AN- I'm back once more with another installment! Sorry that it took so long, folks. I haven't really been writing lately. Really. I've been reading more than anything. And watching Bones. Either way, enjoy~!

Disclaimer: …iownnothingthereyougothat'sallyagottaknowbuhbyenow.

Warning: Slight sexual encounter (unfortunately, not between our protagonist and you-know-who). Nothing too severe. A mention of uh, paying attention to breasts. If that offends you, skip from where Gold arrives at Crystal's to after the break (line).

Edit: Snoaz once again pointed out a mistake, plus I added the meaning down below for game terms.

for Thinking it Would be so Easy

We stayed in that stare off for a good two minutes or so, him coiled and ready to strike, me ready to make like a banana and split.

Finally, though, he backs down. Sighing, his silver gaze falls to his---bare---feet. "We… did something bad, right?"

Resigned acceptance. Self-pity. I can work with this! Putting on my best "sorry-I-screwed-you" face, I bite my lip and nod. "…That's one way to put it."

He raises an eyebrow, and for a fleeting moment I swear I see the quirk of a smile, but it disappears the next instant. "You better have been just as drunk and out of control as I was last night, or I'll kick your ass."

Puh-lease. You won't be kicking anything anytime soon, cripple. Since I am not an idiot with a death wish, I push those rather-amusing thoughts to the back of my mind and give him a quick nod. "Yep. Totally drunk. In fact, I don't remember anything."

This is true. The last thing I remember is Crys screeching at me like a banshee before making a dramatic exit. After that, I took one too many trips down Alcohol Avenue.

His steely eyes bore into mine as he searches for a hint of a lie. Then, he sighs again before bringing a hand to his forehead and rubbing his temple. "Well then…"

And once again, we're in a staring contest. I don't think I've ever met a guy who looks you in the eye as much as this one does. I should be nervous, but for some reason, the tension seems to have dissipated, and now it's much more comfortable. Ya know, for a guy, he does have really pretty eyes…

"…about it."

I blink, frown, and then, just to show how stupid I am, ask, "Huh?"

There goes that suspicious brow of his again. And, to add insult to injury, he speaks next slowly in a monotone, as if I'm some kind of retard---he probably thinks I am. Great. "I said, since we both didn't mean it, we might as well just forget about it and go on with our lives. I mean, what are the chances that we'll meet again?"

Resisting the impulse to die of shock, I instead stutter out, "R-really?!" Is he seriously gonna make it this easy for me? I mean, that would be like a gift from God. And I don't even believe in God.

He nods slowly and begins to limp over to where his boxers are hanging haphazardly over a chair. "Really."

I think, You are an angel and I love you. Platonically, of course. I feel the need to say that, because, well, saying I love you right after we slept together… But that was completely the alcohol's fault, anyway. I say, "Cool. That, uh, makes things much easier for the both of us, right?"

He nods and continues his quest for clothing.

An awkward silence hangs in the air and neither of us say anything until finally, he's standing in front of me, clothed in everything but his shirt. Which I have.

We both stare for a moment at the offending article, as if expecting it to come to life and give an explanation as to why I'm wearing it instead of him. Well, I'm staring at it like that, anyway. He redirected his questioning gaze my way a few seconds ago.

I squirm and wait for the inevitable.

"…I need my shirt back."

What? No, "Why are you in my shirt, perv?" No awkward questions that my only answers to are completely lame? Gawking, I respond, "Huh?" He glares, and I quickly tack on, "I mean… okay?"

I slip out of his shirt and swiftly hand it to him. He has it on in a matter of seconds.

We eye each other for a moment before he hesitantly extends a hand. "…Silver."

"Say what?" I got distracted by those pretty eyes again. Dammit. And I need to stop thinking of them as pretty!

"My name. It's Silver."

What are the odds, right? I smile. "It, uh, definitely fits! Me, I'm Gold! While admittedly this wasn't the best way to meet, it's still good to---properly---meet you."

He shifts, and the small smile from before makes an unexpected comeback. "Whatever. Just go."

My grin covers over half my face, and I give a salute---"Yes, sir!"---before racing out the door, ignoring his semi-outraged splutters.

You Level Up! for escaping completely unscathed from your---sexual---encounter with a violent member of the same sex!

My smile widens, but I manage to hold back its full mirth until I'm outside. There, I unleash my laughter, and it echoes in the street loudly.

…and as a Bonus, you've gone completely Insane!

I laugh harder.

Two hours and a nice hot shower later, I arrive at Crystal's door, fully intent on getting back in her good graces---and back in other places, as well. A few brisk knocks and she opens the door, a small frown adorning her lips.

Her expression changes from mild annoyance to puzzlement when she sees me. "Gold? What ar---mmph!"

That, my friends, is the sound of me interrupting her mid-sentence with a kiss that, if nothing else, makes my day.

You know how all those sappy---and crappy---romance novels always describe kisses? The heroine always just melts into it. That's what Crys does when we're canoodling. Really, if I could describe it in a not smutty-romance-novella way, I would.

But it's kind of hard to, when one moment she's fighting like a demon, and the next she's responding with such fervor that a bystander would think we hadn't seen each other in months, instead of just one day.

I smile against her parted lips and steer her forward enough so that we're both inside, and shut the door with my foot. Then, I back off and let her breathe.

I also lock the door.

After she catches her breath, Crys pouts up at me. "Why are you here, Gold?"

I resist the urge to roll my eyes. One moment, she's trying to cram her tongue down my throat, and the next, she's acting all haughty and implying I shouldn't be here? Damn fickle, difficult woman.

Sometimes, I think Crystal's bipolar.

"I'm here…" I say slowly, "…to patch things up with my girlfriend. My girlfriend of five years, I might add. I mean, come on, Crys, are you really gonna end things over one stupid little incident?"

She averts her eyes. "…That's exactly what you said last time."

"I know. Because it was the same exact situation last time. You blew a gasket over one little insignificant thing."

I realize the moment the words are out that I've said the wrong thing, but unfortunately, clamping my hands over my mouth---which spoke completely without my brain's permission---doesn't really help anything.

Her eyes have narrowed dangerously, and her lips have gone into a thin, frowny line. "I blew a gasket? Over something insignificant?"

Well, bud, you've already dug your own grave. Might as well finish what you started. Who knows? Maybe you'll get out, yet. "What I mean is, to you, it's important, I get that, but to me? We've been together five years, Crystal! Just because another woman catches my eye every now and then doesn't mean I'll just up and leave you!"

Her stricken face tells me I've hit the nail on the head.

So, instead of yelling at her more, I sigh, and touch my forehead to hers. "That's what you thought, right? Silly girl. You're the only one that I want, Crys."

A shallow intake of breath. "R-really?"

I smile lightly and give her a chaste peck. "Really."

Now that she's cooled down, I fully intend to finish what I started. So, I kiss her again, long and hard.

She can clearly see my intent, and once we've broken apart for air, she mumbles, "…Now?"

I nod and steer her towards her bedroom as if on autopilot while an image of red hair and breathy, masculine moans fills my head.

Dammit, man! Get out of my head! Don't make me remember those things! Especially not now!

The thoughts stick to me like glue, and against my will, I can feel something stirring. "Oh, yes," I mutter. "Right now."

Crys shrugs and smiles lightly. She may not say it, but I can see in her eyes she's just as eager as I am.

I'd like to say our "lovemaking" was gentle and such, but I'd totally be lying. We stopped being gentle ages ago.

Truthfully, we screw like rabbits---or horny devils. Whichever depiction you prefer.

In fact, I'd say I was probably even a little rougher than usual. I couldn't get the fragmented memories of Silver out of my mind until I'd spent a good ten minutes lapping---and sucking and biting---her breasts.

Crystal, at least, once she got past the initial discomfort, was quite pleased.

And I was probably pounding her into the mattress a bit harsher than usual, as well.

But any guilt I'd might've felt about going a little too hard on Crys was erased when, afterward, she asked if maybe we could do that more often.

About a week passed, and truthfully, I'd practically forgotten about my onetime sexual companion. After all, I'd had a full week of mind-blowing sex with my surprisingly-kinky girlfriend of five years. Not to mention, we hadn't argued once. About anything.

Life was good.

Then, Crystal got a call from her friend Yellow.

Now, a quick note about Yellow: I've actually only met the girl a couple times, even though she's Crys' best friend. That's because she lives really far away. Like, a whole day's drive far away. She's really sweet, really naïve, really blonde, and---even though she's technically older than both me and Crys---she looks like she's perpetually stuck at age twelve.

And she's engaged.

Anyways, she called up Crystal about three days ago squealing about her newly fiancée'd status, and they agreed to meet up Friday. That's today, by the way.

Yellow's spent the past day driving down here, along with another friend and that friend's boyfriend. At least, that's what I've gotten from Crystal's babbling. Her exact words were something along the lines of, "Omigosh, Gold! Yellow's engaged! And she's coming down here along with a friend she wants me to meet! We're gonna plan her wedding together! Plus that friend is bringing along a boyfriend---well, Yellow just called him a 'male friend', but what else could he be? So, will you come with me? To meet them?"

Yeah, sure Crys, I'd love to, I told her.

I regret that. She's spent the past three days talking about this rendezvous nonstop. And really, she only wants me along so I can somehow make it easier for her to befriend Yellow's mystery friend. I mean what's she gonna say? "Oh, you have a boyfriend? So do I! We'll be best friends for sure!"? Yeah, no.

Either way, she woke me up this morning at eight so I could get ready and prepped for my "boyfriend meets boyfriend" role as icebreaker.

We were supposed to meet at the Dragon Den Café at ten, but she dragged me out there a whole twenty minutes earlier.

That's why I had time to, in addition to ordering a cup of coffee and a doughnut, sit and stare out the window, waiting impatiently.

Life was, admittedly, mundane. But still good.

But, gazing out the window tiredly, I could see a very familiar face approaching, along with Yellow's familiar bobbing blonde ponytail.

…Oh, fuck.

Yes, just one minute ago, I could honestly admit life was good.

When Silver walks into this café, life will become very, very bad.

Dammit.

*Level Up- a staple of Role-Playing-Games; basically, after gaining enough experience (either through battling or completing missions, ect.), you gain a level, and get stronger/faster/smarter/ect.

*Bonus- something you get in addition to what you would've gotten regardless. Like, getting an item from a monster to go along with the experience you got for defeating it.

*Insane- call it a status ailment; it's basically the same as "confusion", where you lose control and do random things. So, when Gold says he's gone insane as a BONUS, it's a joke.

AN- Well? Was it worth waiting for? Next chapter will contain, in addition to Gold and Silver being obligatorily put in each other's company, the return of someone who I'm willing to bet none of you even knew appeared yet! ;) Look forward to it!