Gokudera is pulled from sleep by a ringing phone, he grumbles at the noise.
"Goddamn it. Freaking phone." He rolls over a bit to look at the clock. "It's only seven in the freaking morning."
The teen frowns and nudges Phoenix.
"Babe…Babe, get up. Someone's calling."
Phoenix moans, still half asleep when she talks.
"What time is it?"
Gokudera rolls over onto his stomach and buries his face in the pillows.
"Seven."
"To early…you get it."
Phoenix lightly kicks Gokudera.
Gokudera shakes his head and pokes Phoenix's side.
"Fuck no. You get it."
He curls up some more into the bed covers. Phoenix grabs the covers and rolls over, pulling them off of Gokudera.
"I'll get us both killed. You get it."
Hayato shivers at the cold air.
"F-Fine." He groans as he swings his legs off the bed. "You own me big time."
"When don't I?" Aydan curls up into a ball as she yawns. "Hurry back."
"Whatever." Gokudera slowly walks over to the phone and picks it up. "Yeah?"
"Once more I get the boy when I want the girl. Young Hayato, could you please put Phoenix on the phone. I promise I won't hurt her."
Gokudera rubs the bridge of nose.
"Look Reaper, I'm it in the fucking mood so deal with it. She's not fucking getting up so tell me whatever you want her to know."
"Tell her it had to do with 'cleansing' and she'll come."
Gokudera sighs and puts the phone down, calling over his shoulder.
"Reaper wants to tell you something about a 'cleansing'. Should I tell him to fuck off or not?"
"What?" Phoenix scrambles out of bed and half runs over to Gokudera. "Give me the phone!"
Gokudera jumps a bit at Phoenix's enthusiasm and hands her the phone.
"What happened? What's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong. This is the best news I've gotten since you told me you loved me!"
Phoenix puts the phone to her ear. "It's me. You what? Why? Okay, okay, no need to explain it all. For both of us right? No. No I'm not accepting that. Well cause I don't like being away from him. Yeah, yeah, true love. When. That'll work…Thank you Cesar."
Gokudera's eyes widen as he listens to Phoenix talk to Reaper.
"What the hell are they talking about?"
Phoenix hangs up the phone and jumps.
"Yes!"
She falls back on the bed and Gokudera quirks an eyebrow at her.
"What was that all about?"
Phoenix sits up.
"I told you. The best thing that has happened since you told me you loved me! Speaking of…come here."
Gokudera turns a slight pink but inches closer.
"And what is this so-called 'best thing'?"
"My soul cleansing." Phoenix pulls him down and kisses him. "Good morning, Darling."
Gokudera feels his face heat up even more and he knows his face is a bright red.
"You sure do know how to spark up that morning wood."
He smirks and Phoenix rolls her eyes.
"Shut up and get dressed. We have an hour before we leave." Phoenix kisses her boyfriend again. "I love you Hayato, I really do."
Gokudera laughs.
"Okay, okay." He stands up and walks over to his dresser. "Hey, I love you too Aydan." Phoenix beams at him and Gokudera smiles back. "So what is this…'soul cleansing'? Is it exactly how the samurai used to do it?"
"No, not even close." Phoenix laughs and begins to get ready. "It's really just something I do. I swim...a lot, and it got to be after ever job I would spend hours in the pool. Just doing laps or sitting in the water. And every time when I finally got out, I felt like my soul had been cleaned. Like what I had done was still there...but I didn't feel so bad about it."
"Uh...huh." Hayato smirks. "You really are a special one, aren't you?"
"Well that's why you love me right?" The red-haired teen pulls out two camisoles and looks at them. "Which one?"
She holds them out to Gokudera and he points to the one in Phoenix's left hand.
"The red one. And I don't know…maybe your 'uniqueness' isn't something I can handle."
"The purple one it is." Phoenix laughs as she pulls the dark purple shirt over her head. "Well you're going to have to learn to handle it. 'Cause I'm not going anywhere. And anyway, this is a good thing! This is a really good thing! You have no idea how much this means to me, to be able to do this again." Phoenix jumps a little, still smiling. "And if you're still not sold, you get to come with and just think, me in a bathing suit."
Gokudera laughs and pulls Phoenix towards him. He kisses her lightly.
"You look like a little kid on Christmas morning."
He grins as Phoenix kisses him back.
"Well that's what I feel like! It's like I woke up and my favorite person, you, was here and then as if that wasn't enough I get handed this huge present! Look at this! I'm shaking!" She holds up her hand which is indeed shaking slightly. "I haven't done this in months!"
"Wow, this really must be very important to you." Gokudera thinks about it for a second. "Okay then, let's see how it goes."
Gokudera says smiling.
"This is past important!This kept me sane for years Hayato, this kept me calm.This...This...Ah! I can't explain it!It...Think of your happiest calmest moment, a moment when the only things you felt were joy and calm, and focus in on that exact moment. Then multiply it by one hund-No one thousand and you will have what this does for me.This is like...waking up and realizing that my whole past was a dream and I still have my family and I'm still with you!It's pure and unbridled joy!"
Gokudera smiles sadly.
"I know that feeling all too well." The Italian teen bites his lip. "Whenever I play the piano I feel that way. Like my past was just somehow lifted off my shoulders, like it never happened. Yeah, I know exactly what you mean."
Phoenix notices the sadness in his smile and her smile shrinks.
"Hayato…are you alright? I'm sorry if I brought something up you would rather forget. It's just sometimes when I get excited my brain stops working."
Gokudera shakes his head.
"Nah, it's alright. I'm just glad you have something to look forward to."
Gokudera tries his best to smile but doesn't quite pull it off so Phoenix hugs him.
"I always have something to look forward to. I have you."
"Shit, she always says the sappiest stuff that gets to me…"
Gokudera clears his throat and kisses Phoenix's forehead.
"You're such an idiot."
Well duh! You've been with me this long and just figured that out?" Phoenix hugs Gokudera tightly smiling when he wraps his arms around her. "I'm glad I get to share this with you Hayato."
"Jesus Christ Aydan, you always seem to know how to say the sappiest things, don't you?"
The younger teen buries his face in Phoenix's hair and mumbles something along the lines of a compliment.
"Well one of us does! You're the closet sap, so I have to be the public sap."