A/N: Yay we made it to 100 reviews! Thank you so much! LET'S GO FOR 200 THIS TIME AROUND, YES?

Just kidding. But please know that I appreciate every review I get. I clutch them tightly to my heart at night and cry over them. Well... you weren't supposed to know that. It's funny though – I initially planned on this story being like… 6 chapters? And now we're hitting that 15-chapter mark. That's… some poor planning from my side – but I guess that's what happens when you have a story to tell, and you get so much great feedback.

The story is ending soon-ish, but not yet. Enjoy!

Chapter 15: His Almost Fiancée, Not His Secretary

It'd been two days since the demon that was Shizuka Hio had visited his office and threatened to blackmail him. The entire situation had put him in a corner; and he disliked it immensely. He had yet to tell Yuuki, and as Shizuka's deadline for his decision drew closer, he felt panic rise within him.

If he could just make it go away without Yuuki ever knowing, he'd be forever grateful.

Though they'd agreed to be transparent with each other and not keep secrets, he couldn't help but hide this from her. He was deeply afraid of how she'd react; would she run away like the last time people branded her for being with him? Would she turn cold towards him; would she give up on them?

She'd done it before; and while it'd crushed him at the time, he'd been able to survive it somehow. But this time around it was different; now that he'd had a taste of the sweet happiness she brought him, he didn't want to let go – he would die if he did. Every time she looked at him tenderly; touched him; did the little things like waking him up with a kiss or massaging his tense shoulders whenever he was tired from work, his heart swelled with love and it became harder to even entertain the thought of them breaking up.

She'd told him that she wanted everything with him. That she would one day marry him and become his for the world to see.

Without words, she'd promised him that she would stay by his side through the prying eyes of the media and people who wanted to break them apart.

But the nature of the situation; those damn pictures and the consequences should they be released to the public – made him doubt her. She had issues; she'd told him so, and he was afraid this would bring them back to life. He wanted to protect and shield her; hide her under his black coat so the world couldn't judge her and throw insults at her.

But the world was cruel, and the people in it were crueler – the media would waste no time upon smelling blood. They would attack and tear them apart, only to have something to write about.

And for the life of him, he didn't know how he could avoid it.

So he kept it from her; and though she was suspicious, she didn't force anything out of him. She still believed it was the stress of the company weighing on his shoulders, and he was grateful that that was the only grain of truth she knew.

He was staring out the windows of his office, pondering and strategizing mentally when he heard the sound of the door opening.

Kaname turned his chair around, smiling as he spotted her by the entrance. Though he was dreadfully afraid of her leaving him, he couldn't help but feel the calm settle over him as the sight of her beautiful face greeted him. No matter what happened, her presence soothed him and made him feel like he could overcome anything.

He pursed his lips as he studied her outfit; bright red heels adorned her feet, which were bare up to the end of her beige trench coat. The coat covered her arms and chest, except for the small opening near her breasts – which was bare also. If he didn't know any better, he would've thought she was naked beneath it.

His eyebrows rose as he took in the details of her hair and face; her hair was wild and tousled, while her eyes were framed by black liner and her lips were bloodred. This was certainly not her usual style, as she usually kept her make-up natural and simple, the same rules applying to her straight hair.

"I can't believe I'm doing this," she said, shifting uncomfortably as she leaned against his office-door.

"Doing what?" He inquired gently.

"Um…" She blushed. "Well, your mother mentioned that I missed your birthday. I realized that because of all the stupid things I did towards you, I didn't get to spend it with you like I have been the past few years, so… I decided that I wanted to make it up to you. Also, I know you've had a lot of stress the past days, so I wanted to do something special for you."

"That's very kind of you, Yuuki," Kaname smiled warmly. "What did you have in mind?"

"This."

She opened her trench coat in one swift motion, revealing the ensemble underneath.

Kaname's eyes widened considerably as he looked her up and down; beginning at her red stiletto shoes and tracing up her naked legs to the garters at her thighs. He continued his way up to where her rose-red lingerie set began. It was a corset with matching panties; lace lined the hem where her breasts were pushed up deliciously, while the corset accentuated her narrow waist. It was connected to her garters with lace and silk, while her panties matched the rest of the set.

He made some sort of incoherent sound as his mouth moved sloppily like a fish.

"I remember that time when you took me shopping way, way back in the beginning. You kept glancing at this rose-red lingerie set when you thought I wasn't looking, and I thought you maybe wanted to buy it for your girlfriend… I now realize that it was actually me you intended it for." Yuuki said, measuring his reaction.

Noticing his amazed and hungry expression, Yuuki felt her confidence rise as she began taking slow steps towards him. "I wasn't able to get the original one, but this is pretty similar to it. I cleared your schedule for the next hour and a half…" She said huskily, staring him down.

When she reached his desk, she stepped around and straddled his lap. "Happy birthday," she whispered seductively. "Hope you like your gift."

"Mm I .. what… this is…" He blabbered, still in shock. "Yuuki… this is…" His hands traced down her waist and onto her thighs. "The best birthday gift ever."

"Yeah?" She grinned, still a little self-conscious.

"Yes," he hissed, already fumbling with the buttons and the lace. He reached up and kissed her deeply, his tongue entering her mouth and demanding her full attention.

"Now let me open it."

Yuuki moaned as she leaned back on his desk, throwing her head back in pleasure.

"Kanam–"

"Yooo hoooo, Kaname? Are you in there?"

Yuuki froze immediately upon recognizing the voice, her eyes widening to the point where they almost popped out of her eye-sockets. She glanced down quickly, finding a frozen Kaname between her thighs.

"Quick! Hide!" She hissed as she pushed off the desk and secured her coat around her waist, before plopping into his CEO chair. He disappeared somewhere underneath the desk, but she was too stressed out to care exactly where he went.

"Kan– oh! Yuuki!" Juuri squealed. "What a surprise to see you here alone in Kaname's chair. Roleplay, perhaps?"

Yuuki's already flustered countenance became red. "Uhh, I… Kaname likes it when I uh… watch his chair."

"I see," Juuri sang, stepping aside and letting Haruka into the office.

"Oh, hi, Yuuki," Haruka smiled warmly, holding an arm around Juuri's waist. "Did you just exercise or something? You look rather flushed."

"Oh, I…" She trailed off as she felt Kaname push aside her jacket and widen her thighs. She tried her best to clench them together but to no avail.

"I… just got back from a…" She bit her back her moan as Kaname resumed his exploration of her lower half beneath the cover of the black desk.

She kicked him with her high-heel, willing him to stop.

"A run. Uh huh, yep. That's why I'm so… ahh flustered," she panted as he toyed with her.

"Really? Didn't know you were a runner," Juuri quipped.

"Well, uh… I recently started d-doing it eeeverynhighht." Sweat dribbled down her temples.

"Sounds like fun! Well, we came here to talk to Kaname about company business and boring stuff like that. Do you know where he is?"

Between my thighs, spelling out the alphabet.

"Umm… I think he is in a meeting," she managed to get out.

"Yeah?" Haruka asked. "I checked his schedule earlier, and all his meetings for the next two hours were cleared. That's why I thought this was a good time to seek him out."

"Well, something came up," she blindly tried to kick his groin from wherever he was hiding under the desk. Desperately, she tried clenching her thighs around him to make him stop, yet it only spurred him on as she felt him chuckle lowly against her center.

"Mmmh…" She moaned. Realizing her mistake, she cleared her throat and coughed, trying to cover up her moan. "Think I'm getting sick…"

"Ah, well… we won't disturb you anymore," Juuri smiled amicably. "Tell my son whenever you see him that it's not nice to hide from his parents all the time! We want to talk to him, screw those meetings!"

Haruka eyed the strewn papers and files that had been obviously pushed off the desk. "Not only does our son like to hide from his parents, he is rather lazy when it comes to cleaning up his mess… tsk, tsk."

"Uhm, ye-yes, I'll make sure to uh… tell him to be less mess-yy," Yuuki grit through her teeth, trying to smile despite the sweat that was trailing down her temple.

"Good!" Juuri exclaimed. "Bye, Yuuki, see you soon," She waved, pulling Haruka out of the office and shutting the door.

Outside, Juuri paused as she pursed her lips. "Do you think they were…"

"Yeah."

"Oh my," Juuri fanned herself. "Too obvious. Ahh, they have no tact."

"Naughty," Haruka commented, his voice low.

"I do seem to recall some steamy sessions when that was your office, Haruka," she grinned, trailing her finger down his chest.

"Grr," he purred, pulling her close. "I do recall those too."

"Do you know what this means, though?" Juuri exclaimed. "Grandkids are coming our way! Our son is normal! Doing it in the office just like his parents…"

"Maybe his parents should do a repeat performance?" Haruka suggested, wiggling his eyebrows.

Juuri blinked. "I do recall seeing the conference room being completely empty earlier… maybe we should… occupy it."

Hand in hand, the eternal newly-weds giggled as they ran towards the conference room. Juuri shut the door as Haruka pulled the curtains tight; the two continuing to giggle as they re-enacted old times.

Yuuki's smile and blush was permanent on her way home. She couldn't believe that they'd just did that in his office… and his parents had almost caught them. She felt so naughty, but at the same time, she was proud that she'd managed to please him and get him in a good mood after all the stress he'd gone through.

After they finished, his office was a mess, yet he was extremely pleased and grateful, unwilling to let her go home. It was only when she sternly reminded him that he had a few more hours left of the workday that he gave in, releasing her from his hold.

And she'd been right – that desk was sturdy.

Happiness was a permanent feeling in her life now; it was strange to think that just two months ago they hadn't been on speaking terms – and now they were together, and she was happier than she ever could've imagined. The more she pondered over the day's events, the more her little birthday gift to him seemed like a victory. His office was symbolic to her; for three years she'd walked in and out of it, spent countless of hours with him while pushing her blossoming feelings away. It was the very same office that they'd almost shared their first kiss; and the office where she told him that he would never see her again.

It was a symbol of their relationship; of what they used to be – secretary and boss – and how far they'd gotten. As he took her on his desk, she couldn't help but feel like it was a big "hah! In your FACE!" to the outside world that judged them. Because despite the obstacles in their way, they remained strong together – side by side.

Kaname made her stronger and more self-assured; with him, she felt invincible and bulletproof – as if nothing could ever harm her. And she loved the feeling; basked in it whenever he held her hand or hugged her tightly, feeling the strength of his embrace and the security his presence provided. She never knew that she could love someone this much; but he had proved it to her, time and time again. People could say what they want; she knew as long as he was by her side, she didn't care about their words.

He was her rock – and soon he would be her husband, and together they would start a new life for themselves.

The future looked so blindingly bright.

"So how did Project NS go?" Yori asked as Yuuki came into the living room, turning away from her computer screen.

"NS?" Yuuki frowned.

"Naughty Secretary," Yori wiggled her eyebrows, laughing as Yuuki's cheeks turned red.

"Oh," she laughed, clearly embarrassed, "I think it was… successful. Yes. The boss was very pleased."

Yori snorted. "He better be. That outfit was outrageous…"

"Well, it's not like you haven't worn worse for Hanabusa," Yuuki pursed her lips, cocking her head to the side.

Yori had the decency to blush. "Erm, well… he brings out the worst and the best in me."

"You seem really happy," Yuuki commented, untying her sex hair from her pony-tail, huffing as it fell over her face.

"I am," Yori confessed, a soft blush kissing her cheeks.

"Which is kind of odd. I mean... Hanabusa isn't the guy you usually go for. And if I remember correctly, you didn't like him at all in the beginning," Yuuki laughed, brushing her hair away from her face.

"I didn't," Yori admitted, a light smile claiming her lips, "but when I accidentally ran into him a while later, he apologized for his comments and explained that he'd only been like that because he was so flustered after he met me. He kept begging me to go out with him, so I decided that I should just give him a shot, if only to shut him up. He showed me a totally different side of him that night; he was polite and attentive, yet silly and hilarious. He didn't even try anything with me; he kissed me and said he would wait until I was ready. I made him wait a long time, too," she giggled, "but when I finally gave in, I realized that I'd fallen in love with him."

Yuuki squealed. "Awwh, that's so cute! I'm so happy for you two!"

Yori blushed. "I'm really happy; everything is so perfect. I mean, we have a lot of differences, but I feel like we bring out the best in each other. Every time I see him, I just feel so warm and happy. Besides, the sex is ama–"

"Ew, I don't want to hear about your perverted activities!" Yuuki yelled, holding her hands over her ears. "My bed has suffered already; I don't need to be further scarred!"

"Oh, you should talk," Yori rolled her eyes, "you did it on my bed on purpose! We didn't!"

"Sure you did," Yuuki teased, putting her bag with the lingerie in on the couch and taking off her trench coat. After she'd exited his office, she'd ran into the bathroom and changed into regular clothes – after all, running around the city wearing expensive lingerie was the least comfortable feeling in the world.

"If anything," Yori quipped, turning towards her computer screen, "you and your boss are the nasty ones. You spend all day with hi– oh my god…"

"What?" Yuuki laughed turning around, "did you imagine us going at it or something?"

"No… Yuuki, you need to see this," Yori said, eyes locked on the screen.

Curious, Yuuki trudged over to Yori and her desk, reading over her shoulder.

"SHIZUKA HIO SPOTTED EXITING THE KURAN INC. BUILDING. IS THE CEO OF KURAN INC. GETTING BACK TOGETHER WITH HIS EX?

It has been a rough year for Kuran Inc.'s CEO, Kaname Kuran. After announcing his engagement to Sara Shirabuki a year ago, the two split up shortly after, with Sara citing "differences" as the reason for their split. Although broken up, the two have remained close friends.

Since then, rumors about the highly desired CEO has swirled around him, with the recent ones concerning his previous flame, Shizuka Hio, the former heiress to the Hio hotels. The woman, who is 10 years older than the CEO, has a reputation of dating younger men. The two dated for two years, although claims were made that they had a hard time together. Recently she was spotted exiting the Kuran Inc. building wearing a seductive dress.

A source confirms to us that there is indeed something going on between the two. "Kaname missed his ex-girlfriend, and she feels the same. The two recently re-connected and has kept in touch since. He is very happy with her."

Yuuki couldn't believe her eyes as she read out loud. Her eyes kept glancing back at the photo, noticing the silverette's grace and beauty as she exited the building. Although the photo was grainy and obviously taken by paparazzi, she still couldn't help but feel intimidated.

His previous words about his ex echoed in her head. "… that relationship ended badly and I never really think of her anymore. We were just better off separated."

So that's her… But, why was she at his office and why didn't he tell me?

"Well… that source is certainly lying. He's dating you, not some old skank in high heels!" Yori huffed, denial clear in his voice. "He wouldn't cheat on you…. No, I refuse to believe that."

Yuuki quieted, her mind racing. His forlorn expression; the stress he constantly spoke about and the fear that was always evident in his eyes – suddenly everything clicked together. This was what'd been bothering him; this is what kept him up at night when he thought she was sleeping…

Confusion and hurt bled into her mind as her heart pounded in her chest.

"Still… it doesn't explain why she was at his office… And... why he didn't tell me."

Yori's head whipped around. "He didn't tell you?"

Yuuki shook her head, color draining from her face. Just today she'd been at the office, giving herself to him, musing about how happy she was with him… and now, pictures of his ex-girlfriend exiting his office – the office that she'd just been with him in – were surfacing and…

What's going on?

"That bastard! I mean… there has to be a reasonable explanation, I mean…" Yori stuttered angrily, trying to come up with explanations, "he pined for you for so long and… and, it's just not possible that he would do that to you!"

Yuuki nodded slowly, not fully comprehending the situation. "Yes…"

Hurt seared through her bones, and suddenly she felt insanely insecure and self-conscious. A sudden need to shower and clean herself surfaced; she just felt so dirty and used and… why didn't he tell her!? Why did he let her make a fool out of herself?

She clenched her fists, willing herself not to drown in her insecurities and wayward thoughts. If this had been a few years earlier, she'd have a full-blown panic attack and accuse him of all kinds of things – then run away before he got the chance to explain himself.

But this time it was different; she'd changed since then, grown and matured. This time, she wouldn't let fear drive her away. This time, she had to believe in him – she had to hear him out and find out the truth.

"Hey, you," Kaname said warmly as he opened the door. He reached down to kiss her, but she dodged him, walking past him and taking her shoes off once she was inside.

"Hey," she responded, throwing off her jacket and walking into the hallway.

"O… kay…" Kaname breathed as he lingered by the door, furrowing his eyebrows.

He shook his head and followed her into the living room.

"What's for dinner?" She asked, turning around and crossing her arms.

Not used to this kind of behavior from her, Kaname hesitated. "Uh well, I made some Italian food. It'll be ready soon. Are… Is everything all right, Yuuki?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Well, you're… You seem upset about something."

"Do I have a reason to be upset?"

Ohh… maybe her time of the month is coming up soon. Better soften her up. Kaname took a step and hugged her tightly in his arms, ignoring how she tensed up. "Not at all, darling. You look beautiful, by the way."

"I'm wearing sweats."

"And you sure know how to make them work," he said sweetly, "in fact, I'm not sure which look I prefer; this one or the one you did earlier today… It's hard to choose when your girlfriend is insanely hot…" He purred. "I do wonder – do you have any more lingerie sets available? When the time is right I'd like to see you in them."

"Don't think so," she pushed off his chest and walked over to the couch, grabbing the wine bottle and one of the glasses he'd put out on the table.

"Don't think you have any more sets or don't think I'll see you in them?" Ah, he had to choose his words carefully; a woman with PMS was not something to mess with. He knew she could sometimes get moody during that time, but she was never mean or cross with him. Maybe this was just a special case.

"Both," she quipped, pouring some wine into her glass.

"Oh…" It was like approaching a growling lioness; one wrong move and she would tear him to pieces. "I… respect that."

She gave him an odd look as she lifted the wine glass to her mouth. "Actually…" She trailed off, shaking her head and putting the glass down.

"Is something wrong with the wine?" He asked, stupefied by her strange behavior.

"I'm just not sure if I'm staying over," she shrugged, "better not drink any alcohol if I have to drive later."

Kaname frowned. "But you always stay over… Is… is it because you don't want anything to happen?"

"What do you mean?"

"Uh…" Usually he was so eloquent and good at handling people; but with Yuuki he always faltered and stumbled over his words – especially when he thought she was PMS-ing. "I mean… we can just cuddle. I'm happy either way. I mean… today was amazing, so you don't have to… uh… Do you want ice cream?"

Yuuki blinked, cocking her head to the side. "You're not making any sense."

"I'm afraid not," he said, tired of walking on eggshells. The smell of burnt food fused into the air; he sniffed, realizing that he'd forgotten about the food currently cooking in his kitchen.

"I should… tend to the food."

With that, he turned awkwardly and walked over to the connected kitchen, stirring the pan. Usually they'd make dinner together and flirt with each other, but after she'd gone home from his office, they'd agreed that she would come over to him later and join him for dinner – which he said he would make, as a little token of appreciation for her earth-shattering gift earlier in the day.

The more he thought about it; the sexy lingerie set, and the way she moaned his name in his office – fulfilling a longtime fantasy of his of taking her in his office – the more aroused he became. It'd been an amazing distraction from the whole Shizuka thing, and for the first time in a while, he'd been completely relaxed and happy.

The only thing that dampened his mood was her sudden shift in behavior; it was just a few hours ago when she seduced him in his office and smiled at him – now she was giving him the cold shoulder like he'd boiled her goldfish or something.

Women… He shook his head, deciding that he would let her be for the evening.

The silence stretched on as they ate; every time he tried to start a conversation with her, she would only give him short answers and refuse to look at him as she chewed her food. The atmosphere grew heavy and tense as both of them concentrated on their food. He gave up on conversing with her eventually, afraid of getting her angry. After all – she was PMS-ing – and he knew from experience that she could sometimes get feisty during that… time.

One time, when he was still her boss, she'd yelled at him for 15 minutes straight for spilling coffee on her shirt, and he'd been forced to sit there quietly and wide-eyed as she vented her frustrations. Eventually she'd calmed, offering him a not-so-heartfelt apology and went on her way to retrieve a new shirt, leaving him speechless in the office. The incident taught him when and how to avoid getting her worked up – and so the next months, he knew exactly when she was going to be like that.

Maybe he was creepy… but really, he just did it out of concern for her. And – to protect himself from her mood swings.

The memory brought up other memories of happier times, and suddenly he couldn't stop himself. He had to know what was going on.

"Yuuki, what's wrong?" He demanded, putting down his cutlery, looking straight at her. "You've been acting strange all evening, and I get it if it's because that time is coming up, but please, don't be so hard on me."

"What do you mean?" She said, looking up from her food.

"You know what I mean." He said quietly, raising his eyebrows.

When she only gave him an odd look in return, he exhaled deeply. "You have a tendency to get a little bit moody when you… you know, once a month."

Her odd look darkened as she narrowed her eyes. "Nothing's wrong. Do you think something is wrong?"

Uh oh… He'd done it.

He upset the lioness.

"No, no, of course not. You're perfect to me. And… if you want, we can get ice cream and watch movies and–"

"Oh my god," Yuuki rolled her eyes, "I'm not PMS-ing or anything! Stop the sweet talk!"

"Then…" Kaname trailed off, frowning. "What's wrong? It's unlike you to be so cold towards me."

"I'd say it's unlike you to keep something from me, but it's not, isn't it?" She narrowed her eyes, staring him down across the table.

Does she know about Shizuka? He grew nervous as she pinned him with her murderous stare. No… She can't possibly know. I haven't mentioned it to anyone, and nothing's been leaked as far as I know. It has to be something else.

"What are you talking about?" He wondered.

"Is there something you want to tell me?" She demanded, crossing her arms. "Is there something you've been keeping from me?"

Yes. But he couldn't tell her – not until he had a solution.

"No," he lied. "There's nothing to tell."

"Fine," she said, wiping her mouth with a napkin and getting off her chair. "Then I'm leaving."

"What?" He shot up from his seat, watching as she gathered her car keys and phone. Quickly, he stepped towards her and blocked her path. "Why?"

She turned abruptly, her face set in a frown as she spoke. "Because I'm not staying with someone that lies to me. So you can take that ice cream you mentioned and enjoy it by yourself, dear. I'm sure if you call your ex she can come cuddle with you, too."

Kaname froze. "H-how–"

"How do I know that my boyfriend met with his psychotic ex-girlfriend the other day without him telling me? Oh, you know, those gossip webpages. They even showed me pictures of her leaving. That's how every girlfriend should find out about their boyfriend hooking up with his ex, don't you think?"

Kaname growled to himself. "Ah, those damn gossip pages…"

"Is that all you have to say?" She raised her voice, incredulous. "Really?"

"Yuuki… please, it's not what it looks like." He soothed, reaching out and stroking her arm.

"Isn't it? Tell me the truth, Kaname. Don't lie to me like you just did, because I will know if you do," she threatened, pulling away from his touch.

He nodded, realizing that he had no way out of the situation. He had to tell her.

He turned and walked out of the living room and to his office, grabbing the folder. When he came back, she was still waiting by the kitchen counter top, a distrustful look in her eyes as she viewed him.

It reminded him of old and harsh times – back when she loathed him for keeping secrets from her after she found out he was in love with her. And to think, years later, he would do the same mistake…

He dropped the folder onto the counter next to them. "Here," he said quietly, watching as she reached out and flipped over the folder's cover.

The cover fell aside, revealing the pictures of them. She scanned them quickly, panic rising up her throat like bile as she flipped through them. When she found the picture from Singapore, she froze, all color draining from her face.

"My psychotic ex likes to play games. Her current obsession is ruining our lives. She threatened to take this to the press unless I do what she says. That's why she showed up at my office; she must've used her old ID card or something… The reason I didn't tell you was because… well, because it reminded me of how you felt when some people at the office were whispering rumors about you. I just… I wanted to protect you and find a solution on my own before I told you…" He trailed off.

Yuuki said nothing for a while as she stared at the picture, memorizing the time-stamp. Out of all the pictures, this was the most damaging one. This could, through a journalistic twist, be turned into a story of how they got together before she quit. How the CEO of Kuran Inc. engaged in a relationship with his secretary, and how she willingly followed him.

"This… is bad," she breathed, unable to tear her eyes away. "You should have told me…" She whispered.

"Yuuki… I know you've changed, but… this could ruin you if it escalates. The press will tear us to pieces, and your career will suffer. I don't want you to go through that; and I don't want your anxiety to flare up again. I know how much it hurt you the first time around, but this time its even worse."

"I…" She trailed off, her breathing picking up. He was right – this time around it was even worse. People whispering at the office were one thing – but the whole world knowing and accusing them was even worse. She could only imagine how the future would be like; no one would take her seriously because of her relationship with him – no one would ever see her as a respected journalist.

Her need for independence and control was strong – after all, it's what drove her away from him in the beginning. But in therapy she'd learned that those needs were just symptoms of her real need – which was to deal with her mother's death and accept the loss. And now that she had, she found in herself a lesser need to be in control and be super independent – sure, it was still important to her, but she wouldn't let her relationship with the man she loved suffer because of it.

It was time to be brave and own up to her sins – even if the only thing she was guilty of was falling in love with him.

"You're right," she admitted, "this is even worse than before. It could crush me, and ruin any shot I have at a career, but…" She looked up at him as she grabbed his hand. "But you are more important to me. I don't want to risk what we have by running away because people are talking about us; whatever happens, we'll fix it by staying strong – together."

"Yuuki…" He trailed off, amazed by her growth.

"I've been unfair to you in the past, but I'm ready to fight for us now," she vowed, "even if there's no way to stop these pictures from being released, we'll face the consequences together. I love you, Kaname, and I won't let the world tell us that I can't be with you."

He cradled her face in his hands. "You're not mad at me?"

"Oh, I'm mad," she confirmed, giving him a dark look as she tapped his nose.

"I'm sorry," he said, stroking her cheek with his hand, "I was going to tell you when I could find a way to stop them, but I haven't gotten to that point yet. I'm sorry for doubting you, Yuuki. I should've just told you in the first place."

She clenched the hand on her cheek, leaning into his touch. "You had your reasons… My record isn't exactly clean. But this time, Kaname, I need you to believe in me when I tell you that I'm not going anywhere. At this point I don't even care about what people have to say – you're the most important person in the world to me, and as long as I'm next to you, I can handle anything."

He kissed her forehead, gathering her in his arms as he hugged her tightly. She hugged him back, wrapping her arms around his waist and sighing as the comfort of his embrace overwhelmed her.

"I love you, Yuuki," he whispered, kissing the top of her head. "We'll get through this, I promise."

She nodded into his chest, hugging him tighter.

Eventually they pulled away from each other, though he let his hands rest on her waist. "I'm so proud of you, Yuuki. You've come such a long way."

"I owe a lot of it to you," she said softly. "I couldn't have gotten to this point without you."

He kissed her forehead. "Well… I'm glad you're not PMS-ing, because I don't think I would've survived this confrontation if you were." He chuckled dryly.

Yuuki slapped his chest lightly. "You're so silly! Besides, I don't get that bad."

He pursed his lips. "That's… debatable."

"Oh please, when have I ever scared you off?"

"Don't you remember that time you started crying because I said your skirt looked like it was inside out? I was panicking because you wouldn't stop crying and I didn't know how to soothe you without stepping over the boss/secretary borderline."

"That…." Yuuki blushed, remembering all to well the little incident. She'd yelled at him and accused him of never appreciating her, when in reality, he was always appreciative towards her and grateful whenever she did something for him. "… was ages ago."

"And that time when you yelled at me 15 minutes straight because I spille–"

"Okay, I get it," Yuuki huffed, putting a hand over his mouth. "I can be a little bit… moody."

He grabbed her hand and turned it. "Angry, sad, happy – you're still cute to me," he kissed the top of her hand softly while she blushed.

"Oh, shut it," she laughed, pulling her hand away.

"So… are you staying over tonight then?" He asked hopefully.

"Yeah, I am. We have some planning to do," she responded, giving him a half-smile.

"And here I was thinking you'd continue celebrating my birthday…" He trailed off.

"My earlier gift didn't satisfy you enough?"

"Oh, it did," he whispered huskily, leaning down, "but when it comes to you I am always ready for more."

"Tell you what," Yuuki said, reaching up on her tiptoes and kissing him, wrapping her arms around his neck, "when all of this is over, we'll celebrate as much as you like. Hey, why don't we go away to somewhere nice and warm? Away from all this drama…"

"I like the sound of that," he hummed, kissing her back. "Let's do that, Yuuki."