Author's Notes: Well... at least it's not Tuesday this time, right?

I was in my sister's house yesterday. I baked a cake, brought flowers; as of last week she officially paid off her loans from college with a god-send of money from my aunt, and is now almost debt and college free. This isn't crazy money like what they pay in America, but for a struggling single-mother like my sister, it was a lot of debt that she really didn't have the money to pay.

Needless to say, we had a few bottles of wine. I'm a little hungover.

The Dark Hour had just passed; another night not in Tartarus and Yukari felt restless. Since setting the story straight with Junpei earlier in the evening, she thought sleeping would be easy...

But no matter what way she tossed and turned, she couldn't get Akihiko out of her head.

She wondered... did she upset him when she didn't tell Junpei the whole story? Did Akihiko want people to know about them?

Did she?

There was this massive question hanging over them; what were they to each other, exactly? Was it... just a case of raging teenage hormones, or was it more than that? Did she want to be seen in public with him, holding his hand or maybe kissing his cheek? Did she want people to refer to her as 'Akihiko's Girlfriend' when occasionally they didn't remember her name? Did she want to go on dates and be allowed to pinch is backside in public?

There was an easy answer to all those questions. Yes. She did want all those things, and not because she was a silly teen who didn't know any better, but because she enjoyed his company and knew that he was a good soul, and the fact that they were both in SEES and persona users made him so much easier to relate to.

And he was gorgeous.

But did he want any of those things?

Walking away from him earlier was painful, but she just didn't know what to say past the angry buzzing in her ears; she was so furious that the asshole with the under-bite spread all those lies about her senpai that she couldn't speak. Akihiko looked so heartbroken and Yukari could understand why; with such a vicious rumour about someone so genuine and graceful and caring as Akihiko, she couldn't understand why people thought so lowly of him and believed such horrid things.

She was quickly getting angry again, and she wasn't able to hold it in. Reaching for her phone, without really stopping to think what she was doing, she wrote a quick text message and sent it to Akihiko's phone.

If you're awake come up and talk to me x

A brief, terrifying thought was spared for the little kiss she reflexively put at the end, but there was no way she would be able to un-send it so she simply willed the pounding in her heart to slow when she thought of Akihiko, in her room-

Maybe even on her bed-

Maybe even in her bed-

And her breathing picked up as well as her pulse. It seemed like a lifetime waiting for him to text back, her phone clutched desperately in her hand even as she tried to tell herself it was no big deal. It wasn't like they were going to... do anything, just talk. Hell, even if he was asleep that would be totally fine because she was starting to feel tired anyway-

When her phone finally vibrated she actually dropped it on the floor in her haste to answer it. Cheeks burning, Yukari fumbled under the bed and pulled it out by the little charm she had attached to the top, rolling back on to her bed and flipping it open.

Okay. 2 mins

Shiiiiit. It was one in the morning, and she just invited the sexiest guy in the dorm to her room. Leaping out of the bed to make sure there was nothing overly embarrassing hanging around (underwear on the floor, suspiciously erotically titled novels, forgotten sweet-wrappers), she did a quick clean of her room and fixed the sheets on the bed, deciding that waiting for the actual person rather than waiting for their text was way worse. She turned the lights on, then turned them off and turned her lamp on so it was dim, then back again because she couldn't decide which one she wanted more until eventually just settling for the lamp on its own.

Standing in front of her oval mirror, Yukari contemplated her appearance. While her hair was a little messy from tossing around in bed so much, she decided not to change it. What really worried her was her state of dress. Her current white tank and pink flannel pj pants... were embarrassing.

Would he think she looked like a little kid with her bed-head and pink pjs? She didn't have much else in the way of bed-clothes. Yukari contemplated wearing a pair of underwear that sort of looked like boxers but hugged instead of fell – they looked great on her ass anyway...

She was thinking about wearing underwear while greeting Akihiko at the door to her room. She was being an idiot, a silly, girly idiot. I didn't invite him down here to seduce him, I invited him to see if he's okay; maybe he needs some comfort from a friend?

Though I can think of one kind of TLC.

… Her pjs looked stupid. She should probably change them-

Too late she thought, her heart doing somersaults when there was a soft knock at the door. Feeling suddenly terrified and berating herself for inviting him to her room in the first place, Yukari wiped her sweaty palms on her tank and took a deep, shuddering breath before turning the handle and peeking through the gap.

Jeeze he's tall, was her first thought, and then what am I going to do, Akihiko is going to be in my room.

He was wearing loose fitting black sweats and a red long-sleeve that was tight on the arms but not on his waist, and while she thought about how adorable he looked out of uniform, swinging the door open with that she hoped was a warm smile and not some sort of manic grin, she jerked her head in the direction of her room because she lost the ability to speak.

Akihiko seemed hesitant, but he eventually gathered himself together and walked inside, shutting the door quietly behind him. They both look at each other for a few seconds, their first time being alone since...

"Are you okay?" They said in unison, laughing quietly when some of the awkwardness went away.

"You first," he prompted her after they regained their composure, still standing against her door.

Yukari chewed her lip, suddenly a little anxious, and it had nothing to do with the fact that there was a guy in her room and it was the dead of night. Not any more at least.

"I... I just wanted to make sure you're okay, I know you're having kind of a hard time about that rumour that was going around. Do you... want to talk about it?"

"You don't believe it, do you?" He said quickly, raising his hands in defence.

Yukari blinked, "What? No. I know it's not true, I was there-"

"Not about me beating up Keizo. About me stealing peoples' girlfriends and then dumping them when I get bored."

Yukari never heard that part of the rumour, though the note with LADY-STEALER written with red marker suddenly made more sense.

"I... didn't hear that one. Akihiko-senpai, what have they been saying?"

Folding his arms and leaning on one foot, Akihiko looked away, his face turning red. She could see his eyes darting back and fourth, like he was planning what he was going to say, or trying to work up the courage. Eventually he started talking in a low voice so as not to wake up the others, "Ah... years ago, when I was a junior... there was this guy in my class who really liked this girl who'd just transferred. I had a bad chest infection at the time, so I never got to meet her on her first day. By the time I was well enough to go back to school, they were dating."

He sighed through his nose, scratching the plaster on his brow as he continued, and Yukari could already see where the story was going; "When I got back, she ended up joining the boxing team and I thought that was pretty cool because I'd never met a girl who liked boxing. We talked a few times, but I never really paid much attention to her; I was so busy training all the time."

"Then one day," he threw his hands up in the air, "I find out that she broke up with him weeks ago, saying she was going out with me, and when I told her to quit telling people that we were in a relationship, she made up this story about how I..."

She could see his throat work as he swallowed, "... about how I kept telling her I was so much better for her and that she should go out with me instead. And that I slept with her, and then dumped her afterwards! I kept telling people it wasn't true but no one believed me except Shinji and Mitsuru. Her ex-boyfriend kept leaving me all these notes about how I stole his girlfriend and eventually it just got shortened down into everyone calling me a lady-stealer."

"I... I didn't want you to find out from anyone else," he sighed, looking so frustrated and at the same time so sad, "but every now and again the whole lady-stealer thing pops up and then the whole school knows the story, so it would have only been a matter of time before you found out."

What fury she had about it before increased tenfold; whoever was spreading those rumours knew nothing about Akihiko at all! How could anyone think him so callous or selfish? How could they accuse him of sleeping with someone when he'd never been intimate with anyone before, and even putting a hand on his knee was enough to make him jump out of his skin?! How could they believe a stupidly desperate girl, lying through her teeth over one of the sweetest, most honest guys in the world?

And why was it still going on?!

Yukari's hands balled into fists, but loosened when Akihiko glanced up at her and looked so... so lost. Clearly he was still hurt and embarrassed and worried about it, and he was waiting for her to say something, probably to tell him the same thing everyone else told him; that they believed the lie and that he was an asshole.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

"I believe you, senpai," she said, her heart fluttering when he brightened up considerably from the short sentence alone, "I promise. I know you're not like that, and that was totally unfair! How did she get away with that?! Is she still in the school?"

He shook his head, "No, she transferred the year after-"

"Good riddance," the girl hissed, "what a selfish, stupid girl! I can't believe she spread all those lies about you! I can't believe people even believed them! I mean, have they even talked to you? Don't they know that you're an honest person?"

She was probably obsessed with him, and when he wasn't picking up her flirtatious signals, she got pissed and started telling people they were going out anyway. When it backfired, she had to make herself seem like the victim, and what better way than to say he took advantage of her?

Yukari was practically growling at the audacity of her! How... how dare she-

"R-really, Yukari-chan, it's nice of you to say so but I don't really care what the people in school think of me-"

"Well I care!" She practically yelled, slapping a hand over her mouth even though it was too late.

There was a long silence at her exclamation; Akihiko's eyes were glassy and his skin looked white as a sheet in the dim lighting in her room. His shoulders were all tense and bunched up, but he was gazing at her like she just proclaimed her love, and she might as well have. She just told him she cared about him so much she wanted the whole world to feel the same, and even if he didn't think of it like that, it still came out like a battle-cry and probably jostled a few sleeping SEES members.

"I just... didn't want you to believe it, if you heard it from someone else. I don't care what they think of me, but... but I care what you think. And I-I'm glad you think so h-highly of me."

Akihiko's face was turning so pink it was filling his cheeks, nose and the tips of his ears. The archer marvelled at how someone so handsome could get so damn bashful just telling a girl she made him happy-

… She made him happy.

The thought filled her up to the brim, pushing all the anger out of her like it was poison and replaced it with a warm, comforting sort of happiness that she couldn't name. Her balled fists relaxed and the sparks in her eyes dimmed and the hard line her mouth made softened until she was smiling.

"Of course I think highly of you," she stepped closer, he took a step back into the door with no where else to go, she was poking a finger in the middle of his chest, "and not just because you're my senpai, you're a wonderful person. Junpei even said it, you saved me. They can talk whatever crap they like about you; I'll set them straight because I know the truth; you're a damn hero and a great friend and I know you'd take a bullet for any one of us."

Looking like he didn't know what to do or say or feel, Yukari just waited for him to regain his footing.

He wasn't just a good friend and a hero, he was kind and gentle and compassionate, he was strong and down-to-earth and good listener and a successful competitor and he had his problems but he was good enough not to take them out on any one else.

He was a fantastic kisser too, and pretty easy on the eyes.

Jealousy was a terrible green eyed monster, and as she looked at the attractive male wilting under her gaze, she thought that there was a lot about him to be jealous of.

Author's Notes: When I started dating my current boyfriend, I legit dropped my phone a couple of times in my excitement at a text message from him. Cringeworthy.