A/N: Here is the next chapter! Please review, I love to hear from everyone! Thanks!

Own nothing!

Morning broke and Mai found herself in an unfamiliar room. As her vision cleared so did her senses and Mai realized the unfamiliar room was not so unfamiliar after all; it was Naru's living room. A blush seeped over her face as she brought a weary hand to her head…it hurt.

She looked around wearily and found that she was on the couch under a warm blanket. "Naru…" she whispered as she looked to her side and saw a piece of paper sitting on the table sitting next to a glass of water, medicine, and what appeared to be toast…

"Went to the office, you fell asleep here last night…take the pain killers and eat something…come to work when you are ready…" Mai read the neatly scrawled words aloud. They were in Naru's efficient and perfect handwriting.

Mai finally remembered the events of last night after a short time and she cringed. "Arg…I didn't want to tell him all that…" she sighed as she wearily ate the toast and downed the pain killers. It wasn't supposed to go like that…she was supposed to be able to handle this on her own. Naru was the last person in the world she wanted knowing about her misfortune…but now he did. What would he do?

Mai finished quickly and started to prepare herself to get to the office. Naru would be mad if she took too long and that was one extra thing that she did not need at the moment. She had enough to brood about as it was. As Mai fled the house in a rush she failed to notice the extra weight on her hand or the slight glint emitted from her finger as sunlight struck her form….

-----

Meanwhile…

Naru sat at his personal desk deep in thought. His elbows rested easily on the surface as he rested his head gently atop his clasped hands. There, directly in front of his eyes, gleamed a simple gold ring adorning his ring finger on his left hand.

He sighed. Was he just using the situation at hand? Was this just a convenient way to get what he wanted while calling it something different? Either way, whether she liked it or not, he and Mai were now married and the proof of that was staring him right in the face.

Naru recalled the events that had transpired earlier with trepidation. As he had requested the night before, Lin had gotten him all the official documentation he needed. Naru had taken them with slight interest as he himself had never seen the text before. Lin stayed behind as he left the house saying he had to run an errand. Lin had given him a knowing look and Naru briefly wondered what the man thought of all this, though truth be told he didn't much care. He was going to do this...

In all actuality the trip to the jeweler and picking out the wedding bands did not bother him as much as it probably should have. As long as he continued to tell himself that it was for Mai's own good and nothing more he was able to act his usual indifferent self…but was that really it? Was that all there really was to it?

Naru picked out simple yet elegant matching gold wedding bands of the highest quality available. If he was going to do this he might as well go all the way. As he had made his way home he was still unable to sort out his thoughts completely, but Mai's tear stricken and sobbing face continued to replay in his mind. He hated it when she cried and it hurt him when she was sad; he didn't want to see her depressed and if the rings in his pocket would keep her from being troubled then he would act the same way a hundreds times over if he had to.

As soon as he had entered his house Lin met him at the door saying he would wait for him in the car. They had a meeting with everyone and they needed to get to the office to prepare for their arrival; which was fine since he only needed a moment to complete what he intended to do.

Naru allowed a small smile to grace his lips at the memory of what happened next. He really should have been preparing like he intended to do when he first came in…the others would arrive any minute now, but the occurrences of the morning would not leave his mind.

-----

He had made his way into the living room and stopped to stare at a peacefully sleeping Mai. She was breathing softly with her hands tucked up to her face. Adorable…the word played around aimlessly in his mind as he looked at her.

"Mai…" he had whispered gently into her ear as he placed a hand on her shoulder, softly shaking her awake. "I need you to do something for me then you can sleep…"

"Hnnn…" she mumbled incoherently squeezing her eyes tightly shut while pulling her body closer to itself. She was too comfortable to get up.

"Mai…" he had called again, shaking a bit harder. "Please wake up for just a moment…" he trailed off when he saw her eyes begin to open.

Mai stared at Naru in a daze. She was still sleepy and wanted nothing more than to close her eyes and go back to sleep. "Hnnn…" she mumbled irritably.

Naru placed a pen in her hand and guided it to the table at her side. "I need you to sign this for me Mai." He had watched as her still cloudy mind tried to process what he was asking her to do. He was pleased that she scribbled her signature on the line that he had guided her to without much thought or fuss. She was only half awake after all…but Naru was pleased that it went so well.

He patted her head tenderly as she slumped back down into the couch, letting her head hit the pillow softly. Naru could see she was already falling back asleep. He smiled. "Sleep well, Mai."

With that he slipped the gold ring on her ring finger and tucked her hand back under the blanket before he headed for the door. He placed his own ring on his left hand before he got into to car and headed to the office.

-----

And now there he sat…supposed to be working, yet he could do nothing but stare at the ring and let his mind wander.

Naru's eyes drifted up when he heard people entering the office. It was the monk and the miko. They were always so boisterous. It seemed that everyone had arrived since he heard the priest trying to placate the situation and most likely the medium was there as well. Naru sighed…he was not looking forward to this in the least.

A/N: Happy VD to everyone! I baked a cake! Please let me know how you liked it! Comments, suggestions, idle chatter are always welcome! Thanks!