A/N: As always, thanks for the reviews. I appreciate the support. :)

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It took longer than I would have liked to get my breathing under control. The haze of pleasure that I was stuck in made it difficult to do anything. Not that I wanted to move. I felt so good that I could have easily just passed out and slept for days. However, Yuu had recovered a lot faster than I had, and he was already off the bed.

I watched with lidded eyes as he disappeared into the bathroom, still too out of it to figure out what he was doing. The sound of water running made it pretty clear that he was cleaning himself up though.

When he returned to the bedroom, I was glad I had stayed awake. My boyfriend was gorgeous, and seeing him walk around naked like that was a wonderful sight. I would never tell him that though, or he would start doing it all the time just to get under my skin.

This wasn't the first time I had watched him walk around naked after sex. My memories of that morning may have been blurred by the massive hangover, but I unmistakably remembered finding him attractive and thinking that he would have been so much more beautiful if he would just smile.

He was smiling now. It was only a small smile of contentment, the one that had become his usual facial expression over the last six months of living with Addie and me, but it got bigger as he sat down on the bed and leaned over me. "Oh, so you are awake in there. I thought you had passed out."

I laughed lightly. "I certainly wanted to."

Yuu kissed me briefly. Then he was placing a damp washcloth on my stomach. I shrieked lightly at the unexpected feeling, and that just made him smirk. "What are you doing, Bakanda?"

"Cleaning you up." It was an obvious answer now that he was wiping the drying semen off my middle. "Though if I had known you were awake beforehand, I would have suggested showering together."

The smirk on his face made me punch him in the shoulder. "I can't believe how much of a pervert you turned out to be."

Yuu gave me a weird look as he unceremoniously tossed the washcloth into the bathroom. "You say that like you didn't enjoy it. Was the sex not good for you?"

I didn't know how to answer the question without admitting to things I that didn't want to admit, so I turned it around on him. "Was it good for you? You actually remember our first time. For all I know, I was better drunk."

Yuu moved so that he was kneeling over me, his loose navy hair blocking out everything around us. He stared down at me for a moment before he spoke. "The only comparison that matters is that you were sober and you wanted me to do that to you. For those first few months after I remembered our initial encounter, I was worried that you would only want me if you were drunk. This time was a million times better for me simply because it was completely consensual. So stop trying to change the subject. The way you're acting makes it seem like you didn't enjoy it but don't want to say so because you don't want to hurt my feelings."

The way he phrased it made me feel bad. I hadn't meant for my insecurities to upset him. "No, I enjoyed it."

There was some relief on Yuu's face at hearing that I liked the sex, but mostly he just looked confused. He raised an eyebrow at me. "Then what's on your mind, Moyashi?"

I stared at him for a moment, trying to decide if he really wanted to know or if he was just making small talk. His expression never changed, and that made me blush so hard that I had to look away. The silence was starting to get to me, so I caved and let my thoughts out. "The sex was good, way better than I ever imagined it being. Why was I so scared of it?"

I expected him to tease me over my admission, but instead Yuu leaned down and kissed me.

"It's probably because we used to be so violent towards each other. You weren't scared of the sex, you were scared of me."

Before I could argue with that, which I really wanted to do, I realized he was right. I was scared of the sex because I was worried that he would hurt me. It was especially hard to deny when I recalled how I had freaked out over him seeing my stretch marks.

I opened my mouth to concede, but before I got a single word out, Yuu was kissing me again. When he let me go, he pressed his forehead against mine and stared seriously into my eyes. "You should have figured out by now that I always take care of my things. And you are mine. I would never hurt you, Allen."

I raised an eyebrow at him in confusion. "I have a scar through my stomach that contradicts that sentiment."

The comment earned me a flicked ear. If the look in his eyes was anything to go by, Yuu was upset with me. "Che. Were you even listening, Moyashi? That was back before you became mine, so it's no longer relevant."

Though it was meant to calm me down, that only pissed me off. I was not an object. "Oh? And when, exactly, did I 'become yours'?"

Yuu rolled off me and lay on his back, staring up at the ceiling. He was clearly thinking hard about how to answer my question without setting me off. "Tonight, now that we've had sex? Six months ago, when you agreed to go out with me after giving birth to my baby? Eight months before that, when you decided not to abort my baby? The month before that, when you conceived my baby? Take your pick."

"That's not what I meant, Yuu." I pushed myself up on my elbow so that I could look at him. It was a mistake; I had a little too much trouble keeping my eyes from drifting down his perfectly toned body. "This is clearly about you thinking that I belong to you, so, when did that happen? When did you start thinking of me as your possession?"

I was startled by the sincere answer he gave me. "That would have been around the time that I realized that I had fallen in love with you. So, roughly eight months ago."

"You realize that I'm not an object, right?"

The words just made Yuu laugh. "Nice try, Moyashi, but it won't work. You are mine until the day you die, and there's nothing you can do about it. And before you try to argue with me, you should know that it's only going to end with you underneath me again. So unless you're ready for another round, I suggest dropping it and going to sleep."

.x.x.

The next month was full of change. Sex with Yuu became part of my routine, but in contrast to the previous six months, if he wanted sex, we had sex. I'm not complaining, I enjoyed the sex and Yuu continued to treat me like royalty, but it was definitely weird having him go from patient and understanding to domineering.

I don't know why it surprised me, but Yuu proposed exactly when he said he would: six months, to the minute, from his previous proposal.

We were out on a mission at the time, which was probably why it was so unexpected. As we walked through the streets, he pulled me away from our comrades and into an alley, where he just stared at me expectantly. After a moment of silence, I raised an eyebrow at him. "What's going on, Bakanda?"

"It's been six months." He said it as if it was the only information I needed.

I blinked at him. "Since what?"

"Che. Baka Moyashi." He tousled my hair, like he always did when my cluelessness amused him. "You said I had to wait six months before I could propose again. So?"

I frowned at him. It was just like Yuu to expect me to accept his proposal without him asking properly. "Is this you proposing? It's rather pathetic."

He stared at me for a moment before his scowl faltered. "Is that a no?"

I snorted. "No. It's me telling you to do it right. I can't answer a question you haven't asked yet."

"Oh. Right." Yuu immediately began digging through his jacket pockets. Finding what he was looking for, he pulled out a small black box and offered it to me. "Will you marry me, Allen?"

Curious, I took the box from him. Inside was a plain silver band. I blinked up at him, nearly stunned speechless. "You actually bought a ring?"

"I did." He raised an eyebrow at me, silently reminding me that I still hadn't answered his question.

I hesitated. I had completely forgotten that Yuu wanted us to get married, and I didn't know what to say to him. I loved him dearly, but I was unsure whether or not I was ready for this. Marriage was a big step.

I was pulled from my thoughts when Yuu flicked my forehead. "Stop thinking so hard, Moyashi. Just say yes."

That made me laugh, but only for a moment. "Yuu, it's not that simple. I-"

He flicked my forehead again. "Yes, it is that simple. All of my arguments from six months ago are still true, and all of yours are no longer relevant. There are no more pregnancy hormones in your system, we've had sex, and we have been dating for seven months. So stop giving me a hard time."

I pouted playfully at him. "But it's fun."

"Che. Baka." I expected him to flick my forehead again, but instead he pulled me into a kiss. He broke the kiss after only a couple seconds, but he stayed so close that our noses were touching. "Unless you've changed your mind about wanting to get married, it should not be taking you this long to accept my proposal. What's going through that head of yours, Allen?"

I wanted to look away, but couldn't; there was just something in his gaze that made the truth pop out. "I'm scared, Yuu."

Yuu's reaction was not what I expected it to be. "What? And I'm not? This is a big step for both of us, Moyashi. The idea of vowing to be with someone for the rest of my life is somewhat terrifying. I just know that I love you, and that makes me want to do this with you."

I didn't know what to say to that. Instead, I just watched in tongue-tied silence as Yuu took the ring box out of my numb hands. He shoved the box back into his pocket, but not before pulling the ring out. Without saying a word, he took my left hand in his and slid the ring onto my finger.

The feeling of the cold metal against my skin snapped me out of my stupor. "Yuuuuu! I didn't say 'yes'!"

My protest was cut short by a passionate kiss, and I was gasping for breath by the time he let go. He leaned close and whispered in my ear. "You didn't say 'no' either."

The huskiness in his voice made me swallow hard. Add in the closeness of our bodies and the tense atmosphere, and something else became hard. I blushed deeply as I felt my erection grow, trying to back away from Yuu before he noticed.

I didn't succeed. Before I could react, I was sandwiched between the brick alley wall and Yuu's strong chest. He laughed lightly in my ear as he pressed the top of his thigh against my crotch, the contact making me struggle to hold in a moan. "Ah, there's my answer. You can't lie if your body gives you away."

"Wanting sex and wanting to get engaged are two very different things, Yuu." My words were not as strong as I would have liked; my mind was growing fuzzy as more of my blood flowed south.

"Then give me back the ring." There was a challenge in his voice that set me on edge. And before I could even begin to decide if I wanted to take off the ring, Yuu was rubbing his knee against my erection.

I bit back a moan at the feeling. I knew what he was after now, and I knew how this was going to play out. If I could take off the ring before he pushed me over the edge, then he would back off, but if I failed then he would get his way and we would be engaged. It was a weird game, but it was essentially the same as how he got me to admit that I'd fallen for him. It was how we did things.

There were several problems with that arrangement though. Not the least of which was that I knew I was going to lose. Yuu had too much power over my body. If he wanted me to climax, I would. And there was nothing I could do about it.

While I was lost in thought, my wrists were forcefully pinned above my head. I protested, but Yuu captured my mouth in a deep kiss, silencing me before I could get a word out. I tried to struggle out of his grasp, but all that did was create more friction on my groin.

I moaned into the kiss at the feeling, and to my surprise, Yuu released his hold on my wrists. The relief was short lived though, as mere seconds later, my pants were around my ankles. We both froze, but Yuu acted first, and before I realized that I had missed my chance to win his game, my length was in his mouth.

Yuu's strong hands kept my hips pinned in place, and the moist heat surrounding my shaft quickly became too much. Overwhelmed by pleasure, I gave up on fighting back. I couldn't stop the lewd noises coming out of my mouth, and my fingernails began to chip as I clawed against the brick wall.

It was all over less than a minute later. I came with a choked groan, collapsing to the ground as I couldn't support myself on my shaky legs.

Yuu smirked at me as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. I did my best to glare at him, but I was breathing too heavily for it to be effective. "That wasn't fair! You know I can't fight back against that!"

"That was the point, Allen." I blinked at his words, barely managing to pull my pants up. Yuu batted my hands away and fastened them himself. "You just let me have my way with you in a public place. And you didn't put any thought into it beforehand. Yet you put up a huge fight over getting engaged. Your reactions were backwards."

He wound his fingers into my hair and held my head firmly in place. "Now, I'm going to ask again, and this time you're going to respond the right way, ok?"

I nodded as best as I could with the way he was holding me. He stared deep into my eyes before he spoke again. "Will you marry me, Allen?"