A/N: We've finally made it. This is the last chapter. This is by far the longest fanfic I've ever written and I've worked very hard on it, so if you've made it this far, I'd be really grateful if you could leave me a review and let me know what you thought. Also... since there hasn't been any smut for the past three chapters, I figured I might as well add some at the end of this one. You're welcome lol.

He met her at a small, cozy café, tucked between two shops on a busy street. Steam rose languidly from the cup of black coffee on the table before him while pale sunlight filtered through the window, picking up the tiny dust motes that swirled through the air. Set apart from the urgency of the outside world, the interior of the café was still and peaceful, the only sounds being those of classical music playing on low volume and quiet small talk between the patrons. But she hadn't said a word to him yet, even though she was the one who'd asked him to come.

"So, what did you want to say to me?" Akaito asked. "Spit it out already."

Her golden eyes didn't stray from his own, but even so, she hesitated. He allowed her a moment to get her bearings and brought the cup to his lips, savoring the aroma of the coffee and its pleasantly bitter taste. Sadly, he had go for decaf these days. Caffeine had an annoying tendency to trigger his migraines.

"I've wanted to reach out to you for a while now", Neru answered, trying to keep her gaze steady on him. "I know things didn't end well between us—"

He gave an unamused snort. "That's the understatement of the year."

She nodded quickly. "Okay, yeah. I was a total bitch. I treated you like shit. I… I just wanted to tell you that…. I'm really sorry, for everything I did."

Akaito frowned at her. It wasn't like she hadn't apologized to him before, all those times when she'd begged him to come back to her, getting his hopes up just to grind him down all over again with her harsh words and frigid touch. He still remembered how small and insignificant she'd made him feel then, and how everything had gone so black he'd thought he'd never see the light again. He remembered how he hadn't been able to look himself in the mirror, because he couldn't stop wishing that the person looking back at him didn't exist, because he couldn't think of anyone who would care if he disappeared, and those words of hers had echoed through his aching head.

"You can die alone for all that I care. I can't believe I wasted so much time on you."

And yet, he'd agreed to meet her today, because he figured it was something he needed to do. He needed to cut ties with his painful past so that he could move forwards, unhindered by all those feelings of shame, hurt and humiliation she'd left him with. To tell the truth, he'd been scared out of his mind before this encounter, anxious that seeing her might make him regress into that meek, helpless man he used to be. But now that she was sitting in front of him, looking at him with that sorrowful expression on her face, Akaito wondered what the hell it was that he'd been so frightened of. She was just a person, a perfectly ordinary woman. She didn't have the power to harm him anymore.

"Can I ask you something?" he wondered. Neru nodded again, evidently surprised by his unbothered demeanor.

"S-Sure."

He turned his head to the window. It was nearly lunchtime and a never-ending stream of people was moving past them in a hurry, completely caught up in the day-to-day operation of their lives. Akaito looked over those fleeting faces and fixed his eyes on a spot at the other side of the street. There he stood, his emotional support idiot, smiling and waving and attracting odd looks from strangers. He sighed at his dimwit of a brother, but he couldn't prevent the smile that pulled on corners of his mouth. Reassured that he didn't have to do this on his own, he turned his head back to Neru.

"I'm pretty sure I loved you, once", he told her sincerely. "I did everything I could to make you happy, but it was never enough for you. By the end of it, you didn't even have a single nice word to say about me. So… what exactly did I do to make you hate me so much?"

Stunned, she stared at him, and he could actually see the conscious effort she made to hold back tears. She looked genuinely heartbroken.

"I never hated you, Akaito", she said quietly. "I understand why it must've seemed like that, but… I'm sorry, I don't know how to explain it."

"Try", Akaito pressed. He wasn't about to let her off that easily. Neru kept her eyes on him for another few seconds before her gaze dropped to her hands.

"It was just too good to true", she started, lowering her voice until it was barely more than a whisper. "I didn't have the best self-esteem back then and could never understand why you liked me. I kept thinking you'd realize some day that I wasn't all that great, and then you'd leave me. I felt like I was an imposter, like I didn't belong with you, and it only got worse as time went on. So… I guess I just ended up taking out those negative feelings on you."

"That doesn't make any fucking sense", he said bluntly and she sagged.

"Yeah… I know. Again, I'm really sorry."

Akaito leaned back in his chair as he regarded the woman before him, noting the slope of her shoulders and how she hung her head in remorse. He searched for those familiar sentiments of spite and bitterness within him, but he couldn't bring himself to find them. In fact, he realized he felt nothing for her, neither good or bad. He'd never thought he'd be so relieved to be indifferent towards someone.

"I can't forgive you", he said finally, "at least not yet… but I appreciate your apology,"

"That's fine", Neru answered, raising her head. "I didn't expect you to. I just wanted you to know that, despite all the awful things I did to you, I really did care about you and… I've been worried about you. Are you… doing okay these days?"

"I can do you one better", Akaito said as he turned to the window again. "I'm doing great."

She followed the direction of his gaze and squinted. "Is that your brother out there?"

"Yep. I told him I was meeting you and he insisted on coming along."

"So you told him about us? I thought you guys weren't really on talking terms?"

He looked back to her, inclining his head. "Things have changed since you last saw me."

"So I've heard", she replied, and the shadow of a smile swept across her lips. "There's this crazy rumor going about that you're dating Kagamine Rin."

He couldn't help but grin back at her. "You don't say?"

—

Akaito left the café with a spring in his step, feeling a million times lighter than when he had entered. Kaito caught up to him as he was he was walking down the street and Akaito's felt his brother's hand land on the top of his head, ruffling through his scarlet hair.

"Stop doing that", he complained. "You're ruining my hair."

However, Kaito didn't seem to be listening. He kept his hand firmly on the back of Akaito's head, steering him away from the café. Akaito realized that Kaito was looking over his shoulder, that blackened look in his eyes as he glowered back at Neru. Akaito knew it as the look his brother reserved for the people who hurt the ones he loved. He was glad he wasn't at the receiving end this time around.

"How did it go?" Kaito asked, once they'd made it far enough down the street to be out of Neru's sight. Akaito shrugged.

"It went alright. She didn't try to get me back or anything if that's what you're worried about."

"Okay", Kaito said and nodded, easing up a bit. "That's good."

"You didn't need to come", Akaito told him, "but I'm glad you did. Thank you… for being there for me."

"No problem", Kaito answered and gave him a warm smile. "That's what big brothers are for."

They got to an area that was less crowded with people and they slowed their mutual gait, walking more leisurely now. It was already late autumn and winter was supposedly lurking around the corner, but the weather was surprisingly mild and the sunshine felt warm on Akaito's skin. A light breeze whisked through the trees that lined the street, causing dry leaves to scatter across the ground. He looked up towards the cloudless sky and took a deep breath of crisp, cool air. He really loved this time of the year.

"You've changed, haven't you?" Kaito said and Akaito glanced over at him, arching an eyebrow.

"Have I?"

"I think so. You seem much happier and kinder than you used to be", Kaito explained. "You've been taking really good care of Rin-chan and you're getting along with everyone else too."

"Not everyone", Akaito remarked. His brother gave a nervous chuckle.

"Okay, Miku might not be your biggest fan…"

"She literally hates my guts."

"Don't be ridiculous, she doesn't hate you", Kaito argued, albeit not very convincingly. "She just… needs a little more time to warm up to you."

Akaito rolled his eyes, but didn't say what he was thinking. In reality, Miku had been given plenty of time to "warm up to him" without much progress. Rin had stressed how important that was to her for them to get along, but despite his best efforts to prove her wrong, Akaito knew that Miku still expected him to mistreat her precious friend in some way. There didn't seem to be a whole lot he could do to make her change her opinion about him and he highly doubted she would ever grow to like him… or even tolerate him.

It had been almost a year now since Rin formally introduced him as her boyfriend to her housemates. Akaito had stood before them then, bowed deeply and apologized profusely for his past behavior. Meiko had simply shrugged it off as no big deal, while Luka had shook her head and smiled at him. Len had seemed skeptical of him at first, but he'd started to come around eventually, treating Akaito with something like begrudging acceptance. Miku was the only who remained hostile towards him, but then she was the also the only one of them who knew how badly he'd hurt Rin. Akaito reckoned he should just be glad that Miku hadn't told the others about that. They probably wouldn't have been so quick to forgive him if they'd known.

"Alright then, I'll talk to her about it", Kaito said suddenly. Akaito's head snapped towards him.

"What?! Fuck no! Don't do that!"

"Yes, I think I will", Kaito replied, looking straight at him. "I know you're trying really hard to be nice to her. I know how much effort your putting into being a better person and I've seen how much you've grown over the past year. I want you to to know that… I'm proud of you, Akaito."

"Yikes… Don't go all mushy on me now", Akaito grunted, his cheeks glowing bright red. A huge, goofy grin appeared on Kaito's face and he draped an arm over Akaito's shoulders, pulling him closer.

"I'll be just as mushy as I want to be, thank you very much." He paused for a bit and his eyes softened, radiating with his kindness. "I'm just happy we can talk like this again. I've missed it, you know."

Akaito knew that it was purely due to Kaito's generosity and general good nature that their relationship had been able to recover this soon. Kaito was the one who'd made all the sacrifices, going as far as giving up on the one girl he'd loved just so that they could be united as siblings once more. For that, Akaito would be forever grateful to his brother.

"I've missed it too", he muttered under his breath. "I've missed you…"

Impossibly, Kaito's grin grew bigger still. "What's that? I didn't hear you."

Akaito responded by jabbing his elbow into Kaito's side, but Kaito only laughed and ruffled his hair again. His hand felt rough, yet somehow very gentle and very comforting. Akaito looked at his brother, at the stupid grin on his stupid face, and was astonished at the overwhelming sense of fondness that swelled within his chest.

He honestly couldn't believe how much he loved that idiot.

—

It was late in the afternoon when Akaito finally got back home. Kaito had invited him to have lunch together and they'd ended up talking for almost two hours, catching up on this and that, laughing and poking fun at one another like they used during the good old days. Even when they'd said their goodbyes and gone in separate directions, Akaito knew they would see each other again soon. The two of them still had a lot of lost time to make up for, after all.

He called out when he came through the front door, but as expected, he was greeted with nothing but silence. Rin was in the process of recording a new album with Len, so she'd left for work early that morning. They weren't living together, notofficiallyanyway, but it was the rule than the exception that she stayed the night with Akaito at this point. Naturally, he had provided her own section in his wardrobe and that had somehow lead to her stockpiling the hallway with her many, many pairs of shoes.

"Why do you need so many shoes?" he'd asked her once. She'd looked at him like she didn't understand the question.

"To match with my outfits, of course", she'd answered.

"Of course", he'd repeated and that was the end of that discussion.

He wedged his one pair of sneakers between the countless smaller ones on the shelf and headed to the living room, picking up the electric guitar from its stand. A series of chords had been floating around in the back of his head on the way home, so he sat on the couch and gave them a go, plucking gently at the strings. It was a simplistic sound, but pleasant enough. He thought he could probably make something of it.

The bright orange afternoon light dimmed gradually while he extended the melody, humming along, his eyes shut as he listened attentively, letting the tune draw images from the depths of his mind. Silky blonde hair, bright blue eyes, the smell of citrus, a coy smile on rosy lips. He kept going until the sun had sunk below the horizon, then he got up, put his beloved guitar away and set about preparing dinner. Tonight they were having curry, as per Rin's request.

Akaito had kicked the cooking into full gear and was standing by the stove, filling the house with the mouth-watering fragrance of fried onions and warm spices, when he heard the sound of a car pulling up at the curb outside. It wasn't long before front door swung open and Rin announced her arrival at the top of her lungs.

"Honey, I'm home!"

Apparently, she hadn't grown sick of that gag yet.

"Welcome back", he said as she came bouncing into the kitchen. "I hope you're hungry."

"Ah~, it smells delicious", she sighed and wrapped her arms around his waist, nuzzling into his side. "I love you so much."

He turned towards her and she reached onto her toes, clasping her hands at the back of the neck as she kissed him. It was quick yet sweet and his heart ticked happily at having her in his arms. Rin was acting like her usual cheerful self, but Akaito couldn't keep from noticing how pale and weary her face looked. The past couple of months had been crazy busy for her and — despite knowing how ambitious and hard-working she was— he worried that she might be overdoing it. He cupped one hand over her cheek and kissed her forehead, hoping to convey that she could lean on him if she needed to.

"Would you mind setting the table?" Akaito wondered. "The food's almost ready."

"Sure thing", Rin murmured in response, letting her hand trail down his arm before she stepped away from him. "By the way, have I told you that you look extremely cutein that apron?"

He gave her a cautionary glare and she started giggling hysterically, ducking out of his of range before he could attempt to pinch her cheek as revenge.

"You have a lot of nerve for someone who needs a stepping stool to reach the glasses", he muttered. She crossed her arms over her chest and shot him a glare of her own.

"So I'm short. What does have to do with anything?"

"Nothing at all", he crooned and grinned at her. "Don't you let it worry your pretty little head, princess."

She threw the kitchen towel at his head to and he laughed, blowing her a kiss before turned back to the stove. He added some more salt and pepper to the curry as the final touch and brought the pot over to the table, giving Rin a pat on the head before he went back to fetch the rice from the rice cooker. Using the shamoji, he pressed the sticky short grain rice into two small bowls and took them to the table as well. Rin gave a tiny applause when he upended the bowl onto her plate, lifting it to reveal a perfect dome of rice. Akaito added a flourish to humor her.

"So how was work today?" he asked her as he sat down, draping the apron over the back of his chair. She was just about to ladle curry onto her plate, but paused for a second to respond.

"It was okay", she said. "We've made good progress, but… things between me and Len are a little tense. I think he's feeling left out because I'm spending so much time with you."

"Well, that's understandable", Akaito said. "You guys have spent your entire lives together, after all. But you're both adults now. You can't expect to be joined at the hip forever."

"Yeah… I guess you're right", Rin sighed. "I still feel like a terrible sister though."

He reached over the table to touch her hand and she looked at him all teary-eyed, her lower lip trembling slightly.

"Don't be so hard on yourself", he told her. "I'm sure you'll work things out if you just talk it out with him. That's what you always do, right?"

Somewhat reluctantly, Rin nodded in agreement and blinked the tears away. She turned her attention back to her food, scooping up heaping a spoonful of curry and rice which she proceeded to shove into her mouth. Her face instantly lit up and she broke into a blissful smile.

"This is sooo good!" she exclaimed, kicking her feet under the table. "It's the best curry I've eaten my entire life!"

"I bet you say that to all the men who cook for you", Akaito answered with a chuckle. But then she gave him that look that made the blood run hot under his skin.

"Oh, please. You know you're the only one for me", she murmured. "Thank you, Akaito. I really needed this."

"It's the least I can do", he said bashfully, rubbing the back of his neck. They remained in a fuzzy exchange of tenderness for a brief moment, before they remembered that they were in the middle of eating and went back to it.

They resumed the regular dinner conversation and Rin asked him what he had been up to during the day. Akaito deliberated over whether he should tell her about his meeting with Neru straightaway, but opted to only talk about his lunch with Kaito instead. Although he felt bad about hiding things from Rin, he didn't want to risk upsetting her when she was already feeling fragile. He knew all too well how intense the emotional reactions could be, especially after he'd told her the truth of what had really happened between him and Neru. He never wanted to see her cry like that again. Not if he could avoid it, at least.

Once they'd finished their food, they washed the dishes together and huddled up on the couch to unwind. Rin pulled up her feet and curled into a ball next to Akaito, stealing as much of his body heat as she could while they watched the news. He glanced quickly at her, making sure she hadn't dozed off, before he extended his arms and placed a small gift box on the coffee table.

"What's that?" Rin asked, pointing at the box.

"What does it look like? It's an anniversary gift", Akaito replied. She looked at him reproachfully.

"Didn't I tell you that you didn't have to buy me anything? It's not like we're married."

He raised his eyebrows at her, amused. "As if you didn't get anything for me, even though I also told you that you didn't have to."

She soured. "That's different."

"How is it different?"

"I don't know. It just is."

"It's not though. You're just being unreasonable."

Rin glowered at him for a bit longer to make her point (whatever it was), but she didn't try to argue any further. Reaching out, she took the box into her hands, undid the ribbon hat held it together and opened the lid to find tiny porcelain flower on a thin golden chain.

"It's a necklace…" She turned her head to look at Akaito. "That flower, is it a red camellia?"

"It is", he answered. "Do you know what it symbolizes?"

She nodded and a blush crept onto her face. "Love, passion and… deep desire."

"Do you like it?"

"I love it", she whispered, smiling earnestly at him. She placed the box back onto to the table and picked up the necklace, holding it between her delicate fingers. Her eyes twinkled as she opened the clasp and draped the chain around her neck, letting the red camellia settle right beneath her collarbones. Admiring, she gazed down at it, fingertips grazing her décolletage.

"Thank you", she said and leaned in, pressing her soft lips to his. Then, she pulled back from him and jumped out of the couch, her feet pattering against the wooden floor as she rushed out of the room. Akaito stayed where he was, waiting expectantly for her to return. Judging from that impish grin on her face, he knew she was most likely up to something.

Rin came back holding a plain white envelope to her chest. She handed it over to him and sat down, but she was so excited she could hardly keep herself still.

"Hurry up and open it", she encouraged, her eyes fixed on him, brimming with impatience. So Akaito opened the envelope. The only thing inside it was two sheets of paper. One of them contained sections of text spaced evenly across it's surface, the other one was covered with music notes. He skimmed through them once and frowned.

"It's a duet", Rin explained before he could ask. "I wrote it myself, both the music and the lyrics. I… I'd like you to record it with me."

Akaito blinked and glanced back to the lyrics, reading through it once more. No matter how you looked at it, it was a love song.

"You don't mean… you want to release it?" he asked quietly, staring at her in disbelief. She shuffled closer, her expression shifting. She seemed unsure, apprehensive.

"We don't have to do it if you don't want to", she said hurriedly. "It's just… we've been able to keep our relationship secret from the public so far, but I know that's not going to last forever, so… I'd really like it if my fans had a chance to see you the way I do. I want them to see… what a great duo we are."

Akaito suddenly felt his breath hitch in his throat. Vainly, he tried to stifle the onset of tears, but before he knew it, they were dripping down his cheeks, wetting the paper sin his hands. He twisted away from Rin and buried his face in the crook of his arm, muffling the sobs in the sleeve of his shirt. It's not fair, he thought miserably. He'd been so proud over how much thought he'd put into his gift to her, and then she'd come along and one-upped him like it was nothing. Of course she would come up with the most amazing fucking gift ever.

"Are you crying, my darling?" Rin said softly, stroking his back. "I didn't mean to make you cry."

"I'm not crying", Akaito sniffled. "That would be stupid."

"It's not stupid. It's sweet. Akaito… please look at me. It's nothing to be embarrassed about."

He turned his head slowly, still gripping onto the now damp and crumped paper, and Rin ran her thumb over his cheek, wiping a tear from his flushed face. His self-consciousness faded away at her touch and he melted under her unbelievably affectionate gaze. The love he felt for his brother, however bright and pure it was, paled in comparison to what he felt towards her.

"What do you say?" she wondered. "Do you want to do it?"

"Of course I do", he answered, turning fully, taking her into his arms. "You're amazing, Rin."

"I know", she murmured into his shoulder, a sweet smile in her voice. "You're amazing, too."

Yet again, they joined in a kiss, one that was avid and passionate, marked by their rousing desire. They breathed hotly, unwilling to part for even an instant, fingers raking through each others hair, pulling at their clothing, dancing over bare skin. Their eyes met in a silent request, to which they both said a definite "yes", and she took him by the hand, leading the way upstairs.

They were already down to their underwear when they got to the bedroom, their limbs entangled to the extent that they practically stumbled onto the bed, Rin ending up on top, straddling Akaito's lap.

"Oh, hello", she said with a smirk, a mischievous gleam in the corner of her eye as her hand brushed over his hard-on. She wrapped her arms around his neck and started rutting against him, excitedly, teasingly. Akaito groaned and lifted his hips to meet her, feeling how wet she was even with the interfering fabric between them. He snuck his hands around Rin's back and fumbled with the clasp of her bra until the straps fell down her shoulders and she tore it off herself, tossing it to the floor. He brought his hands to her chest, cupping and squeezing her tiny breasts, nose and mouth pressed to her neck while he kissed and nipped along the path up to her earlobe.

"Nn, hah", Rin moaned, shifting her hips as she shimmied out of her panties, before grabbing onto one of Akaito's hands and leading it down between her legs. She bucked insistently against the heel of his palm, asking him to pet her, and he certainly wasn't one to refuse. He took care of her for a while, enjoying her cute little mewls and those other noises she made for him and him only. But he once he sensed that she was getting close, he removed his hand before she had the chance to finish. She leaned back and gave him a dissatisfied glare.

"You're such a jerk", she growled.

"Yeah, but I'm your jerk", he said with a sly grin. She rolled her eyes at him and wiped the grin off his face by kissing him deeply, dipping her tongue between his lips. Reaching down, she curled her fingers around the hem of his underwear and tugged it down over his stiff length, all the while her tongue wandered through his mouth, nudging playfully against his own. Akaito let slip an another groan when Rin's fingers enveloped his shaft and she stroked him with both hands, rubbing the sensitive tip with her thumbs until he felt like he was going to burst.

"Rin", he said against her mouth. "Please…"

A string of saliva fell between them as Rin pulled away. She licked her lips and titled her head to the side.

"Please… what?" she coaxed, giving him that deceptively innocent smile that made him twitch in her hands. Akaito managed to kick his underwear the last bit down his legs and emitted a frustrated grunt. This girl was surely going to be the death of him.

"Please… just let me have you", he begged her, burning with both lust and embarrassment over what she was making him do.

"Whatever you say, darling", she replied and moved her hands on his shoulders to steady herself, positioning her hips right above his. Carefully, she lowered herself down on him, adjusting as she went, sighing once he'd filled her up. She began to rock her hips, going at it with a pace that was almost agonizingly slow. She liked to take her sweet time with him, dragging out the pleasure until he was twisting and squirming underneath her, but he let her keep at it just because it felt so incredibly good.

"Rin… f-fuck", Akaito groaned, his hands clutching at her thighs, helping her along, encouraging her to go quicker. Rin leaned her forehead to his and stared into his eyes from beneath her long, blonde lashes, panting softly onto his lips. She whined with yearning as she tried desperately to pick up the pace, tried to raise her hips further before he could pull her back down on him, doing whatever she could to satisfy them both — but it still wasn't nearly enough. Akaito couldn't hold back anymore.

Without warning, he wrapped his arms around Rin and rolled over until he was on top of her. She barely had time to register the shift of positions before he was taking her, roughly and senselessly, just mindful enough to not put all of his weight on her petite body as he clenched his teeth, grasped her hips and pounded into her. He could hear her crying his name, felt her nails skidding across his skin, felt her quiver and spasm, her hips and thighs snapping violently when he finally released inside her, only a second before she whimpered and tightened around him, letting him know she'd finished as well. He didn't even have the strength left to lift himself off her, so he simply fell to the side, landing heavily onto the mattress.

"A heads up… would be nice… next time", Rin gasped, pausing to take in big gulps of air between every few words. Akaito laughed and pulled her towards him, kissing her noisily on the mouth.

"Where's the fun in that?" he said as he tangled his fingers through her short hair, tugging gently at the ends, just how she liked it. Once she hummed her approval and closed her eyes, he propped himself onto his hands and reached for the blanket at the foot of the bed, draping it over them before she started to get cold. For one heavenly moment, they did nothing but lie there and breathe together, embedded in a comfortable silence as they basked in the afterglow. Unfortunately, Akaito still had that one thing he needed to get of his chest.

"Listen, Rin… I need to tell you something", he said pensively. "I met up with Neru today."

Rin sat up abruptly, staring at him. "You did what?"

He sat up too, speaking quickly, anxious to soothe her. "She called me up and asked if she could speak to me in person. She told me it was important and I said yes because I just wanted to… get closure, I guess? Anyway, all she wanted to do was apologize to me."

Rin pressed her lips into a thin line. She was clearly upset with him, but she held her tongue until she had sorted her thoughts out and was able to calm herself down.

"Okay…" she said. "So why are you only telling me this now?"

"I didn't want to worry you", Akaito answered. "You seemed to have enough going on already. Besides, Kaito was there with me. It was completely fine."

"Okay", she said again, more assertively. "I still wish you had told me earlier, but… I'm just glad it went well. It did go well, right? She didn't do anything to… hurt you?"

"It went well", he assured her, meeting her fearful gaze. "I'm okay, I promise."

Rin nodded and seemed to relax a little as she leaned her back against the headboard. But she hadn't gotten rid of that frown yet. There was something else that was bothering her.

"Actually, there's something I need to tell you too", she confessed. Akaito gave a nod in return and waited for her to elaborate. It took a while though. He watched her fidget with the chain that hung around her neck, a restless look on her face as she chewed her lip . It ought to be something important. He hadn't seen her this flustered in quite some time.

"You see, I… renegotiated the terms of my contract", she said at last. "I figured I had enough leverage at this point in my career to do so… and it turns out that I did. So, from this point I'm no longer obligated to live in the same house as the others. I still can if I want to, of course. But like, if I wanted to, and if you wanted to… we could… move in together. Like, officially."

Akaito looked at her wordlessly, his mouth half-open. Some part of him must've assumed this wouldn't be that big of a deal to her, because he wasn't so much surprised by her proposal as he was by her timidity. But she's always been self-conscious about the weirdest things, he thought, breaking into a broad smile.

"Rin, you're basically living with me already", he said. "A little paperwork won't make that much difference. But if it's what you want, we could make it official. I mean… that's what I want also."

"R-Really?!" Rin exclaimed, bouncing up as she flung her arms around his neck. "You're serious? You… you're not messing with me, right?"

"Even I wouldn't joke about something like that", Akaito murmured, running his fingers through her hair once more. "I love you and I want to spend as much time with you as I possibly can."

Her eyes watered and she smiled the brightest, most vibrant smile he'd ever seen. She held him tightly, squealing with joy as she covered his entire face with kisses, and he could feel her deep, unshakable love for him, so strong and fierce it made his heart tremble with wonder.

"I love you too", Rin whispered as she snuggled up against him, her eyes slowly slipping close. "You're my favorite person…. in the whole world. Just… don't tell Len… I said that…"

"Wouldn't dream of it", Akaito said, even though she was already fast asleep. He reached over and unclasped her necklace, putting it safely on the bedstead before he settled down next to her. As usual, he never wasted an opportunity to admire her, Kagamine Rin, that utterly adorable and sometimes equally infuriating girlfriend of his.

He listened to the sound of her slow, even breathing. He pushed his nose into her hair and took in her sweet and tangy scent. He felt her warm body, her soft skin, her fluttering heartbeat against the palm of his hand, and knew that everything was okay.

He closed his eyes and thought about the future, their future, and smiled to himself.

He was full of hope.