Even though I was very close, Misaki hadn't averted his eyes yet. He didn't look angry, just . . . resolute? That was amusing. Not that I think Misaki is all talk, but . . . he's just so cute!

"Stop right there, you pervert," Misaki growled. I stopped; he did seem serious this time.

"Misaki," I crooned. He face turned even redder.

"You-you're always too fast, baka," he muttered and finally looked away.

"I have to be fast otherwise you'll run away from me," I explained patiently.

Those green eyes snapped back to mine. "When somebody comes at you like that I think it's normal to want to get away!" I could see his pulse beating in the side of his little throat. He was really anxious. Of course, that's a constant state for Misaki, I thought guiltily.

"So if I go slower it's okay?"

"Well . . . it's not just that." He winced as he said it. I sighed. How long had he been bottling things up this time?

"Let's sit down and talk about it," I said heavily. Misaki looked horrified.

"I-I didn't mean it like that, really, it's okay. I'm going to go-UWAH!" I flung him over my shoulder "BAKA, I JUST SAID-" and put him down on the couch. He blinked at me, torn between fury and confusion, as I sat down across from him.

"Tell me," I said. I started to feel worried myself, and really wanted a cigarette, but I sternly remind myself that Misaki was more important than all my insecurities.

"Ah, um, the timing is a problem," he began awkwardly.

"Oh?"

"I mean, doing it before school really stresses me out. I'm always so close to being late every time and I'm a junior now! I can't get to my freaking classes without running because somebody happened to feel horny that morning. I'm trying to keep my life together and it just sucks when most days start with getting my brains fucked out followed by a mad dash to the university." He paused for breath. All I could think of was that my little Misaki used the f-word. "That on top of everything else just really-"

"What do you mean everything else?"

"Like, I don't know, the fact that your dad hates my guts," he said dully.

"I told you that everything was fine," I said sharply. "Don't worry about what he thinks."

"I can't just ignore it!" he yelled, startling me. "I want to be able to handle whatever he throws at me. Remember when you said that it would be better for me to live on my own?" My stomach flipped over.

"No. No, you can't." I said hoarsely.

"You said," Misaki carried on determinedly, "that you were worried about what your family would tell me about you. You said you were afraid it would make me leave. I'm telling you, everything is fine. I know you have your own worries about . . . us, which is why I'm working hard to be someone who can stand next to you. I can't do that if you're always treating me like a kid by keeping things from me, or not taking me seriously when I say, "No, I have school in half an hour." Do you know how hard it is for me to stay awake in class after that? Or sit on those damn wooden chairs?" He was panting now and seemed finished. This was one of Misaki's more organized speeches, so he must have been thinking about it for a long time. I felt . . . bad. I still hadn't gained his trust.

"I'm sorry," I managed to say shakily.

"Usagi-san . . ." I got up to go hide in my study for a while. I couldn't let him see how his words affected me. He would feel guilty and then I —"No you don't!" Misaki startled me by leaping up and wrapping his arms around me from behind. "Now who's running away?" he grumbled with his face half-buried in my back. I couldn't help but laugh at how he'd managed to turn the tables on me, probably for the first time ever. "Baka," he muttered.

"So you . . . really don't like it in the morning?"

"It's not that I don't like it," he said in a small voice, "it's just a bad time."

"What if we moved breakfast to an hour earlier?" I joked.

"No way!" He smacked my stomach for emphasis.

"Okay, okay." I turned around and ruffled his hair fondly, my mood of self-loathing long gone. Misaki pulled away and looked up at me happily.

"Well, now that that's settled, I'm going to bed," he announced and walked toward the stairs.

"Misaki, it's only seven." I made my disappointment clear in my voice. He just grinned at me smugly and climbed up the stairs. I stood there, totally dejected, till his voice floated down into the living room.

"Are you coming, or what?" Oh.