Okay, hello.
For those of you who are reading this I love you, your awesome, and thanks for giving the sotry a chance to satify your MxM needs.
Something else I would like to add is that (if you havent notied already) every chapeter has a flachback to when Aiko was smaller. I'm not going to write in a specific age, I'll leave that up to your imagination. Also the chapters have a time space between then but there will be some that dont, those are the cliffhangers. If you dont understand me then here: there is about a week that gose by between the end of Chapter 1 and the begining of Chapter 2. Chapter 2 and Chapter 3 dont have a time space between them because Chapter 2 was a cliffhanger.
I hope that wasnt to compicated.

Anyway, enjoy.

~Mello: Denial

Aiko pulled the covers over her head when she saw us open the door. Matt walked into the room and stared at her. I looked at him then the lump in the bed that was Aiko's body. She heard us; there was no doubt about that. How will she react?

"Aiko, what did you hear?" Matt asked nervously.

Aiko didn't speak or move. It was quiet and the room was dimly light by Aiko's nightlight. She has been afraid of the dark ever since she was little. I noticed Matt staring at me, I gave a questionable look and he gave me a worried one. Guess it's my turn.

"Aiko, come out, we need to talk." I sighed before making my way over to her bed and sat next to her. Matt mimicked my actions by sitting on the opposite side of the bed.

I placed my hand on the part of the blanket that rested on her shoulder, "Aiko, how much did you hear?"

Aiko popped her head out of the blanket and looked at me then Matt. Matt placed his hand on her head and stroked her hair. It was quiet again. These silences have been happening a lot lately.

I glanced up at Matt; he was staring at her intensely.

"I…" Aiko began but then stopped herself.

"What is it baby?" Matt asked in attempt to comfort her.

Aiko looked at Matt, me, then the blanket, "I… I don't want to sleep alone. Can…"

"We'll stay with you." Matt smiled. It amazes me how he can smile so easily, I love his smile.

"We both don't fit on the bed. I'll stay with her. You have work in the morning so go get some rest." I pulled up Aiko's blanket and slid under it as she scooted over, kicking Matt off the bed.

Matt pouted as he saw the two of us cuddling together. His face softened a bit and sighed, "Fine."

Matt bend over and kissed Aiko on her head then kissed me on the cheek. I gave him a reassuring nod and he walked to the door. I watched him as he walked out and slowly closed the door behind him. I turned my attention back to the girl next to me; I wrapped my arm around her and closed her eyes but didn't fall to sleep.

"Do you want to talk?" I asked quietly so I wouldn't startle her.

Aiko took a deep breath but kept her eyes closed, "I don't want to know. At least, not right now."

Fair enough. I closed my eyes and got a bit more comfortable, "Okay but we can talk about something else if you want."

"Dad?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you tell me the story about how you met Matty?"

I count stop my eyes from snapping open. A story? That story? Why? She hasn't asked me to tell that story since…

"daddy." "Daddy." "Daddy!"

"Hm… What?" I tiredly opened my eyes to see tinny Aiko grabbing onto my blanket.

"Daddy I had a bad dream…" My vision cleared enough for me to see the tears falling down Aiko's rosy cheeks. Why is she crying?

I sat up and rubbed my eyes, "I'm sorry Aiko but what did you say?"

Aiko sniffed, "I-I had a bad dream."

I yawned and pulled her up onto the bed so that she was sitting on my lap. I picked up my phone on the nightstand and flipped it open; the bright light blinded me for a moment. 2:14 am. Great. I closed the phone and put it back on the table face down. I looked at Aiko in the dark and I could tell she was uncomfortable being in the dark room. I lifted Aiko up so she was resting on my shoulder as crept out of the bed and quietly walked to Aiko's room. I crawled into Aiko's bed and laid her down before laying down myself.

"What was the dream about?" I asked, pulling her close so that she wouldn't feel scared.

"There was a big red monster chasing after me! He kept telling me to stop so that he could eat me… I don't want to go back to sleep daddy, please don't make me!" Aiko let more tears slip out of her eyes. I whipped her tears away and stoked her hair lightly, "How about I tell you a story to make you feel better?"

Aiko thought about it for a second then replied, "Okay."

All right, let see, what kinds of stories do little girls like? Princesses, princes, and castles, dragons—Maybe I should keep away from scary mythical creatures. I sighed.

"Daddy, how about you tell me how you and Matty fist met?" Aiko suggested.

Duh, a love story. Why didn't I think of that before?

"You want to hear how Matt and I first met?" I asked to be sure.

Aiko smiled and nodded her head.

"Okay, close your eyes."

Aiko smiled and closed her eyes as she got comfortable in my arms. I don't think she's that scared anymore.

I decided not to question why she wanted to hear that story again; she must have her own reasons.

"Okay I'll tell you."

Aiko opened her eyes and smiled, "Really?"

I nodded, "But you have to close your eyes."

Aiko smiled just like she did that one night and closed her eyes. I watched her for a second before starting, "A long time ago when my parents died an old man named Watari found me…"