Author's Note: Chapter is 98% fluff (but then again, I guess a LOT of this story is...). And written while under the influence of cold medicine. Consider yourself warned. :)

Love to all you readers and reviewers!

Azuma watched Kahoko step inside the room and slipped the "Do Not Disturb" sign onto the outside handle of the door before closing and locking it. The window curtains had been left open, and light from the city spilled inside, filling the room with a muted glow.

Kahoko had stopped walking about halfway into the room. She looked nervous, but that was to be expected. Azuma hadn't always been very gentle with her.

A regrettable mistake on my part, he thought sadly.

She just stood there, her head turned so she wouldn't have to look directly at him, her hands clasped together. Trying to look stronger than she felt.

"Kahoko," Azuma said, his voice sounding too loud in the quiet room.

She glanced up at him, then looked away just as quickly. He walked up to her, gently placing his fingers beneath her chin and turned her to face him directly. Azuma waited for her to make eye contact before he leaned down and kissed her. It started out soft, and he gradually deepened it, smiling slightly as she responded to his advances. When he finally broke away, they were both a little breathless. "I've been wanting to do that all evening," he murmured, leaning in for another.

As he kissed her, his hands trailed down the back of her dress, pausing at her waist before slipping down a little farther and grasping her hips, pulling her against him. Kahoko made a little sound of encouragement that nearly undid Azuma, and he moved away, taking a moment to regain control before returning to kiss his way down her neck. Kahoko shivered and he smiled against her skin.

"Have I already told you how breathtakingly beautiful you look tonight?" Kahoko gasped as he grazed her skin with his teeth. "Because you are."

"I can't . . . take all . . .the . . . credit," she managed to say.

"Oh?"

"N-no, I . . ." she seemed to lose her train of thought as he moved his hips against hers.

He chuckled and stepped back. "You were saying?"

"Oh." Kahoko flushed bright red. "This," she gestured to her face and hair, "is the work of my mother. She saw the package from you and grabbed the note before I could stop her." Kahoko frowned. "I'm just glad that you didn't include underwear to complete the set, because I think she might have freaked."

Azuma smiled. "I considered it." He pulled her close again. "Maybe next time."

He continued kissing her, keeping the pace as slow and languid as possible. It took a few minutes, but Kahoko's fingers finally drifted downward and settled on his belt buckle. He swatted them away playfully. "Eager, are we?"

"You don't . . . usually . . ."

"I know." He placed a single kiss on her forehead before leaning to whisper in her ear. "Remember what I said earlier about your effect on my self-control?" His hands trailed down her arms. "I wasn't exaggerating." He entwined his fingers with hers. "I'm always rushing with you, Kahoko. I'm always so eager, so desperate to have you, to feel you, that I never stop to think. I never take time to savor the experience." He pressed his lips to her neck, feeling her pulse hammering beneath the skin. "That's why I'm trying to do things a little differently tonight. I'm trying to slow things down. To savor the experience. Are you okay with that, Kahoko?"

"I—"

But it was a rhetorical question. Azuma cut off the rest of her sentence with a kiss, and then another, and another, until she was making sounds that he usually only heard from her when she was completely undressed.

Azuma marveled that all of this was his doing. Before him, Kahoko had never even kissed a man, let alone slept with one, and yet here she was, her fingers clawing gently at the fabric of his shirt. The idea that he was the only one she had ever been intimate with was empowering. Azuma couldn't help but feel a little possessive.

My Kahoko. My beautiful, sweet Kahoko.

Drawing things out this long was driving him nearly mad, and when her hands made a second appearance at his belt, Azuma was only too happy to move on to the next stage. He unzipped her dress, holding his breath as the fabric pooled around her feet. Kahoko stepped out of the pile, quickly picking up the dress and draping it over a chair. "I don't want it to get wrinkled," she said defensively.

Azuma smiled and knelt in front of her. She looked down at him in confusion, but he bent down to unbuckle her shoes, kissing his way back up her legs as he returned to his feet. Kahoko stepped out of the shoes and reached for his tie, and Azuma noted that her fingers were trembling.

Always a good sign.

They had been moving toward the bed, and when Azuma felt the back of his knees hit the mattress, he sat down, pulling Kahoko onto his lap. He reached up to tuck a loose tendril of hair behind her ear and saw that she had turned her face away. Her eyes were closed, and she was making a visible effort to slow and steady her breathing. Azuma felt the weight of sadness press down upon him.

Of course.

Kahoko wasn't with him by choice, he needed to remember that. Every time he'd been with her, he'd forced her hand. Sometimes a bit too harshly. He'd hurt her. Perhaps she hated him—even now. Perhaps she wanted nothing more than to run away from him, but was afraid that he'd catch her. That he'd punish her.

Azuma sighed. He rested his head against the curve of her neck and closed his eyes. "Kahoko," he admitted, "I'm afraid."

It took several seconds for her to respond. "Why are you afraid?"

I'm afraid that you might hate me.

I'm afraid that I'll spend my entire life surrounded by people, but nobody will ever really know me. Nobody will understand me. That I'll be alone until I die.

I'm afraid that you were my chance at salvation, and that I made a terrible mistake.

"Azuma?"

And just like that, Azuma felt the burden lift slightly.

Kahoko repeated herself. "Azuma, why are you afraid?"

Azuma smiled to himself, glad that she couldn't see. Hearing his name from her lips calmed him.

Maybe there is hope after all.

He kept his face hidden as he responded. "I'm leaving."

He heard Kahoko inhale sharply. "What?"

"I'm going to England. It's for the family business, I'll be representing them overseas temporarily. It should only be for two or three weeks, though there's no way to know for sure how long everything will take."

"When?"

Azuma laughed. "That's actually what tonight was all about. A little going-away party." He sighed. "I leave tomorrow morning." And then, maybe because her hands were stroking his hair, he was struck with an idea. He sat up and looked directly at Kahoko. "Come with me," he said.

"What?"

"Come with me to England." So I won't be alone, he added silently.

"But—what about school?"

Yunoki waved his hand dismissively. "That's easily taken care of. We can have your assignments sent over by fax or email. By post, even. And exams can be made up once you return."

"But what about family? Friends? What would I tell my mother?"

Azuma shrugged. "I'm sure we could—"

But Kahoko was shaking her head emphatically. "No. I'm sorry, but I can't."

Well, it was worth a shot.

"Okay," Azuma finally responded after a few moments had passed. "Okay." He pulled her down for a kiss, glad to see that she had relaxed considerably. "I have one request, then."

"What is it?"

"Will you stay here with me tonight?"

"I—" she bit her lip as she thought about it. After a minute of contemplation, she sighed. "Alright. But only because it's a special occasion."