PART SEVEN - My World, Your World

Kratos blinked a few times, finding himself tucked into bed with Ran asleep cuddled up next to him. She nuzzled her face against his hand amid her slumber. Once she let go of him, he crept from under the covers to see they were in their room. It had been another peaceful day. He remembered making beef fried rice. When he and Ran were talking, she got a phone call from her brother. Kratos remembered the smile on her face when she heard the news that her brother was getting married. He looked out the window. The sun was just about to rise, the stars giving off their last twinkle before morning.

He yawned. He was going to need some coffee this early. Grabbing his robe and putting on some slippers, he started in to the kitchen to see that Squall had beat him to it.

"Morning," Kratos almost croaked, his voice sounded so froggy.

"Oh, good morning," Squall greeted him quietly. "Those girls will sleep through anything."

"No kidding," Kratos laughed. "I woke up too early, man. I've got a headache feeling like I've started at the sun too long."

"What, did Ran finally let you go at it? I'm sure a few hundred years without release will do that to ya," Squall teased him.

"No. That's not it at all," Kratos said, digging out the sugar from the cabinet. "I probably had a nightmare or something. I don't know. I'm sure I'll snap out of it as soon as I wake up."

"What do you say we make 'em breakfast in bed? Not a girl alive doesn't appreciate the beauty of waking up to breakfast waiting for them," Squall suggested, going to the fridge. "I know Ran would probably go crazy over some French toast and peanut butter."

"Stop trying to get me to seduce her. She'll be ready when she's ready."

"I hope you're still able to get it up when she finds herself in the mood again." Squall had to avoid a swing of a ceramic coffee mug aimed at his head. "I know you aren't that old. I'm just teasin' you, you old fart."

"I've told you before, I may be a fart, but I'm not old." Kratos said. "What's planned for today, do you know?"

"Knowing those two, it'll just be another lazy day of making out."

Kratos groaned. "Maybe just knowing Ash, that's the case."

"Did you just take a pot shot at my girl?"

"Nope. You must be mistaking me for some other redhead in the vicinity." Kratos yawned again, sitting down at the kitchen table. "Damn headache."

Ran stumbled down the hall half asleep, still just wearing her nightgown and slippers. She glomped around Kratos and held on for a few seconds. "Why are you up so damn early?" she asked.

"My head's killing me," he replied. "Woke up as if a bright light flashed across my face."

"Oh. Well. I need sugar in my system to stay awake," Ran said, opening up the breadbox to find a few donuts. "Gotta eat 'em before they get stale."

"No, you just want to eat them to eat them," Squall quipped, sitting down at the table. "So much for the breakfast idea."

"I'm not going anywhere this early," Ran said. "No way." She all ready had one completely devoured and was starting on a second. "I think I might even go back to bed."

"…I might take you up on that offer," Kratos said, stretching. "I am still exhausted. I might not get to sleep, but I'll at least keep you company."

"And make her cry out your name?"

"Squall, seriously," Ran said, bonking him on the head. "What's with you lately?"

"I just know it's been so fun lately, I wouldn't want to see the two of you missing out on all the fun to be had," Squall said with a smile. "If you're as half as talented as your sister, Kratos will be in for a world of pure awesomeness."

Ran wasn't sure if she was disgusted by that or not, so she didn't even bother replying to it. She just grabbed the last donut from the breadbox and walked out of the kitchen promptly.

"Note to self," Squall said quietly, "Don't talk like that to Ran."

"I'd been trying to tell you," Kratos grunted. "No one ever listens to the fart." He got up, only to be greeted by Ash, who was just a total mess after just waking up. "Good morning," he said, bowing his head a little.

Ash yawned. "Morning," she replied. "I had a dream that Ran was being an idiot. Is she okay?"

"Her usual antisocial self, of course," Squall said with a shrug. "Not much has changed."

"Ah," Ash nodded, popping a crick in her neck. "She hasn't said anything strange or anything like that?"

"Not to my knowledge," Kratos said, walking past her. "She said she wanted to go back to bed, so I was going to check on her right now. If anything is out of the ordinary, I'll let you know."

"All right. Sounds like a plan to me."

As Kratos departed the kitchen, Squall looked over to Ash. "You had a dream that Ran was being an idiot?" he asked, concerned. "It must be bothering you."

"I don't remember much of it," she said, sitting down next to him. "I just know that my sister was trying to convince us that the two of you needed to go home. After I woke up, I had a flash of relief, but it was more than weird."

"I wouldn't let it bother you too much," Squall got up, heading over to the stove. "You hungry?"

"Not for food. Not yet anyway."

"Oh ho," he shrugged. "Then what can I get for you?"

"Some lovin' would be great."

Ran sat at her computer, trying to concentrate. She stared at the monitor for a few moments before deciding that she couldn't get any work done and turning away from it. She shook her head in disgust. The one time workaholic herself couldn't bring herself to bother with working, and it drove her nuts. She could have pulled out many a hair in frustration, but she decided not to, as she had been shedding enough in the summer heat.

Kratos, not the rude kind of guy, stopped before just barging into Ran's room. He watched through her cracked door, seeing that her quiet, diligent demeanor had seemed to have left her. He knocked on the door, catching her attention. "Excuse me," he announced. "You mind if I come in?"

She grunted. "Nah, come on in."

He opened the door. "Ash says that she's worried about you. She dreamt of you trying to send us back to our home worlds," he said, walking in. "You do seem distracted so much you can't work."

Ran wanted to punch a wall. "If she has something she wants to discuss with me, then she should just come and talk to me, instead of having you do her dirty work."

"No, because you aren't completely honest with anyone about things like this," Kratos stated plainly. "I'm not her mole, my dear. That's not what this is about. Something's bothering you. It's obvious."

"Oh is it now?"

"Your devouring of the chocolate donuts so fast indicates a lack of positive chemicals in your brain. Remember what you said to me about how chocolate contains serotonin and how good it is for your overall mental health? That, and you unable to focus on whatever you were about to do." He sat down on her bed once again. "Come now, anyone that knows you can tell you how obvious it is. What's wrong?"

"Well, I've been thinking about Dad lately."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, ever since I realized he wasn't going to have anything more to do with us, I haven't really been the same," she said, turning off her computer. "He was my hero."

Kratos nodded. "Fathers tend to have that effect on their children," he said with a smile. He couldn't help but reflect on his previous life as a father himself, and how he saw so much of himself in his son as he grew up.

"I wish I didn't miss him. It hurts."

"No, it should hurt," he replied. "Not that you deserve the pain, but the fact that it hurts proves that you've got a heart. As long as you're human, you're going to have emotions, both good and bad. That's how these things work."

"That's one thing I love about you, Kratos," Ran said, going over to sit beside him. "You're like a father."

"I believe I've figured something out about you, and it's rather disturbing."

She leaned against him. "What's that?"

"You don't want to have a romantic relationship with me because you're using me as a replacement for your father," Kratos said. "Isn't that right?"

"What are you talking about? I specifically asked for a man that had the loyalty of a father, but the demeanor of a lover. I didn't ask for a father specifically."

"Like I said," he said quietly, "It's disturbing. I'd rather not see you as my child."

"But you don't."

"No, but you treat me like a father figure, and not like a lover."

"If I treated you as both, it would be weird."

Kratos' eyebrow twitched. "You see what I'm getting at here? It's more than awkward."

Ran looked up at him and smiled. "I do love you," she said, reaching up to stroke his face. "But I don't really know what kind of love I need. I'm not sure how to love in a romantic sense. Last time I tried that approach to a guy, not only did it scare him away, but it left me wanting to never attempt being romantic with anyone. I know I called you from another world because you would suit my desires, but I'm not really sure exactly what my desires were at the time. It's hard for me to explain."

"I may be here for you," he said, "But I am a person, too. You aren't treating me very fairly here."

Ran shook her head. She hadn't thought of it that way before. "Since you brought it up, what do you want? I shouldn't be so selfish, should I?" she asked.

"For one," he started, "You don't have to love me in a romantic sense, but you need to stop using me as a replacement. I'm not who you miss. I'm just myself." His eyes evened out. "I'm not mad at you," he said, kissing her forehead. "I know you're a walking mass of complexes, and I'll work with you on all of them, but treat me as my own person. You don't want to be compared to anyone else, right? Why should I be?"

"You're right," Ran said, feeling her eyes well up with tears. "I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it," Kratos said with a wink. "I'm sorry, too."

"What are you sorry for?"

He shrugged. "Demanding you change for an old fart like me."

Squall and Ash were in the middle of another one of their wild and crazy love-making sessions when they stopped for a moment to take a breath.

"Jeez," Squall said, wiping his forehead, "How long can you go?" He pulled up a bed sheet to cover them both, and Ash laid her head on his chest.

"I don't know exactly," she replied, "I've never actually timed it."

"I see you in a world record book of some sort with an award for the longest time you can go without feeling tired," he said. "I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not."

She just laughed. "Good thing you're young."

"I suppose so," he laughed, too.

"I'm sure if Kratos could actually get my sister started up, she'd be the same way," Ash said. "Not really sure what her problem is."

All of a sudden, the wall started moving. Trinkets on the wall bounced back and forth as the squeaking of a bed could be heard. Ash was pretty sure she knew what it was. Squall laughed so hard, his sides started to hurt.

"Bout damn time!" Squall shouted. "Give it to her, man!"

Ran held a big pillow over her head. "Oh no, you don't!"

Kratos had a big grin on his face. "I'm sorry, but I just can't help myself," he said, thrusting a pillow into her face.

They were in the middle of a pillow fight on her bed.

"Y'think they might leave us alone after this?" Ran asked, thwacking him with her big pillow.

"Probably not," he replied, laughing a little. "I expect more cat calls and the like, honestly."

Ash pulled herself into some clothes. "I'll have to congratulate them," she said, giving Squall a thumbs up. "Since, you know, they spent damn near a month avoiding the situation. I mean, the release must be so great they'll sleep for a week."

"I don't think they'd like being compared to us," Squall said quietly. "Just because you can't handle not getting off when there's a willing partner, doesn't mean that Ran has to live by that same standard."

"Oh hush," she said, "Ran must have had such a release that she won't care what I say to her." She almost bounced out the door and down the hall to knock on the door.

Ran and Kratos were laughing so hard, they didn't even notice the knock.

"Sister dear, I was coming to congratulate you for leaving your bizarre month of celibacy!"

Kratos went to answer the door, but Ran hit him on the head with her pillow again. "You get back here."

"Oh ho, she's really into it, isn't she?" Ash said, flinging the door open. When she found the two of them engaging in a pillow fight, she just shook her head. "Seriously?"

"Yep," Ran said. "We had you guys fooled, didn't we?"

"Why am I not surprised?"

Kratos shrugged. "Did it really seem like we were going at it?"

"It did. What with the moving of my wall, the squeaking of the bed, the little giggles here and there."

Both Ran and Kratos couldn't contain their laughter.

"That's unfair." Ash said. "Trying to trick us like that."

"Should teach you not to stick your nose where it doesn't belong, but I know you too well to think that'll sink in," Ran said, crossing her arms.

"What's your aversion to sex, anyway?"

"What's your addiction to it?"

"Now, now," Kratos said. "It's not important."

Ash stomped her foot, "But it is! Kratos, you're a guy. You've got your needs, too."

Kratos sighed, "I do."

"Her constant snuggling up to you has got to have some kind of an effect on you," she said flatly.

"Here you come trying to guilt me into it," Ran said. "Get out of my room. We were having fun in here until you barged in unannounced."

"There you go, being selfish again," Ash retorted. "You don't know how to handle a man."

"Is 'handle' the word you're looking for, or is it just 'please' - as in 'you don't know how to please a man'," Ran shouted. "You really want to get into this? Why don't you just own up to the fact that you've been passing the time with Squall pretending he's your dead boyfriend! You're just as selfish as I am."

"Why, you!" Ash stomped out of the room and down the hall. When she stopped, she stared at the wall. "This isn't going to work. Really. I was wrong."

"What's wrong now?" Squall said behind her. "You were having a shouting match with your sister."

"They weren't going at it," she answered, "they were having a pillow fight and laughing at us because they had us fooled. I tried to ask about her aversion to sex, and she just reflected it back at me. I'm a nymphomaniac." Ash turned to look at him. "I'm sorry about all this, Squall. If you need me to, I'll send you back to your home world. You deserve better than me."

"Uh oh," Squall said with a big smile. "Your sister's self-pity party is rubbing off on you. News flash, we know that you guys called us here for selfish reasons. We've accepted that. Problem is, you guys are the ones that did it, and you still haven't gotten over it. Yes, you summoned two guys from other worlds. Yes, you pulled them out of the only lives they've ever known. But what's done is done! Let it go and enjoy the fact that you've actually been able to do something to make yourselves happy."

"You really mean that?" Ran asked from down the hall.

"But of course!" he replied. "Why deny yourself the happiness you've called forth for yourselves? It's all ready here. You're supposed to think about these kinds of things before you do anything like summoning people from other worlds, you know."

Kratos hugged Ran from behind. "Your world is my world."

Ash then said, "We should get out of the house today. We haven't done much of anything since we finished the house."

"I agree," Ran said. "We should do something other than just sit around."

"Let's go to the city and see what we find," Kratos suggested. "We never do anything since we don't know exactly what we want to do. So let's just go look around."

Squall nodded. "Everyone get dressed. Now. I don't care if you don't want to go, you're going if I have to tie you to the bumper of the car and drag you along."