6:15 but I wanted to make sure that we kept our table. The hostess showed me to my table and asked if I wanted a drink. I just wanted water.

"Are you expecting someone?" She looked to the empty seat.

"Yes, my fiance, but I came early. We agreed to meet at six thirty."

"Okay, I'll wait to take your order then. Would like to look at our dinner and wine menu?"

"Just the dinner menu. I know nothing about wine. My fiance is the wine expert."

She giggled softly. "I understand. Here's the menu. Happy Valentine's day."

She walked away then and I took to looking at the menu while waiting. Eventually 6:30 came but Aster was not there yet. My chair was positioned in a way that I could see the front entrance. I watched willing for him to walk in, but he never did.

I stared for some while before my waitress came back. "Ready to order, sir?"

"No, not yet, I'm still waiting for him. I'm sure he'll be here soon. He's one of those people who is always late," I lied.

"My boyfriend is the same way." She tried to comfort me but walked away with a sad look on her face. My watch said 6:50. Where was he? It wasn't like him to be late. The waitress had seen right through my lie and she had assumed I was getting stood up. Aster wouldn't do that.

And yet the minutes drug by. 7:00, 7:15, 7:30.

I hadn't been oblivious to the looks that people were giving me. They were feeling sorry for me.

"Excuse me sir, but you've been sitting here for an hour. The restaurant's policy is that you must order something soon or we will have to ask you to leave. I'm really sorry." She obviously did not want to tell me that, but I guess it was hopeless waiting here any longer.

"Okay, just bring me any appetizer in a to go box and bring the check with you. Then I'll leave." I might as well buy something even though I was probably only going to throw it away.

She brought me what I'd asked for in a few minutes and I left a twenty dollar bill on the check. It was easily a fifteen dollar tip, but I figured she deserved it after dealing with me all night.

I took the box and left the restaurant. I walked back to my car in an awful mood. Where was he? Was he blowing me off? Was he . . .?

Oh my God. Was he okay? Had something happened to him? Was he in trouble? Was he hurt? I don't know what I would do if anything happened to him. I rushed back to the apartment and checked our voice mail. Nothing. If he was in the hospital, they would have called by now. So he wasn't there. So where was he?

Aster POV

Five minutes turned into almost an hour. Mr. Leeman offered to be a new sponsor, but I decided to hold off on a partnership with his company for based on my history with it.

"Aster I'm sorry. I-"

"I don't want to hear it, Loren. Just get me to the restaurant, now."

The rest of the car ride was in silence and when we got to the restaurant I had gotten out before it even came to a stop. I walked straight to the hostess. "Truesdale. I'm with the Truesdale party."

"I'm sorry. Mr. Truesdale left about ten minutes ago after his date didn't show up."

She didn't mean to rub it in my face, but I felt a twinge of pain in my chest. I looked at my watch. 8:00. I had really messed up this time.

I rushed out back to the car. "Take me home, now." I had a feeling that's where he went.

I said nothing to Loren when we got there. Just left him down in front of our building. I ran up the stairs and practically threw open the door. Zane was laying across the couch. He looked towards me and sat up immediately. He looked me up and down as if looking for injuries. When he saw none, his face turned sour.

"Look who decided to show up. What, that handsome manager of yours too distracting?"

"Zane, you're wrong."

He stood up and strode over to me. "Am I? I was just her worrying about what had happened to you. I was worried you gotten hurt, that you were missing. I didn't know what to do. But now I see nothing was wrong with you. You're fine. What was it that you and Loren were doing, hm?"

"Nothing. I was supposed to talk with the president of a gaming company for five minutes but it just kept dragging on. Loren kept asking questions and I wanted make a good impression. I rushed to the restaurant but you weren't there. And the whole time I was just thinking about how I'd messed up. I shouldn't have agreed to talk with him. I should have left right away." I walked past him and collapsed on the couch, holding back tears. "I could only think about what was happening to you, what you were thinking. All you wanted was to spend a night with me and I messed up. I'm sorry Zane. I have no excuse. I messed up. And if you can't forgive me, I understand. I just wanted to give you your ring and tell you I love you again, because I love to tell you that."

I let the sobs come out freely now. I really hated myself for doing this to him. I felt Zane sit down next to me. He brought my head to his chest. "Shh, it's okay." He obviously had expected me to defend myself, not apologize profusely. "I forgive you. It's only one day."

I pushed away from him. "A special day. Our first Valentine's Day as an engaged couple."

"Aster, we all make mistakes. It's done now and there's nothing we can do about it." He kissed me as a form of comfort.

"Now, tell me about this ring."

Right. That. I reached into my pocket. "This certainly isn't the way I wanted to give it to you, but I wanted you to have a ring too. We're engaged so we should both have rings. Zane, I made a bad decision tonight, but if you're willing to forgive me now, would you still be willing to marry me?" I opened the box. He took the box gently and took the ring out.

"Of course I'll still marry you Aster." I put my hand on his and put the ring on his hand and now we matched. "It's really beautiful Aster. You know me so well."

He kissed me again and I had stopped crying. We had actually made it through this and we were still together. I thought for sure Zane would be livid when I didn't show up, but he'd proven me wrong. Gerald was right. I had found something special and I was going to fight for him.