A/N: Behold! The longest chapter of the Million Dollar Bet yet posted. Here is a lovely, really fluffy fluff-filled chapter for you to make up for the completely fluff-less chapter I posted last time. In fact, I think I doubled it. I hope it's not over-fluffy, but I fear it is.

Updates might not be coming as frequently for several reasons, one being that I'm taking a driver's education crash course, and other things that need to get done this summer, and the other reason being that I've pretty much used up all my ideas now. All ideas are welcome! And a thanks to Shadow Host for the idea for part of this chapter.

WARNING: Major fluff ahead! No, seriously, this is the fluffiest thing I've ever written (but the rating is not going up. It's staying a very light T). Also, if you don't know what Caramelldansen is, you'd better go look it up on youtube right now.

The Million Dollar Bet

Day Nine

"Ohayo, Amu-chan," Rima said to Amu the minute she woke up. She really didn't want to have to deal with the whole Yaya/Amu mix-up, so she decided to set things straight right away.

"Huh? Yaya's Yaya, Rima-tan!" Amu replied. Rima face-palmed. Then she realized something: it didn't work. What if Amu never woke up from this? She would be stuck with her best friend as a candy-crazed baby! Or… a candy-crazed baby thinking she was her best friend. Not that there was anything wrong with Yaya, but she really wanted Amu back. Maybe Yaya would be more responsive.

Walking over to Amu's bed, she woke Yaya and greeted her. "Ohayo, Yaya-chan."

"Yaya's over there, Rima-chan," Yaya said, "Are you feeling alright?"

Well, that didn't work, either.

"Utau?" Rima called in desperation. The older girl dropped whatever she was doing and walked to where Rima was trying to deal with Yaya and Amu. "They didn't respond to their names."

"Um… well, since they think that they're each other, trying calling Yaya Amu and calling Amu Yaya."

"Yaya and Amu," Rima said. They both looked in her direction. "Which one is Yaya and which is Amu?"

"Rima-chan, are you sure you're not sick?" Yaya asked. Said blonde chibi devil nearly yelled in frustration.

"Maybe Nagi will know what to do," she muttered, walking toward the door. Utau smirked and grabbed her shoulder.

"You just called him 'Nagi', you know," she said. Rima rolled her eyes.

"His name is too long to bother with," she replied. "He might know what to do, so I'm going to go find him." Rima turned and exited the girls' bedroom.

Later, everyone congregated in the downstairs living room, besides Tadase, who was making breakfast. Nagihiko had come up with a plan, and he was presently explaining it, while Amu and Yaya watched in confusion, occasionally protesting that they were completely in their right minds. "Since Amu thinks her name is Yaya, and vice versa, when you say their real names, it doesn't register. But, since the 'spell', if you will, said that they would remember everything when someone said their name the next day that was referring to their real name. It might seem kind of confusing, but I think we need two people to say both of their names at once."

"I'll do it," Rima volunteered. "Utau, you can help me. I'll say Amu's name and you say Yaya's."

"Okay, on the count of three," the older girl agreed. "One, two, three: Yaya"

"Amu," Rima chimed in unison with Utau. Blushes redder than cherries appeared on both the no-longer confused girls' faces. Neither of them was sure how to react to the sudden memories flooding their brains. Suddenly, Amu freaked. She began running around the living room while waving her hands in the air. It was a very entertaining sight, and everyone just stood there watching her. Yaya's reaction wasn't half as much fun.

Ikuto clapped his hand over Amu's mouth, and screaming ceased. He then proceeded to pick her up princess-style and sat down on the couch, placing her on his lap and holding her there firmly despite her protests. "Stop whining, Amu," said Ikuto, "Don't you want to see Kukai's reaction when he remembers what happened?" She shut up. Apparently, that was worth having to sit on Ikuto's lap. Or maybe she just didn't mind as much as it seemed.

Kukai, having heard his name, suddenly turned bright red as he remembered singing the Barney song and proposing to the sofa. But in the long run, his reaction wasn't even as exciting as Yaya's, who barely did anything at all.

But most everyone was glad to have that whole thing straightened out.

~About three hours later~

Rounding the corner of the house, Utau found something she hadn't expected to see. It was, of course, perfectly sensible, considering what she knew, but it was still slightly shocking. She giggled. It was kind of cute. Well, actually, it was really cute.

So the average reader, by now, is wondering what Utau found. It was Rima. And Nagihiko. And they were both asleep.

Nagihiko was sitting on the grass, propped up against a tree trunk, his eyes closed peacefully. Rima's head rested on his shoulder, her eyes also draped shut as his head rested on hers.

Utau asked herself why Rima wanted to keep her love for Nagihiko a secret. But, if that's the way she wanted it, she probably had some unknown reason. So, although this was a perfect opportunity to win the battle of blackmail going between them, she decided that she would be nice to the blonde chibi.

Her first thought was to wake them before someone found them like that. But… the whole scene was just too cute and she couldn't bring herself to do it. Something like that really shouldn't affect her, but Utau simply didn't want to wake the sleeping couple. If anyone asked where they were, she would cover for them.

So Utau left them there and walked inside, trying to find some new source of entertainment. As she entered the house, she walked through the living room, and the first thing she spotted was Kukai lying on the couch.

What was it with people falling asleep all over the place? Well, whatever the case, this was one situation she planned to take advantage of. Creeping to the couch, Utau knelt beside it. A smirk grew on her face as an idea began to form in her mind. If only he would stay asleep a little bit longer…

She ran up the stairs, took something out of her suitcase, and ran back down. Kukai hadn't woken, and was completely oblivious and she slid the earring out of his left ear. The right one was harder to reach because of his position, but she managed it, and replaced both with big, dangly earrings that looked a little bit like wind chimes.

Just as she finished replacing them, Kukai's eyes opened. His green orbs stared right into her purple ones, and a thoughtful silence ensued. Finally, Kukai spoke up.

"Um… Utau, what are you doing?" he asked, still staring straight into her eyes. She had to come up with an excuse or a distraction if she didn't want him to notice the earrings. And she didn't. It would be worth a little excuse-making or distracting for the results. Not that she minded distracting him; not at all. And fortunately, Utau was very skilled in the art of distracting. Especially when it came to the boy she was pretty sure she was in love with.

She rested her head on his chest and snaked her arms around his neck. "Kukai," she hummed, "I wasn't doing anything."

"No?" Kukai raised an eyebrow.

"Nope," Utau replied, smirking as she inched face closer so that their noses were nearly touching. Her eyes drooped shut as she pressed her lips against his. Even if he'd wanted to pull away, he could have because he was still laying on the couch, his head between the cushion and Utau. Of course, there was no way on earth he would ever have wanted to, anyway, so it didn't really matter. He was perfectly happy like he was. Well, at least until Yaya walked into the room.

The two of them ignored the squealing girl for a while, until Utau decided to have a word with her. She stood up, turned to Yaya, and placed her hands on her hips in a stern, scolding fashion.

"Two things: one, it's rude to interrupt. Didn't your mother ever teach you that? And second, I thought you had a crush on Kukai, so why are you squealing like you're really happy?"

"Yaya likes someone else now. And Yaya thinks you are really cute together!"

"Hey, what do you guys want for lunch?" Nagihiko called, coming out of the kitchen. Utau wondered when he'd come into the house.

"Where's Rima?" she asked.

"I think… she's outside reading her gag-Manga," Nagi replied.

"Yaya wants cake!"

"Uh… I'll make sandwiches," he turned and walked back into the kitchen.

~Outside~

Rima was sitting on the front porch, once again, while reading her gag-Manga. She had on that angelic face that happened when she was really happy. Laughing at the gags while sitting on the steps, the petite blond was completely oblivious to someone walking up the pathway to the house.

A boy who'd been taking the newspaper to the huge house spotted her, and was enraptured by her beauty. Now this kid, being pretty good-looking and popular, was not in the least bit shy. When he saw the giggling comedy goddess sitting on those steps, he decided to see if he could get her attention.

"Hey," he said, dropping the newspaper at her feet. Rima glanced at it, and up at him, then went right back to her Manga. The boy pulled a pair of sunglasses out of his pocket and put them on. "Do you know why I'm wearing these sunglasses?"

Rima looked at the boy, wondering how to answer. She could be rude and do numerous things, such as simply ignoring him, or walking back into the house and slamming the door in his face. But maybe she could get away with being polite. Besides, he might not go away if she did either of the first two notions. Maybe Nagi would come save her… she like that thought.

"No," she said, "Why?"

"Because your radiance blinds me," he said, grinning widely.

"Then you'd better leave before your eyes get fried," she told him. His grin widened, thinking of this as a challenge.

"Playing hard-to-get?" he asked.

"What kind of a game is that?" Rima scoffed, "And why would I want to do such a thing? It's self-contradictory. A paradox."

The boy had to think for a moment to come up with a response. Eventually, he decided to go with a good-old-fashioned polite introduction.

"Umm… I'm Hiroaki, what's you're name?"

"Eliza," Rima lied, inwardly laughing her head off. The boy looked stunned.

"That's a… nice name?"

"Uh-huh. It's… not Japanese," she frowned, not sure where it had come from.

"Y-yeah, I figured that," he said.

Clack, comp, someone stepped onto the porch. Rima turned and her face brightened. Yes, Nagihiko had come to her rescue. The prince comes to slay the dragon trying to devour the princess.

Setting her Manga on the porch, Rima stood up and walked over to him, beaming. "Konichiwa, Nagi-koi!" She greeted. Thankfully, Nagihiko was smart. He raised an eyebrow, then took in the situation.

Placing his arm around her waist, he pulled her closer. "Who are you?" he asked the boy, glaring.

"Uh… I was just dropping off the newspaper. I guess I'll be going. I always say hello to all my customers…"

"Well, I hope you weren't hitting on my Rima-koi."

"R-Rima? I thought her name was Eliza!"

"I would get going if I were you," Nagi threatened. Gulping, the boy ran off.

As soon as he was gone, both Queen and Jack laughed so hard their sides hurt.

"Eliza?" Nagi wheezed. Rima nodded, laughing too hard to do much more. Finally, they could breath after a few minutes. "Come on, Eliza, let's go eat lunch."

"You'd better not start calling me that!"

"What? Eliza?"

"Yes!"

"Eliza, Eliza, Eliza!"

"Stop it!"

"Rima you're so cute when you're mad!"

~At the table, everyone is eating lunch~

"Kukai?" Amu asked, "What's with… the earrings?" She grinned, trying really hard not to laugh.

"I was wondering that myself," said Tadase.

"Why are my earrings suddenly a big deal? They've been there since you guys met me," Kukai said. Utau concentrated on her food, not looking in any other direction.

"But, you changed them," Tadase pointed out.

"Uh… Hotori-kun," Nagihiko began, trying hard himself not to snicker, "Somehow, I don't think Souma-kun did that himself."

"Face it, Soma, you look silly," Ikuto stated bluntly. Kukai rose from the table, wearing a confused look, and walked away, presumably to look in a mirror. Apparently, he'd figured things out, because when he came back, the earrings were in his hand. He gave them to Utau, then lifted her chin and kissed her square on the mouth.

"Can I have them back now, please?" he asked. Utau shook her head. He kissed her again. "Do I have to keep doing this until you give them to me?"

"Yep," she said, being the one to initiate it this time.

"Get a room, you guys," said Ikuto, looking bored.

"Yaya thinks it's so cute!"

"Souma-kun, are you and Hoshina-san…" Tadase trailed off.

"I think that's pretty obvious by now," stated Rima.

"I'm going outside," Amu said, the 'cooln'spicy' creeping into her tone, "Rima-chan, want to come?"

"Sure," Rima walked with Amu out the door, and everyone but Kukai and Utau followed suit.

When in the yard, it was decided to play a game, although what game was unclear. After several possibilities were debated, Utau and Kukai came outside, Kukai wearing his normal earrings again, although his hair was a mess.

The game that was decided was "Sardines". Amu hid.

Amu followed the stream into a pond-looking place. There were cattails and lily-pads, and frogs croaking. Some trees lined the water, and when she pushed through them, there was a spot where the bank jutted out into the water further. It was completely shaded by the trees, and was big enough for all of them. She sat there and trailed her fingers in the water while waiting for someone to find her.

A few brave minnows come to the surface of the pond, curious as to what could be disturbing the liquid and if, perhaps, it was edible. One of them went as far as to nip at her finger. Of course, being only a minnow, its mouth was far too small to even fit the very tip of her nail in it, so she barely felt it.

Amu was perfectly content watching the minnows dash about, and the occasional fish swim by. After a while, she began to notice the pollywogs that were hiding in the scum of the shallows. When she reached out to grab one, they all darted away, stirring up muck in the water and making it murky.

Amu sat back and looked across the surface of the pond. On top of the lily-pads there ware a few water-lilies. Perched atop one of them was a giant bullfrog. It was hard to spot at first, even though it was huge. Occasionally, it would croak loudly. Although the bullfrog was cool, Amu quickly became bored.

Finally, she heard something coming toward her. A head popped out of the cattails, and Amu turned to find that she was quite unfortunate. "Ikuto!" she exclaimed in a whisper. He walked over to her and sat down so silently it seemed as if he was a ghost. There was a long silence, and neither of them did anything but stare at the pond.

Amu wondered why Ikuto had not yet done or said anything at all, let along anything perverted. And then she chastised herself for thinking that, for expecting him to act like that. Her cheeks tinted the slightest bit pink—not enough to be easily noticed.

Ikuto watched the minnows with fascination, not taking his eyes off them. In the meantime, Amu stared at him without realizing it. Suddenly, it dawned on her how utterly handsome Ikuto really was. It wasn't something she hadn't been aware of before—she'd simply chosen to ignore it. But with the lighting of the sun slanting through the trees, it was surprisingly hard to ignore the fact that he was, indeed, hot.

The blush that had begun to creep across her face earlier deepened to a proper red, and Ikuto smirked. "Thinking perverted thoughts about me, are you, my little strawberry?" he asked quietly. Amu suddenly realized that she'd been staring at him, and turned her head in the other direction.

"W-what g-give you th-that idea?"

"Well, the fact that you're face is as red as a tomato sure was part of it," he turned his attention back to the minnows. A tension grew in the still air, and Amu was feeling the worst of it. After a few minutes of the awkward silence, Ikuto poked her in the side. Amu leapt to her feet and yowled in surprise, while the cat boy cringed.

"What did you do that for, you baka-hentai-cosplay-neko?" she screeched. He shushed her.

"You were staring off into space."

"That's no reason to poke me!"

"Sit down and be quiet or I'll do it again," Ikuto said. Amu obeyed. "You can't go yelling and screeching when you're trying to hide."

"S-sorry," she stuttered, looking away.

Another silence.

Ikuto was staring intensely at the creatures in the pond. One unlucky fish happened to swim by, and the cat boy eyed it hungrily before darting a hand in to catch it. He was, much to Amu's surprise, successful. The fish flopped about in his hands, and he gripped it tightly to contain it.

"Ikuto," Amu scolded harshly, "You put that fish back in the water right this instant! Do you want me to push you in?" He quickly dropped the fish back in the water, and the poor, frazzled creature swam away like a sea monster was after him. Or a cat.

Soon, footsteps could be heard coming toward them. "There's Amu-chii and Ikuto-kun!" Yaya exclaimed. Trailing behind her was everyone else.

"I told you not to yell," Ikuto said.

"Hey! I was only yelling because you were being a baka-hentai-cosplay-neko!"

"What did he do this time?" Rima asked, raising an eyebrow.

"He caught a fish," Amu crossed her arms.

"There's nothing wrong with that," Utau said, "Lot's of people do it. It's called 'fishing'."

"But he just scooped it out of the water and looked like he was going to eat it!" Amu complained loudly.

"Stop shouting or I'll give you a real reason to yell," said Ikuto, standing up from his perch at the edge of the water. Amu followed suit.

"Y-you wouldn't!" she stuttered. Smirking, Ikuto leaned over and bit her ear. Amu screeched and jumped away from him.

An evil glint appeared in her eye as an idea formed in her mind. She took a step forward and shoved Ikuto as hard as she could. He fell backward and landed in the pond with a giant splash.

Apparently, she had pushed him harder than she'd thought. Ikuto had gone far enough into the water that he was completely submerged. When he came back up, he was yowling like a cat and spitting water out of his mouth.

The splash had scared many of the creatures, including the giant bullfrog that Amu had been watching earlier. It jumped from its seat on the lily pad and landed directly on top of Ikuto's soaked blue hair, where it let out a giant croak.

Everybody doubled over in laughter, Amu somehow managing to look triumphant through fits of giggles. "That's for enslaving me yesterday," she said when she recovered. Ikuto was still trying to swim to the shore, and not being as successful as one might have guessed. He probably hadn't ever taken swimming lessons, which really wasn't that surprising.

~After Dinner~

"Yaya wants to play truth or dare again!" Yaya exclaimed.

"Okay," Ikuto agreed, suddenly brightening. He had been sulking ever since he was pushed into the pond. His trademark smirk appeared on his face once again.

"Yaya's going first! Amu-chii, truth or dare?"

"Dare," Amu said, turning to her 'cooln'spicy' act.

"Yaya dares you to… eat a piece of cardboard!"

"What! That's disgusting!" she protested.

"Eat it," Yaya persisted, miraculously procuring a piece of cardboard the size of a mouse's head. Grumbling, Amu popped it into her mouth and began chewing on it. She stopped for a moment to take her turn.

"Rima, truth or dare?"

"Dare," she said, avoiding anything that could possibly reveal her secret.

"Sing the 'I'm a Little Teapot' song and do the motions with it," Amu commanded. Rima stood up and walked to the center of the circle everyone was sitting in. She put one hand on her hip like a handle and pointed the other outward.

"I'm a little teapot, short and stout," she moved her arms around her to indicate the teapot being round, but didn't bother with 'short', presumably because she already was. "Here is my handle, here is my spout." With that, she returned to the position she'd started out it. When she was finished with the whole song and dance, she sat back down, not even once complaining, although the look on her face didn't allow for any teasing whatsoever.

"Utau, truth or dare?" Rima asked.

"Dare," she replied bluntly.

"Give Tadase a piggy-back ride," the short blonde told the taller blonde. Glaring, she did as she was told, though only for a very brief moment. Tadase, however, seemed more embarrassed about it than Utau.

She sat on the floor with a huff, and continued the game, "Yaya, truth or dare?"

"Yaya picks… dare!"

"When we're done with this game, go back to the pond and catch a frog. Preferably one of those giant bullfrogs. A pollywog would do, too. Anyway, when you have it, you have to kiss it."

"Okay. Amu-chii, truth or dare?"

"That's no fair! You already asked me!"

"Yaya's asking you again. It is fair. Now answer, truth or dare?"

"Truth," Amu replied, still not finished chewing the cardboard.

"Does Amu-chii like Ikuto-kun or Tadase-kun better?" Yaya asked. Predictably, Amu blushed, and mumbled something. "Yaya can't hear you!"

"I d-don't know…" she said, also very quietly. A week ago she would have said Tadase without hesitation. Rima and Nagihiko exchanged a look, and Rima made a mental note to have a heart-to-heart talk with Amu someday soon.

Amu quickly snapped out of her thoughtful moment and cheered up, "Nagi, truth or dare?"

"Dare," he said.

"Kiss Rima… on the lips," she said, smirking. Rima inwardly laughed. Amu was trying to match-make a couple that was already together. However, she forced herself to glare at the pinkette, although it was only half-hearted.

Thankfully, Nagihiko was a pretty good actor. "I'm sorry, Rima-chan," he said as he leaned toward her and pecked her on the lips. Rima was slightly disappointed, but at the same time was grateful to Nagihiko for doing his best to act like they were still enemies.

"Yaya thinks you would make a really cute couple!" Yaya exclaimed. Both of them were blushing, and Rima curled up in a ball to hide her face so no one could see the grin spreading on it.

"Ikuto, truth or dare?" Nagi asked.

"Dare," said Ikuto.

"Caramelldansen," he said, getting up and walking over to the TV. When he opened the cabinet underneath it, he fiddled with the stereo system for a moment, and some music started playing. "You have to do the whole thing."

And, much to everyone's surprise, Ikuto actually did it.

When you are ready to join us now ?
hands in the air, we can show you how
Come and try, Caramell will be your guide (be your guide)
So come and move your hips singing wah ha ha
Come and dance like this singing la la la
You and me, can sing this melody
Oo oah oo oah oah a
Dance to the beat, Wave your arms together
Come feel the heat forever and forever
Dance and you'll learn it is time for prancing
Now we are here with Caramell dansen
Oo oo oo oah oah
Oo oo oo oah oah ah ah
Oo oo oo oah oah
Oo oo oo oah oah ah ah

He wasn't that bad at it, either. The cat boy danced along with the high-pitched voices and cheery music like he'd practiced it before. Of course, it was quite hard for everyone else not to laugh. This was one thing they would never let him forget.

When the song ended, Ikuto sat down and quickly moved on before anyone could start teasing him about it. "Souma, truth or dare?"

"Truth," Kukai replied.

"Do you really like my sister?" he asked, feeling the slightest bit of a protective older brother instinct that had been bugging him since the scene during lunch.

The mood of the game had suddenly changed, and Kukai felt the sudden need to address Ikuto as 'sir', although he knew it would seem somewhat silly if he did. After a moment of silence, he answered. "No, I don't. I love her."

Smirking, Ikuto nodded. The answer was cliché, overused, but he was satisfied. The protective brother instinct that had come over him was rare, and he felt it dissipate quickly. Utau scooted closer to Kukai and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing his cheek. He blushed, cleared his throat, and said, "Hotori-kun, truth or dare?"

"Dare," answered Tadase.

"Do the hokey pokey and sing while you do it."

"O-okay," Tadase stood up and started singing, "You put your left foot in, you put your left foot out…" and so on, while doing the dance. Everyone started laughing when he sang "You do the hokey pokey and you turn yourself around, that's what it's all about!" While doing the actions that went with those lines. Finally, he finished, sat back down, and asked the routine question. "Fujisaki-san, truth or dare?"

"Dare," Nagihiko said. At that moment, the charas came in from working on their 'project'. For some unknown reason, Kiseki chara-changed with Tadase, and he started ranting about how Nagihiko must obey him. It took him a while to get around to the dare, and when he did, he told him to cross dress as a girl.

Sighing, Nagi pulled his hair up. "There, happy?" He let it back down.

"That doesn't count as cross dressing!" Rima protested. A tick-mark appeared on Nagihiko's forehead.

"Some girls wear boyish clothes. Tadase didn't specify I had to wear a skirt."

By this time, the chara-change was undone, and Tadase said that it was alright. Nagi breathed a sigh of relief.

The game went on for a while longer, and included several more song and dance acts. When it was finished, it was dark, and Yaya's dare was decided to be carried out in the morning. The frog could wait until then.

~Sometime in the middle of the night~

It was hot—way too hot. Sweat was pouring off Rima's body, dampening her pajamas and the base of her hair. Her eyes flew open, taking in the dark room around them. The blackness was enveloping, creeping out from behind corners and leering around every object.

She dared not move—for fear of what, she wasn't certain. But something inside her was desperately calling out, begging her to do something about the creepy, noxious feeling in her stomach. It was worth it, she decided, to make a venture of courage. Although her child-like fear was screaming at her to stay put, it was also telling her to move. To run. To seek protection.

In the past, when Rima had experienced a particularly horrifying nightmare, she would gather up all her courage to run down the dark hallway with the scary looming shadows, and climb into bed with her parents. In fact, even now, when she was far too old for such childish measures, Rima would run to her parents, as if nothing frightful could come when they were there. They had been her bulwarks.

That was what she needed now: a bulwark. Even though the dreadfulness of the dream hadn't been direction toward her, it was more awful that any she'd had, and she felt the need for comfort. The fact that the nightmare hadn't been at her won expense was the actual reason it was so terrifying. It had been about Nagi. Nagihiko: the single most important person in her life. Even more so than her own life, and if dreams could be omens, she didn't even want to think anything close to what might happen.

And that was why Rima felt the need not only for a bulwark, but for assurance. Assurance that Nagi was, indeed, fine and it had been, in fact, nothing more than a nightmare induced by her crucial desire to have nothing bad happen to Nagihiko.

Glancing at the sleeping chara on her pillow provided little comfort for Rima. She needed to know that Nagi was okay, and she wanted so desperately to be away from the horrid dream.

Not bothering to wake Kusukusu, Rima slipped out from under her covers and tip-toed as fast as she could out of the room, across the hall, and into the other room. In case Ikuto was awake, Rima crawled across the shadowy floor, so couldn't be seen. Thankfully, she didn't have to search for the right bed, having figured out the sleeping arrangements on her last late-night visit.

"Nagihiko!" she whispered harshly when she reached him. He didn't wake. "Nagi!" Rima shook him lightly, and he turned to her and opened his eyes.

"R-Rima?"

"Nagi…" she whimpered, trailing off as she realized that she hadn't thought this far ahead. "Are you okay?" was what she finally came up with. He looked at her funny.

"Yes, I'm fine, Rima-chan," he replied then added, a bit sarcastically, "And how are you today?"

"Are you sure you're okay?" she shuddered.

"Positive. What's wrong, Rima?" Nagi looked really concerned. Rima climbed onto his bed and pulled the covers over her. "What are you doing?"

"Nightmare," she explained, curling into a ball. Nagihiko stroked her cheek gently as Rima squeezed her eyes shut.

"It'll be fine," he said, "Think of more pleasant things."

"Like what?" Rima asked. He thought for a moment before replying.

"Like this," he tilted her face upward and kissed her mouth. She deepened it, and eventually pulled back.

"Can I stay here tonight?" she whispered, huddling against him. He chuckled softly.

"Sure, Rima-chan,"

"Arigato, Nagi…" said Rima, her eyes falling shut as she began to fall back asleep. Nagihiko smiled.

"I love you," he breathed into her hair. But she was already asleep.

Awwww! Wasn't that cute? I really like that last scene. I had a lot of fun writing it.

So there you have an uber-fluffy chapter to make up for the fluff-less chapter I posted last time!

Sorry for the lame parts of this chapter. I realize some of them weren't as good as others.

The cheesy pick-up line the newspaper boy used came from my co-worker. He made it up, not me. I was simply listening in on a hilarious conversation and happened to overhear him make it up, although I altered it. The original involved ski goggles. (I work at a ski resort)

Well, don't expect an update for a while. My driver's education course is going to take up a lot of my time, and I'm mostly out of ideas. It might be a week or two before there's another update. Sorry.

Please review! Any ideas, no matter how crazy, are welcome!