(A/N): Onwards we march to chapter two!

After retrieving her latest weapon – a fluffy frock – from a scandalous woman, Kokonoe hurries home to prepare herself for her operation! However, plans rarely survive the field of combat: Just what will happen when she confronts Ragna, I wonder?

… That was a strange paragraph for an A/N, usually I just ramble D:

Anywho, as I said before let's move!

WARNING: Spelling errors, OOC portrayals of everyone and anyone, butchery of canon, peculiar inferences of how relationships work from a 17 year old with no friends, language, cosplay, awkward comedy and a Tsundere Kokonoe!

Chapter Two: A Table for Two

She'd never been one for interior decorating.

Nevertheless, it wasn't too cumbersome to cobble together some random bits and bobs scattered across home and deploy them for use like warheads across borders for incoming conflict. It certainly felt as tense as a nuclear holocaust – her shoulders held stiff as she fumbled through her lot.

After what felt like an age of working her fingers to the bone, the fancily dressed Kokonoe gazed upon the product of her labour with a pleased glint in her reflective ambers. This steadily degenerated into a mild glimmer, only to finally settle on a dull orange - like a tropical juice stain on the front of your trousers.

The maid - or professor if you're feeling nit-picky – tugged at the clumsy hem of her bubbly dress. "Well then." she sighed, having no idea where to put her hands without a pair of pockets to take advantage of. "That's great. That's great." she settled with slapping her boiled and greasy forehead in despair, growling pathetically. "Shit."

Literally all she'd managed to achieve through her excruciating efforts was to turn down the lights to give them a subtle flicker, and drape white towels and blankets over everything and anything flat to make it look posh and classy. Hell, you could clearly see the buttons and stitching where the duvet met the blanket.

But Ragna wouldn't notice, would he?

If all went to plan, he'd be a bit too busy focusing on something else.

"Damn it." The pink-haired minx snarled in discomfort, roughly pulling down on the rim of her cutesy frock. She'd always hated wearing skirts; they made her so self-conscious about her legs, and stopped her from doing anything without making sure that nothing that should remain unseen was on display. Still, Litchi had said it looked cute, hadn't she?

Like a group of popular kids were shooting unruly glances at her across the locker room from the left, Kokonoe stealthily snuck a peek at the still reflection of herself upon the living room's single, forlorn mirror. Timidly she fiddled with the tassels of her blouse – silken and soft between her dainty fingers.

As stupid as it sounded, she didn't mind looking girly and cutesy.

Certainly beat looking like a wandering corpse who'd just escaped the morgue.

It would've looked quite romantic as she stared into the pair of sparkling eyes before her – if only it wasn't her reflection, mind. Despite her words her expression remained as neutral and withdrawn as it usually did, which generally killed the effect that the maid outfit she'd been provided with was supposed to create in the first place. There was no helping it: She'd need to work with it; I scratch your back, you scratch mine.

For a moment her upper lip trembled and twitched as if she was suppressing a deafening laugh, her hands resting upon her lap and scrunching at the front of the dress. With no sharp scare chord to warn the world her lips curled into a barbaric grin, the jagged row of cat-like teeth that frequented her gums having a chilling effect no doubt.

The best word she could think of to describe it was "sharky".

Giddily she plumped at the delicate dress with her scrunching fingers, kissing her teeth in distaste. "Come on now." she grumbled. Experimentally she pressed her knees together, trying her best to look less unruly and more gentle and approachable – in other words, the exact opposite of what she'd spent the vast majority of her life trying to be like. "You're a cute girl. You're a beauty."

Taking a letter from the oldest of books, Kokonoe slowly bowed over like a rickety drawbridge being lowered across a moat. After an awkward pause she hastily reeled back in thought, the whiplash tossing her brain about in her skull like a mushy pat ball. What could she do after that? Scouring for information she met her own reflected eyes once more, and for the briefest of moments was captivated by the cuteness of her clothing. She returned to her brainstorm with a snarl and a shake of the head.

"Bubbly bubbly. You're the type who skips down meadows. Come on." she insisted, desperate for something to amplify the effect of the uniform. After a moment she recalled the secret weapon of hers that had often gotten her in trouble in the past - her small, fuzzy, delicate little cat ears. Chiming with movement the bell upon her tails rang as she raised her hands, assuming the most sinful of positions by resting her wrists upon her crown. Kokonoe blinked twofold, submitting to a racial stereotype for her kind. "Uhh… Meow?" she mewled unenthusiastically, waving her hands back and forth. All this did was make her let off a snicker drier than a white wine as she mimicked a raking claw with her fingers. "Grrr, hiss!"

What the hell was she doing?

If someone walked in on her right now, they'd probably be quite quick to back away and forget she ever existed. She shook her head in judgement, and returned to a much more mature and logical pursuit: Practicing her smile once more, as if she was trying to learn an ancient art. This wasn't a time for clowning around – this was serious, even if she was cosplaying as a magical maid from a comic book made for teenagers and lowlifes whilst simultaneously pretending to be a stereotypical depiction of a cat.

That was a mouthful.

Part of her knew that she was acting like a complete idiot at the moment to try and hide and block out the fear from her waking mind. Probably the entire point of the last few hours was to try and delay the inevitable conversation that loomed over the horizon like the rising moon on a bitter black night. She'd been able to get this far with the repeated - if not stubborn - encouragement of Litchi, yet she was no longer here to push her along. Kokonoe's doubtful and ever-hopeless mind was eager to turn tail and run as the moment of fate drew closer.

Swallowing uncomfortably, she gently removed her glasses and silently blinked for focus. Her palms delicately tended to her eyes, pressing and rubbing against her heavy eyelids. "This'll work." she reassured herself with a forlorn sigh, flexing her strained neck with an absence of clicks. Her trusty glasses returned to their place atop her nose like the visor of a valorous knight trotting along on his gallant steed. "It'll work."

She probably spent a full ten minutes continuing her practice, grinning at herself for extensive periods as if she'd seen someone with their flies open. Of course she made little improvement over the time she'd allocated herself - try as you might, you can't master a symphony with a cup of coffee, a cute frilly frock and ten minutes to spare. Telling herself that it would be fine wouldn't have the effect of magically making everything better, no matter how hard she dreamed and wished for it. This was going to hurt a lot; regardless of what was bandied, the wounds would last a while.

The front door rattled.

The porch light clinked.

Showtime.

She must've lost track of time. Frozen on the spot, she hastily tore her glasses away and brushed at her eyelashes to test their bouncing black curve. Not entirely satisfied - but certainly out of time - she hastily tried to throw her spectacles back on in a classy and talented manner, only to poke herself directly in the eye with one of their spindly legs. Squealing in pain, she hobbled off into the kitchen amidst a chorus of curses whilst rubbing her face and biting her sloppily chapsticked lips in eye-watering agony.

And they said childbirth was excruciating.

It was typical, wasn't it? She'd been so focused on perfecting her appearance that she hadn't even stopped to consider the dinner plan itself. What had she planned to do? Just sit there looking all cutesy, offering herself to Ragna to do whatever the hell he liked for the rest of the day?

Well... Yes, actually.

Like a barefooted child skipping across the chilly bathroom at night, Kokonoe made for the kitchen counter and quickly dug through the breadbin in search of something to craft. This needed to look professional and romantic; although she only knew how to make instant noodles, cheese toasties, and on the night perhaps an oven pizza. Desperately she clawed for anything to cook.

In the meantime, the returning Ragna gently closed the heavy front door behind him as he curiously paced through the living room. It was strange for the lounge's light to be left on without anyone about, what with Kokonoe often grilling him over how much of a toll it took on her pay packet. It was also a tad bit stranger that everything in the room was covered - head to toe - in bare blankets and towels, 'though he'd certainly seen weirder things across Kagutsuchi in his eventful – if not brief – life.

He had to admit that it was actually a little bit unsettling, although like Kokonoe he often returned after a hectic night to find the house totally empty. "Koko?" he called lazily, cautiously pacing through the living room with balanced steps. The overhanging light seemed to be low and flickering. Was the bulb dying, or had it been left like that by someone? "... You around, Kokonoe?"

Rounding the living room's sofa - or the coffee table, he couldn't quite tell - Ragna made for the kitchen. He couldn't really say why, but whenever he came home it was always his first stop regardless of whether or not he planned to make a meal. As expected the room was just as empty on his first glance, although it seemed that their novelty breadbin had been left wide open; crumbs aplenty covering the breadboard beside it.

There was a trail.

Subtle but entirely visible, this trail of morsels and specks moved portwards across the kitchen counter. Like the detective he wasn't Ragna followed this path, until his mismatched eyes at last landed on something notable - Kokonoe, standing literally right next to him. Facing seithr-infused monsters and barbaric generals within the NOL had desensitised him to terror enough to stop him screaming like a feeble little girl, but it certainly made him flinch and stare - her eyes were bloodshot, after all.

Almost as if she'd just stabbed herself in the eye.

As if that would ever happen.

Kokonoe returned the stare with the same wide-eyed confusion and discomfort as the man before her. Unsteadily she wobbled upon the tips of her toes, her hands held tightly behind her back as she looked upwards like a rocket prepped for launch. Ragna was such a tall man – he almost seemed to curve and loom over her with his unnatural stature. There was the sort of height that most found attractive, and the sort of height that just made you uncomfortable - the Bloodedge was the latter, even if he was the sexiest hunk of muscle around. Strange how someone whose presence should have comforted her now filled her with a sense of pure, unbridled fear. Subtly her hands reached around, clutching onto the hem of her frock anxiously.

It was obvious where the topic of this conversation would start. Ragna shook a pointing finger at the woman like he was berating an unruly hound, his brow lopsided. "... Why're you wearing a maid outfit?" he began, only for his wiggling digit to freeze in place. Their stare held firm; awkward as it had been. "I never thought I'd ask someone that question…"

She remained perfectly still - caught in the headlights by a question she had no satisfying answer for. What could she say?: That she was zipped up in fancy dress to try and win over his libido? Kokonoe put emphasis on straightening her posture to try and appear confident and self-secure, 'though if her back was any straighter she'd break her spine in several places. Her twin tails remained low and motionless, the thin pink lengths trying their best to maintain her faltering balance in her strange, thickly heeled shoes. Racing to a sudden decision Kokonoe responded with a bowed head, which after a long while she decided to raise again with lightning speed - having inadvertently waited just enough for it to catch Ragna off guard.

This was going to be a very interesting conversation.

"Hello sir." She settled on with a mechanical tone, sounding like she was reading off a placard during a particularly unenthusiastic school play. Try as she might to look him in the eye, she could only look through him as if dazed and confused. She couldn't bear to stare into his stalwart colours; over-exposure would ensue. "How was your day sir." she said, rather than asked.

His reaction was delayed to say the least, her strange and off-beat voice being unsettling - in lack of a better term - during this peculiar circumstance. Cautiously he leant towards her; ever so slightly to examine her just a little bit more closely. "… Wuh?" he mumbled, waving in front of Kokonoe's eyes to try and prompt some sort of response. She only seemed to lean back without a change in her expression, like a slingshot or ballista being prepped for combat.

Without the comical "boing-oing-oing" that was expected, Kokonoe returned to a straight stance as Ragna pulled away. "You must be tired sir." she said, upgrading her mechanical monotone by changing it to a slightly different monotone. Audibly she blinked as she sought a continuation: this improvisation business wasn't exactly something she seemed to be that good at. She sounded less like the daughter of an all-powerful being and one of the most intelligent scientific wits in the known world and more like your average mushy girl lead in a teen film who only exists to giggle and look cutesy. Kokonoe rocked on her heels in contemplation, causing Ragna's head to bob slightly in pursuit. "I insist that… U-Ummm…"

Raising his chin defensively, Ragna seriously began to wonder if a screw'd fallen loose from the professor's head during one of her many scientific experiments of questionable ethical quality. Kokonoe had seemed rather off those few times that they'd seen eachother as of late, and part of him worried that she'd gone and ballsed something up in the meantime. His consideration and reflection were certainly kind, although it distracted him long enough for a sudden gentle force against his chest to catch him off guard. It was incredibly feeble and weak, but the surprise alone was enough to make him stumble back.

"Rest!" Kokonoe insisted, pushing him out of the kitchen timidly. "Y-Yeah, that's it… Uhhh…" the professor swallowed in thought, hanging her head and mumbling incoherently to herself like a mad cat lady for a moment only to heave it back forcefully with a new expression in mind. Like the cutest lead girl she could think of Kokonoe tilted her head to the left as if a particularly heavy earring was hanging off the side of her lobes. Her creepy smile - little progress having been made in that department - stretched across her maw in its jagged glory as she awkwardly let her tails mingle together to form the corny shape of a heart. The bells jingled fairly; the perfect juxtaposition. "Please?"

She took Ragna's initial lack of reaction as a bad sign. He didn't like it. But on the bright side, he probably didn't hate it; the glass was half full on this occasion. Kokonoe roughly nudged him along, slipping through the open door and gathering static upon the fuzzy felt carpet of the lounge. The two had quickly evolved from a silent pair of awkwardness into a more advanced shuffling pair of awkwardness. "… I can walk you know."

Devoting a few priceless seconds to thought, Kokonoe revised her tactics and sheathed her bestial teeth for the moment. "Sir needs to be nice and comfortable." she tried to say in that strange third person manner that was supposedly innocent; although all that managed to do was make her sound slightly confused. Roughly she continued to push and prod him forward, entirely defeating the point of making him "nice and comfortable" as they stumbled over the bumpy, unkempt carpet. Kokonoe exclaimed in a clearly panicked tone, reassuring both Ragna and herself. "Relax!"

With one final shove Ragna flopped over the arm of the living room sofa and fell flat on his back, his legs draped across the arm haphazardly. Kokonoe quickly circled around it like a shark with its prey as he struggled to sit up on his elbows. "What the hell are you doing?" he demanded in confusion, grumbling with effort as he fixed his position. As a required test he slapped his cheek - one of the pair on his face, mind - only to wince as nothing beyond the usual stab of pain occurred. "… Worth a shot I guess."

Ignorant to his confusion, Kokonoe reached her destination before him and kneeled like a disgraced samurai, bowing her head submissively. She had absolutely no bloody idea what she was doing now, but beyond running off and screaming or curling up into a little ball and bawling her eyes out it seemed she had no other choice but to keep going. Already she'd completely missed the intention of starting a meaningful dialogue with the man she loved; she should've just given up when she had the chance, but she was dug too deep now. She inhaled a calming dose of oxygen and nitrogen, "Command me."

Ragna blinked with an audible squelch. "Command you?"

"A-Anything you want." she nodded, clutching onto the hem of her dress in an attempt to puff out the fabric of her blouse's chest. Kokonoe stared intently at Ragna's feet, as if she was a dog and a blob of butter had fallen onto his toes. "… Master…?"

"… Alright, don't call me master for starters." the renegade grumbled in distaste, still not entirely sure about what the confused feline woman was up to. Most men would probably dream of seeing their significant other in such a submissive state, but there was one thing that changed his feelings - he wasn't like most men, was he? He leaned forward, hunching over on his seat like a middle aged bloke reaching for a beer can as he spoke to his kids about relationships and the good old days. "… And explain what's going on here, for the love of God."

"… I'm just being your maid, sir." Kokonoe insisted, as if the day's occurrence was part of the norm and it was Ragna who was acting off. Pressing the tips of her spread fingers against the floor she hobbled to her feet, slowly standing straight like an unstable bipod before she offered a surprisingly smooth and talented curtsy - save for her continuously trembling limbs spoiling the professional effect. She returned to speaking with a flatness so flat that it made her chest look ample, her hands mimicking paws once more as she girlishly clawed at the air. "Nya."

Ragna had to admit, he never thought he'd hear someone outside of Taokaka making a sound like that seriously. "Wuh?"

Kokonoe glanced left and right over her spectacles, wondering what he was missing. "Nya."

"Nya?" Ragna repeated curiously.

She pursed her lips, appearing discouraged. "… Nya."

He looked unimpressed, exhaling loudly. "Nya…"

The maid quickly went to move on, realising that all she'd manage to do for the past few minutes was utter the word "nya" in several different tones whilst simultaneously alienating the man before her even further. She fell back to her knees in one swift movement befitting of a gymnast's ribbon, or at least a round of applause. "… A-Anything else master?"

"I'm fine." Ragna grumbled, accepting that the maid apparent wouldn't be dropping that word any time soon. Fidgeting on the spot he changed his seating; it just didn't feel right, and this was coming from someone with no concept of how to read anyone. Whatever had led to the odd situation that they had found themselves in, it wasn't something good. "… Really. Fine."

She just didn't know what to do.

"… I'll make dinner." Kokonoe shuddered weakly, her facade of a stoic maid faltering for just long enough to give way to her normal, grumpy, defeatist tone. She could instantly tell that Ragna had noticed as she rose to her feet properly, and was about to add something on to make amends only to change her mind and march off with another, less enthusiastic curtsy. Something told her that she'd quickly regret the choice she'd made.

Upon heavy feet she plodded into the kitchen, letting loose a shrill, pathetic sigh to the ceiling light and its settled dust. The discomfort of her blouse was becoming unbearable, and despite the efforts of her hooked finger loosening its top button it seemed no salvation from reality was ahead. From the moment Ragna had arrived, he'd had less interest in her than he'd have in a stranger on a busy street intersection. There was no point in scrambling for excuses hidden deep at the bottom of the jar: He didn't give half a shit about her efforts, hell; he probably didn't want to be involved with her at all.

She'd been a daft fool for trying to prevent the inevitable. Why had she even tried to cling onto him and try in the first place? Had she really lost so much of herself over the past year with Ragna to resort to - quite literally - kneeling for his affection and forgiveness? What had happened to the strong and independent woman she was feared to be by allies and rivals alike?

She must've looked like a complete and total idiot.

Why the hell was she even doing this?

This bout of self-reflection was all well and good, yet strangely enough she hadn't even noticed her spindly legs; as uncooperative as always; changing course without her consent, and turning around to the face the kitchen doorway. As her bitter-black brain queried and quarreled with what little innocence her shriveled and stinking heart had left, she had taken the time to march back into the lounge and circle the sofa. It wasn't until she unloaded with an almighty burst of rage that shook the very foundations of the room that she'd realised what she was doing.

Time's up.

"Why?!" Kokonoe shouted with bestial emotional, her amber eyes large and wide with nothing but anger and disdain to show for it. Her thumping heart had made the ultimate ploy, and was eagerly speaking out without her mind's consent – what had been a gentle tip of the kettle to Litchi now being the bursting of the floodgates before the confused and shocked Ragna. "Why are you gone all the time?!" she howled, stomping her foot down on the rugged and shaggy carpet. It was easy to ignore the sharp pain that shook through her leg, as she paused for a moment to collect her breath. "... Where the hell do you go?!"

Ragna was taken aback to say the least, staring at her with something akin to dismay upon his expression. All Kokonoe could do was continue breathing deeply, panting with fatigue from the power of her welled fury. Throughout the entirety of the ensuing silence, she was made to live with the realisation of what she'd just done - the fears and phobias that she'd spouted out and revealed to the man she feared most. The maid swallowed with a fragile gasp, coughing with a bitter wetness before letting her head fall into another, flat, emotionless bow. Ragna remained cautious in worry, fearing the volatility of the situation. "... Koko?"

Following a moment of hanging her head in the truest of shame, Kokonoe raised her neck once again as she pushed her spectacles against the bridge of her nose – her blank expression entirely ignorant to the clear red and damp nature of her eyes. "D-Dinner's almost…" she sighed airily, licking her lips without a hint of modesty. "… It's almost ready, sir…" she insisted forcefully, putting strained emphasis on her words to prevent stupid and pathetic fear-induced stutters.

Although there was no point in hiding what she was.

Stupid.

Pathetic.

With that said she tried her damndest to shuffle off upon her brown loafers, but Ragna quickly pulled himself to his feet to cut her off with confrontation clear on his mind. Narrowly avoiding a head-on collision into his bulky chest, Kokonoe came to a realisation that she was completely defenceless. She did what she did best; she tried to get around him, desperate to escape the inevitable as it stared her right in the face. "Kokonoe, stop." Ragna growled with his burly baritone, trying to catch her line of sight. Kokonoe was quick to dodge his gaze, staring to side like an unruly child before their kneeling father. "Look at me."

Kokonoe continued to veer left with her stare, biting onto her now mangled and chapped lower lip to prevent her wimpy mewling and whimpers from escaping her throat. She hadn't a damned clue how it'd come down to this – she had no ideas left, and no more excuses to fall to in self-defence. Like it or not, the bitter professor was well and truly alone; shit creek without a paddle.

"Damn it, Koko. Don't be like this." Ragna scowled aggressively, doing his best to keep his tone reasonably calm amidst his rising frustration. Try as he might, he was never the most talented at hiding his discomfort - it wasn't something he was best pleased about. Testingly he reached for her slight and timid hand, squeezing it tightly within his warm and firm grip. "You're scaring the hell out of me." he admitted, raising his free palm to caress her solemn cheek. Kokonoe quickly flinched as if she'd been struck by static, roughly moving her head away from his affectionate gesture. He shuddered, scrunching his palm into a rounded fist as it retreated. "Tell me what's wrong. Please."

A gentle tug of her hand tried to pull her close - so she could bathe and breathe in his counsel - yet she refused to budge from her spot. Spitefully she turned her head to face him, the bells and tassels of her hair, blouse, dress and tails all jingling to punctuate a change in tone and mannerism. "Everything." she hissed venomously, her angered frown a polar opposite to her betrayed and wobbling eyes. "Everything's wrong."

Could she even list what was right?

"You're never here…" she spat, returning the negotiating squeeze of Ragna's fingers with her own vise-like fury. Of course to the large and powerful man it was a mere insect bite, but for her it vented her rage into a single gesture of revolution. "You… You never let me know what's happening. What's going on…" her arm shivered with strain; she was causing more damage to herself with her bone-snapping grip. Sneering with dissentious and flared nostrils, the fancifully clad woman glared at the source of all her sorrows. "D-Do you know what it's like?"

Ragna's blinking eyes said it all, as his beating heart stumbled for stable ground for the briefest of moments. He hadn't even realised how little he'd spoken of his dealings to others, let alone to his lover. "No." he admitted quietly, raising his chin in shame - to submit to Kokonoe's righteous judgement. "No I don't."

"What if you'd left me?" she pressed, closing what little distance remained between the two in this heated one-way exchange. "What if you never came back home?" Kokonoe exclaimed in interrogation, hitting his barrel-like chest with the ball of her palm harshly. Ragna registered no pain at this feeble gesture, letting her vent out her hatred - she deserved that, at the very least. "What… W-What if you died!?"

"I…" he faltered, exhaling in self-loathing. "I-I don't know…"

Kokonoe did her best to swallow her emerging tears, doing whatever she could to calm herself down and wrestle back some self control. Yet no matter how hard she tried there was no use - she doubted that anything could stop her need to speak and set the tables straight. Another pathetic swing was sent at Ragna's chest, deflected by his muscle weakly. "D-Didn't we promise eachother?" she stuttered, a shuddering breath gasping from betwixt her lips. Ragna's brow curled with sorrow as she spoke. "Promise that there'd be no secrets?" Kokonoe swung her head against his chest in one last display of anarchy, her legs stiff in balance as she brooded. Her voice cracked meekly. "... We promised."

A shoulder to lie on.

One for the other.

It was sickening, but she enjoyed the silence. She adored a moment of nothingness - where for just a tad bit longer, she could pretend that everything was fine. Because god forbid, whatever came next would turn her life in a spiral to who knows where. Rightfully so, Kokonoe was quite surprised as a pair of large and domineering arms wrapped across her stick-thin form and pulled her close; an emotional, caring embrace from Ragna himself. She gasped with confusion and a desire for distance, her teeth briefly chattering. "L-Let go of me…"

"No."

"I… I-I mean it." Kokonoe insisted, refusing to return his gesture like he'd probably like. She could feel her legs struggling to maintain balance; Ragna's grip almost lifting her from the ground and leaving her toes dangling for a surface. "Let go…"

"I said no." Ragna reminded, readjusting the arrangement of his splay palms. While the cuddle felt rather uncomfortable and awkward, it was still incredibly calming. He'd never been one to appreciate the power of a nice hug from time to time until recently, having been neglected the right to enjoy them for the majority of his time kicking. After a few moments he could've sworn that he'd heard a long, drawn out chorus of spaced sniffles, feeling Kokonoe's slight nose nudging against his chest. "… Are you crying?"

"N-No I'm not." she shook her head, inadvertently nuzzling him.

"I think you are." Ragna insisted, feeling the warm trickle of salty tears running down his chest and fizzling away into the air. To think that his terrible communication skills had led to this strange situation - the woman he loved broken into tears, and clad from head to toe in a peculiar looking set of garments. He wasn't quite sure about the latter part, but if one thing was for sure it was that he felt terrible about it.

Beyond all expectations the lady herself surrendered to that alone, clutching onto him tightly and letting the tears flow. Light sobs were muffled against him, as Kokonoe clung onto his body needily - like a young, lonely child with nothing but her teddy bear to comfort her. Her voice croaked between sobs, almost entirely hushed by his chest alone. "… T-That makes one of us."

Ragna's forced chuckle felt far too fake to leave hanging in the air, as he quickly fell back to words. "… I didn't realise." he admitted in disgrace, squeezing Kokonoe's padded shoulders firmly. Her trembling began to slow under his touch - reassurance that she was free to loosen the reins on the emotions that she often left fastened tight for days. "I've been such an idiot."

Thankfully Kokonoe saw the humour in that. She wasn't lost, that's for sure. "... Yeah."

The renegade sighed with irritation, shaking his head in disbelief as he recalled the past few weeks. "The NOL… All of that crap…" he offered, gently shrugging his shoulders as to not disturb her. Trying to structure your life around a world that was collectively after your throat tended to be quite the nuisance. It'd taken so much of his attention that he'd forgotten what should've been more important to him. "I've just been so preoccupied that… Well…" Ragna smirked to himself dryly. "… I don't think that's a very good excuse."

Kokonoe could still feel the streaks of tears that striped her pale face and left smudged black across her eyelashes, but her sobbing had found itself paused for the moment. What had once been anger had dissipated in its entirety, and been replaced with a rapidly growing tang of guilt and realisation. She hadn't exactly been in the right, had she? She'd been so focused on accusing Ragna of being wrong and betraying her trust that she hadn't even began to consider his own problems. The complications and difficulties of the journey that was thrusted upon him were beyond her comprehension, yet she'd been so selfish and cruel to abandon his side and turn on him with the merest step away from what she saw as right.

She didn't deserve him.

As if his limbs were faltering Ragna slowly began to kneel; which Kokonoe mimicked in unison, creasing her already disheveled dress. It felt far more comfortable in a more settled stance where they could rest their legs, as Ragna tenderly rested his chin atop the soft mat of her pink head of hair. "All I can do is say sorry I guess." he whispered, "… I ballsed up. Big time."

"I'm the one at fault."

For some reason, she just couldn't say it.

It took a certain breed of courage to admit that you were wrong.

She hated being so needy, but there was nothing that she could do. Sometimes fear could just blind you; stop you from wielding reason over fear and anxiety, and it left you in tatters. "I-I thought you'd left me…" Kokonoe sniffled, practically dehydrated by sweat and tears over the past few hours. "I just… I just didn't want to lose anyone else… Not again."

A warm snicker punctuated his movement as Ragna pulled away, looking upon his love with wonder plastered onto his chops. Kokonoe looked quite cute when she dressed up for an occasion; he admired what the strange outfit brought out in her, and made a gorgeous woman all the more attractive. He never thought he'd see the day where Kokonoe - of all people - would dress up in such a silly and endearing manner. "I don't know if I should feel insulted."

Kokonoe tilted her head slightly, wide-eyed as she mouthed. "H-Huh?"

"To think that I'd ever leave you." Ragna shook his head, his expression frank. "I'm a stubborn bastard, Koko. You know that."

The bastard she'd fallen in love with in the first place.

Serenity gracing her lips, Kokonoe gave Ragna the emotional smile that he was dreaming would wipe away the doubt. Eagerly Kokonoe returned his embrace - while painful, it was certainly jam packed with emotion and affection. Verbs and adjectives quickly melted away into mere breaths and mumbles of love and companionship, although Kokonoe couldn't care less about it. She may have felt like shite for being a crying wreck, but why would she care now? Ragna wasn't going to leave her, and that was all she needed to hear.

Keeled over in their awkward kneel, the pair squeezed eachother in a cradle of understanding and platonic love. It was funny how their relationship had begun; two hormonal newbies after nothing but sex and snogs, with no idea of the long term implications of romance. Now they were more than mere lovers – they were family; they were in it together. Ragna mumbled warmly, "It'll all be fine, I… I promise."

Kokonoe sniffled in a bare response, only to fall into a chorus of chuckles rather womanly. Her eyes almost seemed to twinkle with old tears; what had once been rage and despair having withered away in favour of a surprising dose of optimism. She'd never been an optimist before - it felt good. "You were right." she sighed dreamily, her boney palms patting his chest condescendingly. Ragna pulled back curiously only for her to rest her chin on his broad shoulder; while stiff and hard, its presence alone was enough to fill her voice with a calming gentility.

"You're a stubborn bastard, aren't you?"

X

(A/N): ... To be fair, I'm quite displeased with how this turned out :l

Still, a write up's a write up! This was much cuter in my head, but it just felt convuluted by the time I got to the bits that were supposed to be juicy :(

Do not fear! The final chapter lies in wait, where we get a review of the effects of Kokonoe's peculiar attempt to win the heart of her lover!