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The tension in the air between them was thick. Naru mentally kicked himself. He knew it. He shouldn't have said anything.

"Never mind, forget I said anything. I know you love Gene anyways-" Naru started off only to have Mai begin yelling at him in anger from his statement.

"Naru, you complete idiot! Why the hell do you keep insisting I love Gene?! I love him no more than I love Ayako or John or Monk. He is like a brother to me, nothing more. You're a jerk, a complete idiot! Why would you say something like that?!"

"Well you sure as hell don't love me so who else would it be?" Naru gritted out.

"What the hell makes you think that?!" Mai demanded.

"Think what?"

"That I don't love you!"

"What, are you saying you do?!" Naru asked, his voice rising.

"Maybe I am!" Mai yelled back at him. They both paused, not knowing what to say. They were yelling at each other that they loved each other. It was different for their arguments. Mai's cheeks started to turn red as she realized what she had said.

"I...I...um...that is..." She stuttered. Mai closed her eyes and took a deep breath to calm herself. Naru was blinking as though trying to process what she had said. 'She...doesn't love Gene... And she loves...me?' Naru was stunned by this revelation.

He looked at Mai as he heard her sigh. She looked really upset about something. He gave her a questioning, awkward glance since the atmosphere was still pretty tense. She opened her mouth to say something then closed it again then opened and closed her mouth a few more times.

"I...I do love you Naru." Mai finally said, feeling a lot calmer now. "I always have..."

"But how can I be sure of that?" Naru demanded to know.

Mai pressed her lips together and slightly glared at him.

"I just do!" Naru frowned a little. "What?" She asked.

"I just don't know what to believe anymore." He said.

Mai frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?" She questioned. "Why is it so hard for you to believe that I love you and not Gene?"

"Why would you love me? I'm rude, arrogant, 'a complete jerk' according to you. Why would I believe you loved me instead of someone kind, considerate and friendly like my brother?"

Mai stared at Naru, trying not to let him see that she realized he was kinda right—with the first part of what he said anyways. She hadn't really ever done a good job at showing him that she loved him with all the rude name calling and always yelling at him. Maybe she should try and stop doing those kinds of things.

"I only say those things when you annoy me..." Mai mumbled, looking away again. "It's not that I mean them. And yes, Gene's always nice and kind, but you are too. You just don't show it that much."

"How am I nice?" Naru asked. Mai gave Naru a sideways glance. "Well?" He prompted.

"You always save me and help me with things... I know you always try and act like you're not, but you are considerate to people sometimes. And I know you always try to be patient with me even though I'm stubborn at times..." Naru couldn't help but smile at the things she was saying about him. He was so happy that she thought those things about him. No one has ever said that before. He almost felt like crying.

"You are nice and sweet no matter what you or anyone else says." Mai continued. Naru sniffed, trying to keep the tears at bay. Mai, hearing Naru's sniff, turned to look at him incredulously. She felt a bit of warmth begin filling her cheeks. She was kind of happy that she'd made him so emotional. It made her heart flutter.

Naru was still sniffing from his unexpected burst of emotion. Maybe it was because he was a girl right now that he suddenly felt like crying? He didn't know but he hated it. He'd bet anything that Mai was enjoying the show though. Naru glanced at her to find her staring back at him. He couldn't really tell what she was thinking this time. But she sure did look- Wait... Is she blushing?! And what was with the goofy look on her face?

"...Mai."

"Hmm?" He sighed at her.

"What's with the weird look?" He asked. Mai frowned. Was he seriously insulting her after everything they just said?

"What weird look?"

"You look like you're away with the fairies somewhere." Mai blinked at his words then looked away with a blush on her face.

"I-I was not." She denied. "You were the one who had a weird look on their face! I said all those things and then you insult me!"

"I...but I didn't mean to..." Mai huffed and closed her eyes in annoyance. "Why are you annoyed?" Naru asked as her huffing had interrupted what he was trying to say.

"You ignoring everything I just said! You just said you might love me but you're not saying anything else about it!" She answered.

"I was not ignoring everything you just said. What exactly am I supposed to say? This is difficult for me."

Mai took a deep breath to calm herself. "You are supposed to tell me the things about me that make you love me." She said as calmly as possible. Naru stared at her for a few moments. She looked defeated. Naru shifted his gaze away from her and tried to find the right words to say. What exactly should he say to her? He had no clue. Anything he came up with in his mind he was sure she'd yell at him for saying. Even though they weren't really bad things, they might come out wrong. Mai could be so touchy sometimes.

Naru sighed. "Don't... Don't start yelling at me or anything alright? Just listen..." Mai looked at him warily. She's kinda afraid to know what Naru has to say about her now. If his things he likes about her come with a warning like that then what exactly was she supposed to think? Naru kept staring at her with an expression she couldn't really decipher, but she guessed he was waiting for her to agree. She nodded her head slowly.

Naru exhaled deeply. He hoped that she wouldn't get too offended by what he said about her.

"You are the most hot-headed, stubborn, idiotic girl I've ever met." Naru began bluntly. Mai's mouth widened in shock. Naru held his hand up saying he wasn't done yet. Mai closed her mouth again and scowled. 'Is he really starting it off like that?!' She felt like he didn't love her at all. "But you're also not like any other girl I've met before either. You're...special. You may have a temper problem and are completely too stubborn for your own good, but I love that you always speak your mind and you stick up for what you believe...you've never backed down no matter what I, or anyone else, said." Naru continued.

Mai felt tears spring to her eyes. She never expected Naru to say something like that. She felt so touched. Did he think the same way when she said her things about him? He must have otherwise he wouldn't have started crying right? Mai turned her attention back on Naru and blinked. Did he move closer towards her? She was sure he had been seated on the middle sofa seat and now he was on the one nearest to her. Naru's expression was indifferent though, not showing any sign that he did, indeed, move. She frowned slightly but waited for him to continue. And when he didn't after a few moments, she nodded encouraging him to keep going.

"I love that you don't go by a person's appearance to judge who they are." He said after a little while. Mai couldn't help but blush a bit. Naru must have noticed as he smiled a little. "I mean you could've just accepted my handsomeness and believed everything I was telling you but you didn't, you looked closer to see who I really was and judged me on that instead." He continued. Mai let out a soft chuckle and shook her head—smiling—when Naru said the first part. Naru's smile widened. He knew she'd laugh at that bit.

"Mai." He spoke softly causing Mai to immediately look at him. He was still smiling at her. Mai's eyes widened a bit at the sight and her blush deepened. A smile started to spread across her own face. "I...do love you, Mai."

"I love you too Naru." Mai replied. This time she saw Naru moving closer to her. He only stopped when he was sat right beside her. They never once broke away from each other's gazes. They then started moving closer and closer to each other. Soon their lips were only an inch apart. Mai's eyes fluttered shut waiting expectantly. Naru sighed and backed away.

"Maybe we shouldn't. I mean after all the fighting we've been doing lately maybe we should just focus on that for now." He said. Mai had slowly opened her eyes when she heard Naru begin to speak. She pulled back also and tried to hide her disappointment.

"Yeah, maybe so..." She turned her head away in order to conceal how upset she was. 'Couldn't he have thought of that before he tried to kiss me?' She thought sadly.

"Mai, is something wrong?" He asked.

"Nope!" Mai exclaimed as she turned to him with the best smile she could muster. Even though she was disappointed about it, she knew Naru was right. They had a few things to work out before they could...start a relationship or anything like that.

"Okay...if you say so." He said warily. Mai just nodded. She really wasn't sure what to do now. "How about another cup of tea?" He suggested.

"Oh, yeah, sure!" Mai agreed, happy that she got an excuse to do something and leave the room. She grabbed Naru's teacup and hers before she went into the kitchen. She wandered aimlessly around her kitchen whilst she waited for the kettle to boil, randomly opening cupboards occasionally.

"Would you like some cookies with it?" She called out as she spotted her jar of mixed chocolate chip and hazelnut cookies.

"Sure." She heard Naru answer from behind her. She jumped in surprise. "Sorry if I scared you." He said.

"No, it's okay...why are you out here?" Mai asked confused. Naru only gave a small shrug and glanced around the kitchen. It was a lot bigger than he'd expected but it was still smaller than his own kitchen. But it seemed to fit Mai's style. It was...what did his mother call it? Quaint? Cosy? Well, something along those lines anyway. "Here." Mai said holding the cup in front of him. He accepted the cup and took a sip from it. He closed his eyes in satisfaction as he felt the warmth go down his throat once again. A sigh of contentment escaped his lips. Nothing tasted better than Mai's tea. "Cookie?" Mai offered. Naru glanced at her. She was facing him but she wasn't looking at him. This puzzled him. Why was she purposefully not looking at him?

She held out the jar of cookies to him, offering him its contents. Naru watched Mai as he accepted the cookies. A strange wistful look flitted across her face as he took a few cookies from the jar. He furrowed his brows in confusion. He carefully put the cookies back and took a few steps away from Mai, watching her all the while.

"Naru...?" Mai questioned. "What's wrong?"

"You didn't look too happy about me taking some cookies." He explained.

Mai blinked, finally looking at him. "Naru, if I didn't want you to have any I wouldn't have offered."

"Hmm, true but something isn't right with you. You haven't seemed right since I entered the kitchen."

"I...don't think so." Mai answered hesitantly.

"You may not realize it but it's true." Naru said. Mai shrugged as if waving it off. She set the jar on the counter beside her and Naru before she turned around to reach for her tea. "Mai, is something wrong?"

"I already told you no." Mai reminded as she slightly turned back around so she was facing Naru half ways. Naru frowned. Something was definitely wrong. Mai seemed so withdrawn. Even more than she usually did when she was upset. Why though? She started acting weird right after he stopped himself from ki... Then it dawned on him. 'So that's why she's being moody. But surely she sees my point...right?' He settled his gaze back on Mai.

"You're upset we didn't kiss aren't you?" He stated more than asked. Mai was drinking her tea at that exact same moment which caused her to choke on it. In the midst of everything, she accidentally dropped the teacup on the floor. The cup shattered and the liquid splashed everywhere around her.

"Damn it!" She cursed. She placed her hand on her forehead in a flustered motion, clenching her teeth as she looked down at the mess. She bent to start picking up bits of teacup as tears started to leak down her face. Naru silently sighed. He bent down to help her. Mai opened her mouth to protest but decided against it. She just felt too frustrated to say anything at the moment. She got up to get a cloth for mopping up the spilled liquid. She sniffed and wiped her eyes as she knelt back down to clean up the mess. Naru put a hand on her arm.

"Mai, I'll do that, you go and relax in the living room."

"I can do it, Naru..."

"I didn't say you couldn't I just thought it would be better for you to go and calm yourself away from this mess."

"...Fine." Mai reluctantly agreed. She closed her eyes and begrudgingly gave Naru the cloth before standing up. Naru let out a sigh when she left the kitchen. She didn't need to get so upset about a broken teacup. He made quick work of mopping up Mai's spilled drink. He also put all the little broken pieces of the cup into the trash. He went back into the living room to see how Mai was doing.

Treelow955:- Whoah, they almost kissed!

Naruisawesome:- I know! I wonder what will happen next!

Treelow955:- Me too! I can't wait to find out!

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