Emi POV

Aiki paused in her dancing to gesture to the left, "Hey! I see a friend over there, I'm gonna go say hi, okay?"

I nodded and gave her a thumbs up as I continued dancing. Some small part of me knew that I wouldn't have been okay with my date leaving me to dance alone in a big club if I hadn't been absolutely hammered. Hell, I would never usually be caught dead dancing alone period. But right now I couldn't find it in myself to care.

She's just going to say hi and then she'll be back, it shouldn't take long.

It had been so long since I was last able to dance so freely, uncaring of how I might look or what others thought. To be unencumbered by my usual anxiety and constant hypervigilance was… amazing. I'm completely free!

I twirled and bounced ecstatically, feeling the music pounding through my veins and altering my heart beat. As I spun, I thought I saw a familiar-looking flash of blonde, and stopped to look around me, the room spinning.

Huh? I could have sworn I saw Honey for a second…

Shaking it off as a trick of the light, I went back to dancing, sometimes joining in with some random friendly strangers and sometimes dancing on my own. At some point I realized it had been a while since Aiki left. I looked, and sure enough she was still with her friends, drinking and dancing.

Should I go over and introduce myself? But… if she had wanted them to meet me she would have introduced us… and it's not like we're officially dating so maybe that would be crossing a line…

I suddenly felt a hand on my lower back and spun around, startled. Unfortunately, my drunk self didn't quite have the balance or coordination to whip around like that and I found myself tilting towards the floor. Thankfully, the universe must have decided to cut me a break because I felt a strong arm wrap around my waist, simultaneously stopping my fall and helping me stay standing. A familiar sweet scent invaded my senses.

Could it be…?

"Hi Emi-chan!"

Honey!

"Uh sorry, didn't realize you had a boyfriend," the guy who, I'm assuming was the one to touch my back, muttered sullenly and backed away.

I blinked. I was kind of surprised that the guy had backed off since it wasn't like Honey was that intimidating…unless I had missed something…

"Honey!" I shouted, turning in his hold to hug him, "What are you doing here? I missed you!"

I pulled back to look at him, giggling and swaying to the music. He looked surprised for a moment and then giggled along with me.

"Mmm, well I was here with Takashi but his brother called him and he had to go! I was going to leave too but then I saw you!" he answered enthusiastically, before suddenly seeming to sadden, "But… Emi-chan… I don't feel so good…"

Immediately my drunk mom-friend persona came out to play, "Oh no! Honey, what's wrong? Are you sick? Did you drink too much? Have you eaten anything recently?"

I stumbled into him in my attempt to check his temperature, not realizing that he would have been totally flattened by my approach if he wasn't as strong as he was. Oops, I giggled.

"Umm… Maybe I do need to eat something and get some air…" he answered hesitantly, "Emi-chan… do you think… you could come with me?"

"Uh…," I hesitated, swaying as his wide chocolate eyes pulled me in and left me reeling. Why was I hesitating? I racked my brain, trying to remember why I felt like I couldn't just agree. Considering how fuzzy and swirly my brain felt right now, reasoning felt like a super-human task.

Oh right! Aiki!

"I'm actually here with a date…," I trailed off as Honey's eyes became downcast and my heart broke a little.

The date that left you and hasn't come back yet? Besides, your friend is sick, you can't leave him alone!

"But, it's okay, I'll come with you! I'll just go tell her something came up 'kay?" I answered finally. I knew I made the right choice when Honey looked up at me in relief and beamed.

"Yay!" he cheered, bouncing on his toes.

I turned and began trying to forge my way through the crowd, stumbling into people and apologizing as I went, pulling Honey along with me. Finally, I reached Aiki and tapped her on the shoulder.

She turned and looked at me blankly for a moment, "Oh hey Emi, sorry, I got a bit carried away catching up over here."

"Oh! No problem! But actually I ran into my friend and he's not feeling so great so I have to get going, but I had a lot of fun tonight so thanks!" I explained, taking extra care to enunciate since my tongue was currently having some trouble forming around the words correctly. I hesitated, unsure whether I should hug her or kiss her goodbye in front of her friends.

I was both disappointed and relieved when she answered with a simple, "No worries, I'll text you later babe."

"Okay! Bye!" I shouted and turned back to Honey who was frowning for some reason. Somehow he cleared a path towards the door, and retrieved our stuff from the coat check in record time.

As soon as we stepped outside, I marveled in the fresh crisp air. I closed my eyes, tilted my head back, and outstretched my arms.

"Ah! The fresh air feels sooo good!" I exclaimed enthusiastically. I heard a giggle and opened my eyes to see Honey beaming in amusement.

"Hehe, you're pretty drunk, huh Emi-chan?" he asked, eyes sparkling as he grabbed my arm to help steady me.

I mock glared at him, "Hey, don't make fun of me!" I dropped the glare and laughed, "But yeah I think this is the drunkest I've ever been! I'm not sure what happened, it's all a bit of a blur so I don't remember how many drinks I had…"

I missed Honey's expression melting into a frown, as I noticed a sleek limo pull up in front of us.

"Whoa! Who came in a limo?" I wondered curiously.

"Oh, I called my limo to come pick us up, since walking seemed a bit tricky for you," he teased, "Is that okay Emi-chan?"

"Hmm? Oh, cool! Yeah, that's fine!" I answered, following behind him as he opened the door. He waited for me to get in, which I somehow managed to do without falling, and then he got in behind me.

I looked around in some awe, crawling from seat to seat as I tried to decide where to sit, ignoring the fact that I was being laughed at.

Once he was seated and buckled in I immediately scooted up to him and relaxed against his shoulder, grumbling as he disturbed my comfort by moving to buckle me in as well.

"Emi-chan, you're a lot cuddlier than usual!" he exclaimed, smiling sweetly.

"Mmm… yeah, well, I'm drunk," I stated as if that explained everything, "And you smell really good, like dessert. It's making me a little hungry actually."

He laughed. Not a small giggle, but a full-out head thrown back laugh.

I suddenly straightened my spine, remembering why we had left the club in the first place.

"Hey! How are you feeling? D'you still feel sick?" I asked, concerned. I looked at him and saw that his eyes were wide and he was fidgeting.

"Uh.. um…I- I can't do it! I can't lie to you anymore!" he burst out, tears welling in his eyes and rolling down his cheeks, "I'm so sorry Emi-chan! I lied! I wasn't really feeling sick! The host club decided to spy on your date 'cause Tama-chan was worried and when we saw how drunk you were we didn't think you should go home alone with your date!"

He looked at me apprehensively as he waited for me to take in what he had said, lower lip trembling with the threat of more tears.

Aww he's even pretty when he's crying! And… the whole spying thing is kinda fucked up but I don't think I'm mad?

"Oh, well thanks for telling me! I kinda like that you couldn't lie to me," I shrugged. "I know that I should be mad that you spied on me, and maybe I will be tomorrow, but I'm pretty drunk right now and you're pretty cute, like a really cute angel, and honestly I'm kinda glad you stopped me from maybe making any decisions I'd regret," I rambled, speaking entirely honestly and without a filter.

Honey looked at me in surprise, then relief, and then something else I couldn't decipher in my current state but his cheeks were a little pink.

"Yay!" he cheered, nuzzling his head against my shoulder.

"Um Honey? I know getting food was an excuse to get me to leave but… could we actually get some pizza? To take home? I think the pizza place might be annoyed by my drunkenness if we went in…" I said, already imagining how heavenly a greasy, salty piece of pizza would be right now.

"Heheh, sure! But we're going to my place 'kay? I don't think you should go home alone like this!" he stated firmly.

"Okay, thanks Honey," I mumbled, feeling myself fall into the tired stupor that usually came from combining alcohol with anxiety medication. It felt kinda like falling asleep but heavier and slower.

"Hey, Emi-chan, stay awake okay?" I heard him say, as if from a great distance. I think I mumbled something in response but I couldn't be sure.

Then I heard a click, and felt the pillow I was resting against move and a weight settle in my lap.

I tiredly opened my eyes and blinked when I saw Honey looking down at me. His knees rested on either side of my thighs and his hands were on either side of my head, caging me in. He bent his head down over mine, his now serious eyes boring into mine. He smirked, exuding a dark aura that had shivers running down my spine.

"Honey? What're you doing?" I questioned, confused.

"You know, right now I could have my way with you and you wouldn't be able to do much to stop me," he said darkly, "Being drunk, you still followed me alone into my limo, agreed to come home with me, and almost fell asleep. That would leave you completely vulnerable to me."

His personality has completely changed… But why?...

I took a moment to try to understand his words.

Oh… Is he… trying to make a point?

I clumsily placed my hands on his back, trying to run my fingers up and down his spine soothingly.

"You're right, you could have your way with me right now. And maybe, out of context, my actions would be reck- reckless… But, I know you. Even though it hasn't been that long, I still know you. You're an angel, 'member? Right now, a dark sexy angel, but still an angel," I mumbled somewhat coherently.

He blinked down at me, his expression softening minutely.

"I got in your car 'cuz I trust you, but I wouldn't have just gotten in any car. 'Kay? So don't worry," I continued, finding it hard to put my thoughts into words.

The dark aura Honey had been emitting slowly retreated and I found myself with a lap full of cuteness.

With pink flowers dancing around his head, he smiled gently, "Okay! I'm trusting you in return then Emi-chan!"

He climbed off my lap and bounced back to his seat, buckling himself back in and pulling my head down to lean on his shoulder.

"Mm, alright," I mumbled, "Just so y'know, you're lucky I'm perc-percep- that I got you, 'cuz that display coulda been creepy-scary. Next time just say you're worried," I said, snuggling deeper into his shoulder.

He laughed sheepishly, "Sorry Emi-chan! I won't do it again! I was copying Kyo-chan's technique."

I don't really know what he's talking about but it does seem like something Kyoya would do…

"S'okay, you're pretty hot when you're worried," I giggled, "M gonna just rest my eyes…"

And just like that I drifted off, a blonde angel watching over me.


Honey POV

I peered down at the cuddly form of Emi-chan where she rested against my shoulder, hands slack at her sides, and her space buns tickling my neck. I was still a bit worried about what might have happened if we hadn't gone to spy on her date, since right now she didn't seem to be in any state to care for herself, but mostly I felt a huge sense of relief. Relief that she hadn't been mad, and for some reason I also felt relieved and happy that she didn't go home with that Aiki.

I frowned as I remembered the way Aiki had left Emi-chan alone and practically dismissed her when she went to say goodbye.

That Aiki doesn't seem very nice… Definitely not nice enough for Emi-chan!

I shook my head, mindful not to jostle Emi-chan as I thought back to my attempt to use Kyo-chan's technique. I wasn't sure what had come over me, except that I had just been so surprised and worried…

I giggled a little, remembering how she had called me a 'dark sexy angel'. I was sure she never would have said that if she hadn't been drunk, and she would probably be super embarrassed if she remembered it in the morning. As funny as it was, I couldn't help but feel… happy? Flattered?

Most people still see me as just the childish boy-lolita… they don't see the rest of me… Nobody's ever called me sexy before! Even my ex-girlfriend only saw me as cute…

I was broken from my thoughts as the limo pulled up to my family's estate. It was times like this that I was glad that, though my suite was attached to the main house by an above-ground tunnel, it was slightly separated.

"Emi-chan?" I called out gently, wondering if she was really just 'resting her eyes' or whether she was out cold.

She groaned groggily and sat up, almost teetering in the opposite direction in the process, "Yeah Honey?"

"We're at my house now, so we gotta get out of the limo!" I explained, unbuckling both of our seatbelts and opening the door.

Emi-chan's eyes shot open and she seemed to regain energy, "Yay! I get to see Honey's house!"

I gave her a jokingly serious look, "And eat pizza."

"AND eat pizza! Best night ever!" she exclaimed excitedly, jumping out of her seat and lunging out of the limo.

I hurried to follow her, calling out, "Careful!" But I was too late. She tripped on thin air and went sprawling across the asphalt.

"Oh no! Emi-chan! Are you okay?" I gasped as I ran up to her.

She popped up and grinned goofily, brushing off her hands and pants, "All good! Nothing to see here!"

I giggled, both relieved and amused by her goofiness.

Is it bad that I kinda wish she could be this open all the time?

"Good! Still, just in case, I think I better carry you in, before you actually hurt yourself!" I declared, standing with my back to her, "Hop on!"

I glanced back at her a moment later, when it became apparent she wasn't getting on my back.

"Um, no way! I'm way too heavy for you to carry! I'll crush you!"

I giggled at the idea of her being able to squish me or hurt me in any way really.

"It's okay Emi-chan, I'm stronger than I look!" I responded, trying to reassure her and still waiting for her to get on.

"Nuh uh! Even if you're strong, you'd have to like break the laws of physics!" she persisted, scrunching up her nose cutely.

In a flash I turned, lifted her into my arms, and looked down at her playfully, "Hmm? Is this defying physics Emi-chan?"

I grinned at her delayed look of astonishment as her drunk brain caught up with her new position. I began walking towards my front door, her disbelief seeming to grow with every step.

"But- How- How'd you pick me up? And how're you still carrying me? Aren't your arms tired?" she asked, looking up with wide dark eyes, her arms looped around my neck.

"Hehehe nope! This is easy peasy!" I answered. And it was. Aside from being physically easy, I was also enjoying carrying her for some reason. I almost felt a sense of pride…

But why would something silly like that make me proud? It's not like I beat my cake-eating record…

"Wow! I've never had anyone fully carry me before! Well, aside from when I was a kid, obviously," she said in wonder, unknowingly increasing my pride.

Having reached the door, I shifted slightly to reach my key card. As I opened the door, the hallway lights turned on automatically, lighting the way to the sitting area. I toed off my shoes and carried Emi-chan to the sofa, where she immediately took off her own shoes and set them to the side, almost hitting her head off the coffee table in the process.

I sweatdropped, she's really clumsy when she's like this!

"You have a nice place Honey! This sofa is really comfy!" she exclaimed, running her hands over the soft blush-coloured fabric. I noticed that her eyelids were starting to flutter tiredly now that she was sitting comfortably again.

"Thanks Emi-chan! I'm gonna get you some water, and the pizza should be here soon!" I responded as I walked towards my small kitchen. There wasn't really a need for a full kitchen since the main house had a fully staffed state-of-the-art kitchen.

"Oh right! Pizza!" I heard her mumble enthusiastically.

Just in time, I got a call from the front gate telling me the pizza had arrived and the groundsperson was on their way to deliver the pizza to my door. I handed Emi-chan the water and made sure she drank it. As she drank, I puzzled over what clothes I could offer her since it wouldn't be comfy for her to sleep in her skinny jeans.

I walked into my bedroom to check my closet and saw a bag sitting on my bed.

Huh? What's that?

I walked closer and saw that there was a note attached to the bag reading, 'As I believed you would bring Emi-senpai home, I took the liberty of procuring these clothes for her.'

I giggled, Kyo-chan really is always prepared!

Hearing a light knock at the outside door, I went to gather the pizza that had been left on my doorstep and walked back to the living room. To my surprise, Emi-chan was still awake and sitting up, seemingly observing her surroundings.

She spotted me and beamed, "Honey! You're back! And you have pizza!"

"Haha yep! I brought the pizza you've been dreaming of!" I responded lightly, setting the pizza box down on the coffee table and going to get some plates. Once we were both seated on the floor on either side of the coffee table I opened the box and we each grabbed a couple of slices.

She took a bite and practically moaned, "Oh my god this is amazing! Pizza always tastes ten times better when you're drunk."

I felt my cheeks warm, If that was her reaction to pizza, imagine- No! Bad Mitsukuni! Don't imagine that!

Luckily, she didn't seem to notice my reaction since she was so preoccupied by eating her pizza, still mumbling between each bite about how delicious it was.

Sitting across from her now, finally in a well-lit area, I could clearly see the tattoo Takashi had pointed out during the games night. On her left forearm there seemed to a goddess holding a set of scales.

"Hey, Emi-chan? What's your tattoo of?" I asked, tilting my head curiously as I finished my slice of pizza.

"Hmm? Oh, this one? It's of the Goddess Astraea, or Lady Justice. It's also a symbol for the Libra zodiac sign, and I'm a libra so…", she trailed off shrugging.

"Cool!" I cheered. "And you have other tattoos?" I asked, having noticed how she specified which tattoo I was asking about.

She nodded. "Mhmm, I have four tattoos total. This one, the one on my thigh that you didn't see during the cosplay 'cause the twins covered it with makeup, one on my hip, and this one right here," she pointed to the space between her breasts, where sure enough I could see an inky colour peeking out from her v-neck shirt.

I jerked my head to the side, cheeks flushing, as I realized I just basically stared at her chest area.

"O-oh! Uh, cool! You have a few tattoos then!" I stammered as I tried to recover and play it cool.

She gazed at me confusedly for a moment, then seemed to have an epiphany, her expression clearing and her cheeks tinting pink.

"Oh, um I- sorry, I'm not used to having any guy friends- I didn't think- and, I think I'm still pretty drunk- anyway, sorry!" She apologized haltingly, her eyes darting to the floor.

Good going Mitsukuni, now she's turning all shy and apologetic again!

With some effort I willed the pink from my cheeks and turned back to face her, flowers dancing around my head as I said, "Huh? Don't be silly Emi-chan~ I just didn't want to make you uncomfortable! We're friends so you don't have to be shy!"

She lifted her gaze from the floor and beamed, all embarrassment forgotten.

Probably thanks to all the alcohol still in her system.

"Okay, phew!" she said, exaggeratedly miming wiping sweat from her brow and falling to her back in the process. I giggled, crawling over to help her sit back up.

"Oops!" she said, and then looked to me a bit sheepishly, "Um, Honey? Where's the restroom? I feel like my bladder might explode soon!"

"Oh no! We can't let your bladder explode Emi-chan!" I joked along before pointing to the bathroom door where it stood across from my bedroom, "It's right there! Oh! And there are some clothes on the bed for you, from Kyo-chan! And there are spare toothbrushes and toothpaste under the sink in the bathroom."

She thanked me, and mumbled in awe at Kyo-chan's predictive abilities, before unsteadily standing up and making her way to the washroom, with a slight detour to pick up the bag of clothes. I watched her carefully until the door was closed, just to make sure she wouldn't fall on her way there.

I shook my head in amusement, She sure is something else when she's drunk! When she's like this I can really see what Avery-chan meant about her goofy sense of humour.

A few moments later I heard a loud thump and a muttered string of expletives. I jumped up and rushed to the door, hovering outside of it uncertainly, "Emi-chan? Are you okay in there?"

"I'm okay! I was just stupid. I got my head trapped in my shirt and lost my balance," she laughed sheepishly through the door.

She fell? Uh oh… what if she hit her head?

"Are you decent?" I asked, placing my hand on the doorknob.

"Uh? Yeah I guess-"

Having heard what I needed to, I quickly pulled open the door to assess the situation. I found Emi-chan on the floor next to her discarded club clothes (I quickly looked away from the bra), new light pink sweatpants on (phew!), and matching hoodie somehow stuck on her head, the hem riding up above her belly button.

I quickly kneeled next to her, "Did you hit your head or anything Emi-chan?"

"I don't think so! I'm pretty sure my butt took the fall for me," she answered, voice muffled by the hoodie.

Relieved, I let out a breath, giggling as I let myself take in just how ridiculous the situation was. She began giggling too, struggling to push her head through the neck-hole of the sweater.

"Emi-chan~ How did you get all tangled like this?" I asked as I began trying to pull the sweater down over her head.

"Er… no clue!" she answered helplessly, wiggling around like a kitten stuck in a blanket burrito.

"Hold on Emi-chan! I'll save you from your hoodie prison!" I declared determinedly. Poking around the top of the hoodie, I quickly figured that her space buns must just be too big to fit through the hole.

"Emi-chan I think you're gonna have to take your hair out of the buns!"

"Oh! Right! Just a sec," she responded, retracting her arms from the sleeves to take down her hair. With her arms stretched upwards and moving around inside of her hoodie, the hem started riding up dangerously high and just when I thought I was going to have to say something or look away, she lowered her arms and her head popped through the opening of the sweater.

She looked at me sheepishly, face washed of makeup and cheeks rosy from her struggle, "Guess I should have thought of that first huh?"

"Hehehe well you sure have kept the night interesting!" I exclaimed, eyes twinkling as I thought of all the excitement and mishaps that had occurred over the past few hours.

She yawned, pulling her damp looking curls out of the neck of the hoodie, "Well, there are better, more fun ways, of keeping a night interesting than falling everywhere."

Don't think it, don't think it! She didn't mean it like that!

Trying to distract myself, I focused in on her hair, noticing how it looked longer and the curls more pronounced than the last time I had seen it down.

"Hey, Emi-chan, did you change your hair somehow?" I asked curiously, watching as she began gathering up her clothes and moved to stand. Seeing as she'd already fallen several times tonight, I quickly scooped her up.

She gaped up at me for a moment, before apparently deciding not to protest, "Uh, nope, it's just full of leave-in conditioner and stretched out from being wrapped into buns."

"Hmm," I hummed. I walked into my bedroom and gently settled her on my bed, "Here Emi-chan, you can sleep here! I'll sleep on the sofa!"

She blinked at me, then pouted, "Nuh uh, I can't steal your bed. You sleep here and I'll sleep on the sofa."

"It's okay Emi-chan, I don't mind! My sofa's really comfy!" I said brightly, trying to reassure her. Internally I hoped that sleeping in a slightly different environment wouldn't make me even crankier when I woke up.

I'm already really grumpy when I wake up in my own bed… Hopefully I won't be too bad tomorrow. I don't wanna scare Emi-chan!

Through heavy lids, clearly fighting a losing battle against the fatigue of the night, she glared at me, "This is your bed and you should use it…It's huge so, if you won't let me sleep on the sofa at least share the bed with me."

"E-Emi-chan! That wouldn't be very gentlemanly of me!" I protested, shaking my head vigorously and waving my hands in denial.

I felt my heart drop as I saw her look down, shoulders slumping, "But Honey… you said we were friends and that I didn't have to be shy, so… shouldn't that apply to you too?"

She looked up at me through her lashes, and for the first time I was on the receiving end of her puppy-dog eyes, "It's okay if you're not comfortable sharing… but if it's just for my comfort, please don't worry. I trust you so I really won't mind… Please, you've already done so much for me…"

I felt my eyes widen, watering with the sheer force of her cuteness. I just couldn't take it anymore!

"Waah! Don't be sad Emi-chan! I'll share with you 'kay?!" I said, lunging forward to glomp her, then pulling back when I felt her shaking. I peered down at her in concern only to see that she was silently laughing!

"As a host, and the cute one at that, I thought you'd be a lot more immune to puppy-dog eyes!" she explained, half-lidded eyes sparkling.

I pouted, "But Emi-chan! You know I have a weakness for cute things!"

"Hmm, that's true…," she trailed off, smothering a yawn behind her hands and slumping back onto the pillow behind her.

It was getting pretty late, or rather pretty early, and she was probably even more tired than I was, with all the alcohol she'd had and all the dancing she'd done.

"I'm gonna get ready for bed, 'kay Emi-chan?" I said, turning to my closet to collect my pjs. Having heard a vague mumble of assent, I silently giggled and went to the washroom to change and brush my teeth.

When I returned, her club clothes were sitting in a semi-neat pile on the floor and she was tucked away under the covers, hair splayed across the pillow. I walked around to the left side of the bed, grabbing Usa-chan from the nightstand, and hesitated before pulling back the blanket and climbing into bed. Even though the bed was huge (probably with enough space that three people could comfortably sleep without touching), it still felt strange to climb into bed with her.

It's almost… domestic? But why does it feel different from when I used to have sleepovers with friends growing up?

As I laid my head on my pillow, I saw Emi-chan's eyelids slip open to look at me and then fall shut again. She smiled, "Goodnight Honey." She rolled over and her breathing began to slow and even.

"Goodnight Emi-chan," I whispered.

Sweet dreams…