"Ten letters. A defining moment. An intersection."

He jumped a little. "Hm?"

The two were sitting on his favorite couch. He sat with one of his previous research papers with one hand and a red pen in the other. His girlfriend of about two years was positioned uncomfortably half his lap, half on cushion as she leaned on the other arm of the one person couch and used a sparkly pink pen to fill in the crossword of the Sunday paper.

"No don't tell me. A while ago you were so insistent on grabbing the crossword and I didn't even have time to look at the one from last week. I can do this one by myself, I just started!"

He put down the paper and took off his glasses. He bent his neck so that his head rested on the firm back of the old furniture and rubbed his eyes, he hadn't gotten any sleep last night. "I need a break anyway. I'll just do one and then I'll leave you to it. Promise."

She shifted her weight so she was sitting fully on his lap, and he could see what she was working on. "Down. Number 2.. Ten letters. A defining moment or an Intersection."

He paused, thought for a moment. "Crossroad."

"That's nine."

"Crossroads."

She wrote the letters in with a pencil first and then sighed, replacing it with the finality of the pink ink. "Touche."

He laughed and circled his hands around her waist. "Crossroads. Reminds me of the old high school."

"The one Amara and Michelle used to go to…I never liked that place." She shuddered thinking of all the horrible monsters they had fought there.

"The city want to build a shopping center over it, I guess its better than the old empty lot-

"Are we at one?" She slipped forward and turned over her shoulder so she could see his face.

"We're sitting in my couch on a quiet Saturday afternoon. I would hardly call that a crossroad."

"But…" She started drawing tiny circles around the paper with her pen. "I think your going to be going back to school really soon. The pictures of us are all gone, and you're wearing the same shirt as you did two days ago. Summer will be over soon and somehow it still feels like yesterday that we said goodbye to the Starlights. It feels like something to me. It could be a crossroad."

"Maybe."

"So maybe we should talk about it?"

She waited for a response but could only hear his level breathing. "Or not. I should bring some tea. Its getting really stuffy in here. I know we bought some lemonade or something that's probably just wasting away in the fridge right? I should go get some."

She stood to get up but he grabbed her arm and turned her toward him.

"Your right."

She melted into him and he cradled her in his lap. The paper long forgotten on the little work desk.

"I am?"

"I got an email from the academic board overseeing international students. I need to come back a little early and tie up some loose ends from last semester."

He could feel her body still as she gazed out. He sat there for a while not knowing whether to hug her or let her mull over the information she had just heard.

"When?"

"Usa, you know I love you so don't get mad and not hear me out. I need to tell you something, I want-"

"Mamo- chan..When?"

"In four days."

She took a deep breath and picked up the crossword puzzle again. "Oh."

"I wanted to tell you but I didn't want it to be like last time when you got so sad, if it happened like that again I wouldn't be able to leave you here. I can't stand seeing you like that. Usa I realized I can't be apart from you-."

"Are you still going?"

"Yes."

"Stop." She continued writing on the paper, her face completely blank.

"Usa. Don't be like this. Talk to me."

"When were you going to tell me?"

His voice dropped to a whisper. "Last month. Last week. Yesterday. Soon. Maybe today. Or tomorrow. But I meant to tell you."

She got up with balled fists and her bangs covering her face. "I just wish. I wish you knew that I could've handled it. I defeated Chaos for Christ's sake! I dealt with you dying, just knowing you'd be alive even if you won't be with me because I love you and I would never keep you from going. And now I'm yelling! And now you're leaving and I feel like the bad guy here for being mad!"

He stood and wrapped his arms around her. "No ones the bad guy here."

She pushed him away. "You are. We don't keep stuff from each other. What you were doing is lying out of omission. Across! 9 Letters! O-M-I-S-S-I-O-N. If we weren't at a crossroad then we certainly are now. Call me when you want to be honest."

She turned and walked out of the apartment leaving him alone in the empty living room.

He picked up her sparkly pink pen and the Crossword Puzzle she had left on the floor.

She had gotten half of the answers filled but the rest of the blocks she had just scribbled: N-O, N-O, N-O, over and over again, filling up all of the empty blocks and extending past the page.

She came over ever Saturday to do the crossword. It was a little tradition of theirs. He had always enjoyed watching her eyebrows knit and her chew on her bottom lip as she worked.

He had tried so hard to avoid this.

He crumpled up the newspaper and then opened it again and tried to smooth it out but it was still creased.

Down 32: I can't live without you. Usa will you marry me?

The three letters allotted were crammed with the same letters.

N-O-N-O-N-O