Apt. #634B - The Makis' House

[More than Music]

Kagayaki Aidou

“Herro, Cassiechan...Wha' you doin', yah?"

"Eating," she said, squirming away to grab a sugary treat. "Do you like strawberries?" Kagayaki nodded fervently and took the cupcake she handed to him. "I made these. Just call me Julia Child." He looked at her a bit sideways, not knowing what that meant, but he took a big bite out of the cupcake, nipping his finger trying to make her smile.

"Sh**!" he cried, but the sound was muffled by the huge treat held in his mouth only by his teeth. He looked at Cassie with watery eyes. "Bited myself," he muttered, but he knew it was completely inaudible.

Cassie just looked at Erinchan and started talking about something to do with a Julie and a Julia. Whatever. He only caught one thing that Erinchan said in reply: "We have meetings every Thursday night. Aidousan should come join us!"

He choked on his cupcake, trying to swallow a little of it at a time. He definitely wasn't going to take part of it out of his mouth. Ew. "Eh?" He looked back and forth between the giggling girls.

"Chocolate. Is there anything better?"

"Mm-hm. But I'm kind of in love with frosting, too."

Kagayaki shrugged, turning to Makisama, who was the only girl who seemed able to pay attention to him. "Herro, Makisama!"

"Konnichiwa, Aidouchan. Did you want to try out your new game? The one you got for your birthday? It's sad that no one's touched it yet..."

Kagayaki laughed, shaking his head. His eyes showed that he didn't want to talk about his birthday, at all, but his face hiding it. "Iie... Makisama..."

Saikochan jumped up with excitement. "Oh! I totally vote for that!"

"Missed you..." Kagayaki whispered in Cassie's ear, trying to distract both him and her. For him so he didn't have to explain his birthday party, and for her so she would actually pay attention to him. Wait, those were both for him, weren't they? Oh well, as long as he didn't have to be put on the spot or feel too left out. Oh... there were brownies everywhere!

"What game?" Obviously, Cassie didn't want to be distracted.

"Aidousan got Rock Band for a late birthday present!" Erinchan piped up, and Kagayaki laid his head onto Cassie's shoulder to pout. "He got when--" She stopped. Of course she stopped. That had been a hard day for everyone of them; for Yukitokun, for him, for Saikochan... "When I was here early enough for breakfast. We haven't even touched it and I was sooo excited about playing it! I still call for vocals for Yukito!" She started bouncing and Kagayaki had to laugh.

"Saikochan, you so silly." He leaned up to kiss Cassie's cheek again. "You so pretty," he whispered so softly only she could have heard that. "You know t'at, yah?"

'I hope you do. Because you should. Because it's true.'

[Elda Forever]

Yukito Maki

The girls shared a few comments back and forth about pastries or something - Yukito tried very hard not to space out during this period.

"But I'm kind of in love with frosting, too." Yukito felt a nudge from Erin, and he looked over at her with a blank expression. Huh? Frosting?

"Herro, Makisama!"

"Konnichiwa, Aidouchan. Did you want to try out your new game? The one you got for your birthday? It's sad that no one's touched it yet..." Yukito couldn't resist a smile as he remembered sneaking the game out to 'test it', then carefully replacing every single piece back into the package.

"Oh! I totally vote for that!" Erin bounced happily, making Yukito bob up and down a bit with every landing next to him.

Yukito heard a muffled laugh from Aidousan - he seemed to be half-choking on something he had eaten whole - "Iie... Makisama..."

"Aidousan got Rock Band for a late birthday present!" Erin took his hand into hers, rocking it back and forth. His eyes laughed at her enthusiasm. "He got when--" She paused. When you woke up at my house with a hangover? One of my favorite mornings ever. As if she heard his thoughts, she started laughing merrily. "When I was here early enough for breakfast. We haven't even touched it and I was sooo excited about playing it! I still call for vocals for Yukito!"

He arched an eyebrow at her. "You're kind of determined with this, aren't you?" Their hands, entwined together, bounced up and down as if possessed with a life of their own. He chuckled and held their hands still. "Calm down or you'll implode."

Yukito slipped off the couch to head into his mother's bedroom, helping her pull the large box, looking freshly unwrapped (even though everything had been opened three times, Yukito knew) and eager to be used. He placed Rock Band before the group with an expression that, surprisingly, didn't show how excited he really was. Inwardly, he was bouncing like Erin was. But when she was being like that, he felt less of a need to.

"Aidousan, help me unwrap everything," he commented, pulling out the parts and placing them together in front of the TV screen, trying not to look as if he knew where everything went too well. But really, it was pretty basic to him. "You guys ready?"

"Saikochan, you so silly."

[The Phantom of Paris]

Cassandra "Cassie" Wright

"Why do movie people have to be so mean, huh?" she complained. "I have all these awesome movies I want to see, and none of them come out for another month at least."

Something about this made Erin laugh, and Cassie glared at her. What, you take pleasure in my Hollywood-related torture, Erin? "Oh my god, Cassie, you're talking a lot!"

Cassie raised an eyebrow. "What, do I usually not talk or something? I dunno, blame the sugar! I've had lots!" She giggled as Erin went on. "Yeah, I know the movie, and yeah, I'll see it with you! And movie people just hate you, is all, it's a total conspiracy, me and the ninjas are secretly working with Hollywood to torment you, it's freaking awesome. We have meetings every Thursday night. Aidousan should come join us!"

"Meanies," Cassie scoffed, turning her attention to the brownie in her hand. "Chocolate. Is there anything better?"

"Mm-hmm. But I'm kind of in love with frosting, too."

"Or maybe...chocolate frosting?"

Mrs. Makisan started talking to Kagayaki about a game of some kind, which made Erin freak out in a happy way. Kagayaki, on the other hand, looked less enthusiastic. "Oh! I totally vote for that!"

"Missed you..." Kagayaki told her softly. She grinned at him, finishing off her brownie as curiosity got the best of her. "What game?"

"Aidousan got Rock Band for a late birthday present!" Cassie grinned. "Seriously! Sweet!" She was definitely on a sugar high now--her voice was louder than usual and she couldn't stop smiling and bouncing. I wonder if this is how Erin feels every minute of every day... "He got when--When I was here early enough for breakfast. We haven't even touched it and I was sooo excited about playing it! I still call for vocals for Yukito!"

Awww...I kind of wanted to sing...ah well. They're a thousand times better than me anyway. Cassie looked up at Erin, who was bouncing up and down in a similar way that Cassie was. Sugar for the win!! "Sounds awesome. I'm totally in!"

"You're kind of determined with this, aren't you?" Their hands, entwined together, bounced up and down as if possessed with a life of their own. He chuckled and held their hands still. "Calm down or you'll implode." Yukito walked out of the room for a second, returning with the large Rock Band box and saying something in Japanese just as Kagayaki said, "Saikochan, you so silly." and kissed Cassie's cheek.

"You so pretty. You know t'at, yah?"

Cassie blushed, laughing and kissing his cheek as well. "Thanks!" With that, she jumped to her feet, reaching out her hands to pull both him and Erin to their feet. "One problem with this, though. I suck at Rock Band. Seriously. It's not a pretty sight."

[GGJ5]

OOC: augh, as much as I love this interaction, we gotta wrap it up relatively soon, methinks, for other awesome stuff that'll happen here, no? Let's try for that in the next couple of rounds maybe? If not, that's fine, too, just a thought. BIC:

Erin Spenser

"Aidousan got Rock Band for a late birthday present!" Erin announced to Cassie, and to the rest of the house in her enthusiasm, as she kept her and Yukito's linked hands moving. "He got when--" she stopped for the wave of laughs that came, "When I was here early enough for breakfast. We haven't even touched it and I was sooo excited about playing it! I still call for vocals for Yukito!"

He arched an eyebrow at her. "You're kind of determined with this, aren't you?"

"A little bit," she answered in a rush, demonstrating "a little" with her free hand while her hand in Yukito's bounced excitedly. "And I wanna do drums!" she added brightly.

Yukito just laughed quietly at her, his free hand halting the movement of theirs. "Aww.." "Calm down or you'll implode."

"Will not!" Erin objected with a laugh as Yukito headed out of the room. "It's not my fault!" she called to him as she reached out for another of Cassie's brownies, bouncing in a little dance from side to side as she ate it. "IIII love brownies, and other chocolately goodness-type things!" she sang out upon the brownie's completion. "They're so goood," she added, still sing-song style and continuing the little dance as Yukito and Aidousan set up the game. "You guys ready?"

Apparently, Aidousan was too busy being entertained by Erin, who was now kicking her feet underneath the table, biting her lip with impatience. "Saikochan, you so silly."

"I didn't do anything!" she countered, tone jumping an octave in objection as she laughed at his comment. Immediately Erin hopped up and attacked Yukito with a surprise hug from the side, still jumping a little. "Pick the Nine Inch Nails song, Yukito! 'The Hand that Feeds You', oh! Or Jet!" She pulled her arms back from him and sang the line, feigning holding a microphone, "Are you gonna be my girl? Doo-doo-doo-doo-dah-doo... Okay, just pick something!" she interrupted herself with a laugh, hastily assuming her seat by the drum kit. "Okay, I'm ready, let's go! Aidousan and Cassie have to fight over guitar or bass! Choose fast or I'll choose for you!"

[More than Music]

Kagayaki Aidou

"You so pretty. You know t'at, yah?" he whispered in Cassiechan's ear, very softly so that only she would hear him and kissing her cheek. She blushed and let out cute little laugh, returning his kiss by placing one of her own on his cheek.

"Thanks!" she cooed. He just smiled at her, moving to wrap his arms around her but not fast enough because she jumped up and pulled him to his feet first. "One problem with this, though. I suck at Rock Band. Seriously. It's not a pretty sight."

Kagayaki laughed, shaking his head and giving into the urge of having his arms enclose Cassiechan's waist. "You been fine," he assured her, continuing their little battle by placing a kiss on her earlobe, hoping fervently she would return this kiss as well. He looked over at Saikochan, who was bouncing and talking at the speed of light. He smiled at her. "Saikochan, you so silly."

"I didn't do anything!" she laughed, then jumping up to glomp Yukitokun. Kagayaki only smiled, laying his head against Cassiechan's ear. "Pick the Nine Inch Nails song, Yukito! 'The Hand that Feeds You', oh! Or Jet!" He didn't understand half the words she was saying, but he knew when she broke into song that it sounded funny. "Are you gonna be my girl? Doo-doo-doo-doo-dah-doo... Okay, just pick something!" She sat down at the drums, and Kagayaki couldn't help but compare her energy to Tomakun, the friend of his that had been set on drums in their band. Only, for the most part, Tomakun wasn't on sugar when he acted like that. "Okay, I'm ready, let's go! Aidousan and Cassie have to fight over guitar or bass! Choose fast or I'll choose for you!"

He shook his head, reaching over and picking up a guitar, handing it to Cassiechan, then getting the other for himself. He looked at her pointedly. "I do guitar," he said, his accented voice showing childish decision and pride. "You, do ot'er one." He smiled, lifting up the guitar to pull the strap around his body. Out of habit, he found a serious expression on his face as he lengthened the strap so the toy guitar was in a more comfortable position - covering the lower part of his torso. He liked it there. He played better there. Kagayaki looked up at Yukitokun with a hilarious smile, like he always did, hoping for approval of some sort.

'I'm being good, aren't I Yukitokun? I'm doing good, right Yukitokun? You like it when I play the guitar, don't you? Cassiechan will like it when I play the guitar too, won't she? You talk so little but just a little nod and smile makes me feel so much better. I like it when you approve of me. It means so much, because you don't approve of just anyone or just anything. I like being special to you, because being special to you means you care. And I care about you so much, like I care about Cassiechan, like I care about Saikochan. Do you care about me, Yuyukun? You do, don't you? Please smile and nod like you always did.'

[Elda Forever]

Yukito Maki

Yukito just laughed quietly at her, "Calm down or you'll implode."

"Will not!" She called after him as he went for the game. "It's not my fault!"

"Aidousan, help me unwrap everything," he told his friend once he had calmly set the box up in front of everyone.

"IIII love brownies, and other chocolately goodness-type things! They're so goood," Erin sang out as she bounced and munched on her choice 'goodness-type thing'. It didn't take them too long to set up, and Yukito tried not to snap things together too fast to give away his secret sessions with Rock Band.

Everything was in place and plugged in, the game starting up with a thrum of power chords. "You guys ready?"

Aidousan had been little help, and he was busy grinning at Erin. Who was still bouncing. "Saikochan, you so silly."

"I didn't do anything!" she laughed in a cute way, then jumped up to glomp Yukito. He let out an 'Oof!' sound as he purposefully fell backwards on the floor, his arms reached out to catch her while she was close. He smirked up at her.

"I like you on a sugar high."

"Pick the Nine Inch Nails song, Yukito! 'The Hand that Feeds You', oh! Or Jet!" He only had time to arch an eyebrow before she started singing into her imaginary microphone. "Are you gonna be my girl? Doo-doo-doo-doo-dah-doo... Okay, just pick something!" She plopped down at the drums, gripping the sticks and still bursting with energy equal to a million little explosions. "Okay, I'm ready, let's go! Aidousan and Cassie have to fight over guitar or bass! Choose fast or I'll choose for you!"

Yukito shook his head with a smile. "Alright, Erin. Nine Inch Nails, then Jet. Then I give someone else a turn or something." He picked up the microphone, happy at the fact that it was wireless, and turned towards Cassie and Aidousan just as the latter handed Cassie the other guitar.

"I do guitar," Aidousan told her, saving everyone time by making a definite decision from the get-go. Plus, the guitar was one of Aidousan's strange talents. He didn't just like it - he loved it. And he became a different person with it. "You, do ot'er one."

"Bass." Yukito offered automatically. Aidousan looked up at him with a smile, and Yukito nodded towards him per habit.

"Nine Inch Nails then, here we come."

~~~

"I really think someone else should take a turn now." Yukito said again, after a dozen or so songs with the same line up. He was refraining - barely - from giving a bunch of criticism and tips to everyone else, who were really doing their best. Especially considering it was a video game. He smirked over at them, though, looking behind him to see them all positioned at their instruments still. He turned to Cassie, "You want to try vocals, Cassiechan?" Yukito held out the microphone to her, a pleading look on his face. " 'Pleeeeeease?' As Erin would say?"

[The Phantom of Paris]

Cassandra "Cassie" Wright

Okay, so she really, really didn't like Rock Band. Cassie only really got a chance to play it when she was with her cousins up at the cottage in Michigan, and she was usually bitter and irritable when they played it because either a) it was raining and they couldn't go swimming or b) no one wanted to go swimming with her. Beyond that, she wasn't exaggerating when she said that she sucked at it. Can't we do something else, like play a normal game or look at pictures or listen to music or talk? What a revolutionary idea, you know, talking at a party! But she was overruled by three enthusiastic band members. Cassie and her fun-suckerness didn't stand a chance.

Kagayaki was kissing her ear. That was a little weird, wasn't it? Not that Cassie really knew a whole lot about being in a relationship, but her former boyfriends had not been ear-kissers. She ignored it, pretending not to notice as Erin squealed, "I didn't do anything!Pick the Nine Inch Nails song, Yukito! 'The Hand that Feeds You', oh! Or Jet! Are you gonna be my girl? Doo-doo-doo-doo-dah-doo... Okay, just pick something!"

Cassie raised one eyebrow. "'Nine Inch Nails? Does that sound dangerous to anyone else? It's like a health risk or something. Band names are so weird."

"Okay, I'm ready, let's go! Aidousan and Cassie have to fight over guitar or bass! Choose fast or I'll choose for you!"

Cassie raised her hand, as if they were in school instead of a graduation party. "I want whichever one's easiest."

"Alright, Erin. Nine Inch Nails, then Jet. Then I give someone else a turn or something."

"Again, Nine Inch Nails sound alarming...anyone? Anyone? Bueller?" Cassie grinned.

"I do guitar," Kagayaki said importantly as he handed her the weird plasticy guitar thing that really only looked like a guitar if you let your imagination run wild. What would Shelby say? It's minimalistic, like a theatre set. You have to use your imagination because it's just the basics, nothing fancy. "You, do ot'er one." Cassie nodded. "Bass."

"Is it easy?"

It wasn't. She failed miserably, the little notes on the screen coming far too fast for her fingers to figure out what they were doing. Even so, she managed not to ruin the whole thing for them with the talent of the others to keep the song going, and they actually made it through a couple songs.

"You want to try vocals, Cassiechan?" Cassie quickly shook her head. "I only sing for relatives, and even then only at gunpoint. None of you have ever heard me sing and I intend to keep it that way. Besides, my voice is jazzy, not...rock-y?" Her voice turned up at the end of the phrase, making it into an uncertain question. Please don't make me do this.

" 'Pleeeeeease?' As Erin would say?"

Cassie sighed. "I don't have a choice, do I? Okay, fine. But be kind to me, and never speak of this again. Okay?"

Not knowing which song to pick--she didn't know hardly any of them--she chose to let the game pick one for them. Something called That's What You Get by a band Cassie faintly recognized came up, seeming heavy on guitar and drums. Good. Maybe there's not much singing.

She was wrong, and the lyrics caught her off guard, appearing before she was ready. Her voice started out tinny, very sharp, and timid sounding. "No sir, well I don't wanna be the blame, not anymore. It's your turn, so take a seat, we're settling the final score..." She was terrible.

You know what? It's a game. Screw it, who cares? Mess up. It's no big deal.

"That's what you get when you let your heart win, woah! I drowned out all my sense with the sound of this beating, that's what you get when you let your heart win, woah!"

No way. Was that her voice? Couldn't be--she was good.

"If I ever start to think straight this heart will set a riot in me...why do we like to hurt so much..."

The guitars faded out for the final chorus, leaving pretty much just Cassie's voice. And for once, she wasn't self-conscious about it.

"And I can't trust myself with anything but this...and that's what you get when you let your heart win, woooooooah!"

The song ended, and she grinned sheepishly at the rest of them. "Um...ta-da?"

[GGJ5]

OOC: Augh.. as much as I love this interaction, I'm gonna have to make Erin leave.. T_T Tryin' to wrap it up for future stuffs!! (: BIC:

Erin Spenser

Even though she didn't play drums technically, Erin liked to think she had a knack at it. And beating things with sticks was, apparently, a really good outlet for all the jittery energy she felt-- at the end of each song, her "energy" score on the game was always way at the top. And she was pretty sure that even after she got tired of playing or whatever (because eventually Erin knew that sooner than later she'd crash), she could just listen to Yukito keep singing and it would all be good.

But even he didn't want to keep going with the same thing forever. "I really think someone else should take a turn now."

"Awww..." Erin said, playfully disappointed. She dropped the drumsticks to her sides, smiling up at him from her seat at the drum kit. The sudden tiredness was more apparent than she wanted to admit to herself. Aaand sugar high's gone now.

"You want to try vocals, Cassiechan?" Yukito held out the microphone to her, a pleading look on his face.

"I only sing for relatives," Cassie objected. "And even then only at gunpoint. None of you have ever heard me sing and I intend to keep it that way. Besides, my voice is jazzy, not...rock-y?" Erin laughed at this explanation.

"'Pleeeeeease?' As Erin would say?"

"Hey!" Erin automatically interjected, wrinkling her nose at the mimicry. "Be nice, kareshi." Despite her playfulness, her voice sounded kind of drained. Craaaaash... lame... "Cassie, you have to sing, don't chicken out, 'cause you told me I'd get to hear you one day. And don't even start, because I decided today is gonna be 'one day'." She grinned smugly at her friend.

Cassie sighed. "I don't have a choice, do I?"

"Nope!" Erin inserted cheerfully. Oh, no, I'm making her get out of her bubble and try something fun! Oh, nooo! Hahaha... Cassie...

"Okay, fine. But be kind to me, and never speak of this again. Okay?"

"I can't make that promise," she muttered with a smile as Cassie skimmed the song list. Eventually she stopped on one of Paramore's songs, and Erin didn't miss the obvious shyness and uncertainty in her voice when they began to play. She smiled at it, her own energy meter registering lower than it had been previously. Cassie, you're so painfully shy it's adorable, even if it does make no sense to me. Keep going, you have a really pretty sound and we could hear it more if you'd just let yourself sing instead of get all paranoid and flustered, goofball.

She started turning around towards the end of the song, and Erin grinned in approval as she listened to her friend finally find her feet-- or voice-- or whatever.

The song ended, and Cassie grinned sheepishly at the rest of them. "Um...ta-da?"

Erin clapped the drumsticks together in applause. "Yaaaay! I finally heard the elusive voice of Cassie Wright, and it was freakin' awesome!" She would probably have been a lot more enthusiastic about it, but Erin felt beat now. She actually thought she might end up falling asleep on his couch and staying longer than she should have-- the last thing Erin wanted was to be grounded from visiting him.

Standing from the little fake drums, Erin stumbled a little to catch her balance before going to Yukito to wrap him in a good-bye hug. "I feel so bad for this, Yukito, but I was definitely supposed to be home already and I'm pretty sure I'm gonna fall asleep if I stay longer." She lifted her head from the hug to add with a pout, "And then I couldn't come over again tomorrow." Briefly she tightened her hug on him, kissing him before voicing finally, "I'll see you later, kareshi... I love you!" Briefly, she hugged Cassie and Aidousan, too, then excused herself with a final wave toward Yukito.

Erin's done here... alas!

[More than Music]

Kagayaki Aidou

He felt a wave of disappointment cross his face when Cassiechan completely ignored his attempt at turning her on. So he let them sweep him on in the conversation, moving away from her, trying to disguise the way he was feeling.

They played rather well, Kagayaki looked over at Cassiechan once - and broke his 60-note streak, only to see she wasn't looking up at him. His heart fell into his stomach like a rock and he focused again. That was what music did for him. It was like an escape. His face become deathly serious and his hand-eye coordination increased.

'She's not ignoring me... she's not...' He shook his head a little and tried not to think about it. 'I'm smothering her... she's going to get scared and make me go away... I don't want that to happen, but I can't help the way I feel. It's just not fair! Why can't other people love like I do? Why do I have to hurt so much because I love so much. I just want to stop...' Song after song went by and he felt sucked into a vortex. For a while, he didn't think so much. That was good, wasn't it? Yeah.

"I really think someone else should take a turn now." The sound of Cassie's voice brought Kagayaki out of his stupor-like state. He looked up at her quietly, his expression actually borderline bored.

"Awww..."

"You want to try vocals, Cassiechan?"

The tired look was swept off of his face and Kagayaki looked up at Cassie with surprise. "Yes!" That one word was as clear as a bell, and Kagayaki watched her with wide eyes. "Yes!"

"I only sing for relatives. And even then only at gunpoint. None of you have ever heard me sing and I intend to keep it that way. Besides, my voice is jazzy, not...rock-y?"

Kagayaki tilted his head a little to the side, not understanding. "Lro... Rocky?" He shook his head. "Nan desu ka?" Automatically, he turned to Yukitokun, looking for an explanation.

"'Pleeeeeease?' As Erin would say?" was what came instead. Kagayaki's lungs jerked a little before he finally burst into laughter.

"Kyaaaa..."

"Hey! Be nice, kareshi."

Kagayaki shook his head. "He is." he pointed out.

"Cassie, you have to sing, don't chicken out, 'cause you told me I'd get to hear you one day. And don't even start, because I decided today is gonna be 'one day'."

"Yeah, yeah!" he agreed, smiling in a similar manner to Saikochan's smug grin.

"I don't have a choice, do I?" Cassie said with a sigh.

"Nope!" Saikochan chirped.

"Okay, fine. But be kind to me, and never speak of this again. Okay?"[/b] Cassie was so silly sometimes.

"I can't make that promise." Kagayaki nodded his head in agreement when Saikochan said that.

"Un, me neit'er." He reached out and touched Cassie's hand. "Been okay. Try." She went through with it and chose a song. Kagayaki smiled as the song began, and the guitar he played in the beginning got him excited. Just then, Cassie started to sing.

Kagayaki had to stop himself from fumbling like an idiot. 'Kuso!' He looked up at her for a second. 'So pretty...' The song came to an end and Kagayaki had to laugh. He'd missed so many notes because of her...

"Um...ta-da?"

Saikochan and Kagayaki started clapping at the same time, and when he noticed that he started clapping way faster. 'Ha, do that with two sticks!' "Yaaaay! I finally heard the elusive voice of Cassie Wright, and it was freakin' awesome!"

Kagayaki paused for a second, looked around, then smiled widely. "Eto... Yah, wha' Saikochan say said!" He lunged forwards and wrapped both of his arms around one of Cassie's. "Yay Cassiechan! Sugoi desu ne! Sugoi!"

Saikochan looked very tired. Kagayaki felt a bit tired too, but not as much as she did. "I feel so bad for this, Yukito, but I was definitely supposed to be home already and I'm pretty sure I'm gonna fall asleep if I stay longer."

Kagayaki pouted. "No..." he whined.

She went over and hugged Yukitokun. "And then I couldn't come over again tomorrow." They kissed for a moment, and Kagayaki looked up at Cassie for a second before looking down at the floor. 'Why can't we be happy like that? We love each other so much... why can't we show it as much as they do? Why don't you trust me? Why don't you love me like I love you?' "I'll see you later, kareshi... I love you!" Saikochan gave Cassie a little hug, then gave Kagayaki one too. It didn't surprise it as much as had when he'd first come. He wrapped his arms around her and gave her a quick but tight hug.

"Bye-bye," he cooed, letting go of her. She slipped away and Kagayaki felt the spirits in the room fall. Saikochan was always the life of the room, keeping them from being depressed. That had always been his job, and now he needed someone to do that for him? Ridiculous. Determined not to let her get all the credit for that position, Kagayaki put on a smile and jumped up. "Wanna do more, yeah? Can do..." He looked over the other instruments. "Drums?" He picked up the drumsticks and stared at them for a moment before shaking his head. "Eto... He laughed and set them back now. "No." Curiously, he looked at the microphone in Cassie's hands, then pointed at her. "You. You stay on t'a'." He nodded, agreeing with himself. "Yeah."

Then his phone rang. He jumped about a foot into the air, letting out a strangled but still profuse string of Japanese words. Checking it, his face flashed with embarrassment. "Kaachan..." he whispered nearly inaudibly. He looked up at Yukitokun, then at Cassiechan. "Sumimasen... 'Xuse me." He jumped up and ran to the nearest doorway, leaning against it and answering it the call. "Moshi-moshi?"

"Kakikun, why didn't you call me back earlier?"

He blushed. "Gomen ne..."

"I hate not knowing how you are. Either you start calling me more or I'm coming after you. What are you doing that you forget to call me back?"

"Eeeeto... Ano... What am I doing?"

"Yes. Just now, what were you doing?"

He glanced over at his friends. "Playing a game with Yukitokun and Cassiechan. What were you doing?" He started playing with his hair a little when there was silence on the other line. "Kaachan?"

"... Cassiechan?"

Kagayaki felt like his tongue had somehow been yanked down his throat. "... Hai... Cassiechan and Yukitokun."

"That girl you were telling me about?" Her voice changed from surprised to her normally stern tone. "Have you asked her out yet?"

Laughing, he nodded. "Hai, I asked her out. Actually..." He snuck a look at Cassiechan again. "She's my kanojo now."

"KANOJO?!?"

He winced a little from the volume. "Hai." He heard her turn and say something to someone else.

"That's my boy!" a man's voice said in the distance.

"I know he is."

Kagayaki felt a fierce blush come across his cheeks. "Kaachan... I should go, they're waiting on me. I'll call you later, okay?"

"Sure you will," she said, obvious disbelief in her voice. "You mean I'll call you later.[/i]"[/b] He nodded, smiling a bit again.

"Yeah, I guess so. Goodbye, Kaachan."

"Goodbye."

He hung up with a long sigh, letting out the frustration in his system and turning to his friends again. "Sorry," he muttered, coming over to be next to Cassiechan. He looked into her eyes. "I tired." He sent her a pitiful look. "Can go home wi' you?"

[Elda Forever]

Yukito Maki

Everyone ganged up on Cassie to get on vocals after he'd suggested it. Yukito picked up on the good humor quicker than usual – he did want a break from singing now. "'Pleeeeeease?' As Erin would say?" Aidousan relinquished a snort of laughter.

"Hey!" Erin automatically interjected, wrinkling her nose at him. "Be nice, kareshi." He just stuck his tongue out at her.

Kagayaki shook his head. "He is." Yukito didn't add anything more after that, letting Erin and Aidousan bombard the shy and modest Cassie into taking the microphone from him. Of course she tried to convince them all to keep their silence on the experience. And of course no one agreed to it. Yukito took the bass from where it had been abandoned, not saying anything while Cassie skimmed the list uncertainly. When they started in on the song, Yukito clicked up to Hard, sure if he'd chosen anything lower, he'd be bored out of his mind. The notes came flying, which (in a strange way) allowed him to listen better to Cassie's voice. At first, she seriously disappointed him. She was quiet and waivered on every note, unsure of herself and the song. C'mon, Cassie! Finally, she pushed herself into it, and really came out with a much better (much more emotionally-packed) sound. It was nothing like Erin's – but then again he was biased - and yet held its own.

The song ended, and she grinned sheepishly at the rest of them. "Um...ta-da?" Yukito sent her a smile and a nod – he hadn't realized how automatic that came after the band – while the other two applauded her energetically. He was glad they had refrained from that during his turn. It felt way different – more awkward - in his living room with just them.

"Yaaaay! I finally heard the elusive voice of Cassie Wright, and it was freakin' awesome!" Yukito looked over at her, surprised at the lack of energy in that exclamation point.

"Eto... Yah, wha' Saikochan say said!" Aidousan didn't delay in glomping his girl. He didn't lack for volume or open excitement. "Yay Cassiechan! Sugoi desu ne! Sugoi!"

Standing from the little fake drums, Erin stumbled a little to catch her balance before going to Yukito to wrap him in a good-bye hug. "I feel so bad for this, Yukito, but I was definitely supposed to be home already and I'm pretty sure I'm gonna fall asleep if I stay longer." Yukito's face flickered into a frown. Is that why you weren't as happy awhile ago? "And then I couldn't come over again tomorrow." He sighed, knowing that sealed the deal – she had to go. Already. Briefly she tightened her hug on him, kissing him before voicing finally, "I'll see you later, kareshi... I love you!"

“Fine,” he mumbled darkly, reluctantly letting her go after a squeeze and a kiss. “I love you.”

Erin went to hug the others goodbye, and Yukito didn't look any happier after she left. Even though Aidousan tried his best to distract them from feeling the hole in the room they felt. When Aidousan had to leave all of a sudden to answer a phone call, Yukito finally flopped back down on the couch, his fingers absent-mindedly playing with the strum bar on the plastic guitar. If he had seen himself, he would have smacked himself for pouting like a little kid. As it was, he tried to smile as he looked back up at Cassie.

“You did good.” Was his simplistic comment. “Really. At first you were seriously nervous.” It helped. He started to really smile at that. “I know the feeling.”

Aidousan walked in a few minutes later, looking flushed and embarrassed. He moved next to Cassie and pretty much ignored Yukito, which was fine with him – he didn't mind being a third wheel if he was left alone – as they talked, Yukito reached for one of the treats he'd been brought for his birthday, ending up with another cheese-cake cookie. Or whatever they were called. Why did they give me a bunch of food for my birthday? Are they trying to say something He thought with amusement.

[The Phantom of Paris]

OOC: Here is what Cassiechan sings later on in the post. The singer is her current AI, Renee Olstead, so that's basically what Cassie's voice sounds like. If the video doesn't work for some reason, I know the song's on imeem, and it was also on the soundtrack for the Kit Kittredge American Girl movie. It's called "Ain't We Got Fun." And this is Cassie's car, only hers is blue, not black. BIC:

Cassandra "Cassie" Wright

Wow. I'm actually doing this. I'm actually singing in front of people that I haven't known since birth, who didn't have to resort to out and out blackmail. Who would have thought, huh? This is actually kind of fun.

Her jaw almost hit the floor when her friends burst into applause upon the end of the song. "You guys don't have to do that...I wasn't that good, was I?"

"Yaaaay! I finally heard the elusive voice of Cassie Wright, and it was freakin' awesome!"

"Eto... Yah, wha' Saikochan say said! Yay Cassiechan! Sugoi desu ne! Sugoi!" Kagayaki shouted, launching himself at her. Cassie laughed. "See, that was totally my whole plan all along--I didn't tell you how amazing I was. No, just kidding. I did withhold some information from you though--I've played piano ever since I was five. I didn't want you to recruit me for some crazy band scheme or something." She grinned at Erin.

"I feel so bad for this, Yukito, but I was definitely supposed to be home already and I'm pretty sure I'm gonna fall asleep if I stay longer. And then I couldn't come over again tomorrow. I'll see you later, kareshi... I love you!"

Goodbyes were said and hugs were given as the little party dwindled, first Erin then Aidousan leaving to answer a phone call. Cassie was left alone with Yukito, who promptly flopped down onto the sofa in typical guy fashion. “You did good.Really. At first you were seriously nervous. I know the feeling.”

Cassie gave him a little smile, shrugging. "I'm insecure about everything, even the fact that I'm insecure. Plus, it's not my genre. I usually sing more jazzy stuff, like from the 40s and stuff like that--if I sing at all. But thanks. " She thought for a second. "Stuff like this is usually more my forte," she said before beginning.

"Every morning, every evening
Ain't we got fun?
Not much money
Oh but honey
Ain't we got fun?
The rent's unpaid dear
We haven't a bus
But smiles were made, dear, for people like us!
In the winter, in the Summer
Don't we have fun?
Times are bum and getting bummer
Still we have fun
There's nothing surer
The rich get rich and the poor get children
In the meantime
In the between time
Ain't we got fun?"

Kagayaki came back in just as she finished the verse. "Sorry. I tired. Can go home wi' you?"

"Sure," Cassie said, shrugging. "You haven't seen my new car yet, anyway. It was an early birthday present from my grandparents, after I got my license. It's pretty sweet." She looked at Yukito. "I guess we'll be going then...see you later, and enjoy the treats? I'd take some home, but I can just make more...unless you don't think you'll finish them?"

A few more goodbyes and a quick hug later, Cassie gathered her things and walked with Kagayaki to the car. "Ta-da! I need to give it a name. I love naming things." She smiled at him. "I guess we should go home, then..."

And so they did, her humming "Ain't we got fun?" all the way home.

Cassie has left the grad party!

[More than Music]

Kagayaki Aidou

He'd been trying to bring back up the mood when his handphone had rung and made him leave the room. When he came back, they didn't look much different than he'd left them. "Sorry," he said quietly, coming over to sit next to Cassiechan. "I tired." He looked at her with pitiful eyes. "Can go home wi' you?"

"Sure," she told him, ambivalently. "You haven't seen my new car yet, anyway. It was an early birthday present from my grandparents, after I got my license. It's pretty sweet."

Kagayaki tilted his head to the side. "Sweeto?" He'd never heard of a car being 'sweet'. That was something used for people or candy... never cars.

Instead of answering, Cassiechan looked at Yukito. "I guess we'll be going then...see you later, and enjoy the treats? I'd take some home, but I can just make more...unless you don't think you'll finish them?"

Noting this wasn't his conversation, Kagayaki reached over and ruffled Yukitokun's hair. "Sayonara," he said with a smile. "Takes care, yah." He carefully set the card on Yukito's lap with a wink, walking out.

Once they were outside, Cassie showed Kagayaki her car. It was pretty cool. "Ta-da! I need to give it a name. I love naming things."

Kagayaki just laughed. "Naming cars..." He leaned over and kissed her cheek. "You so kawaii."

She smiled at him. She was so beautiful. "I guess we should go home, then..."

He nodded, jumping forwards to open her door before rushing over to the other side and getting into his seat just as she did hers. Kagayaki beamed, launching forwards to steal a quick kiss from her lips before sitting properly and buckling up. "Okay, we go!" he laughed.

Kagayaki is done here. : )

[Elda Forever]

OOC: At a later time. BIC:

Yukito Maki

He rolled over restlessly in his bed, unable to get back to sleep. Chica heard him moving around and let out a sad meow from her makeshift bed of dirty laundry, letting out another cry as she raced into the room to jump on the lump of comforter that hid him from sight. She scratched at an opening, crawling into the blankets and purring loudly.

“Chicaaaa...” he moaned, his voice cracking and sleepy. One hand reached up to rub her dismissively before he rolled over again. If he could just get to sleep, he would be fine. It was the period before he managed to drift off that caused him all the trouble. Nothing was helping. So he shoved the blankets off, ignoring Chica as he fumbled through the dark for the familiar doorknob. He unlocked it but as always, hesitated a fraction of a second before opening it. A thousand times of reassuring himself were doing a little good, and he liked to dwell on that idea whether it was really true or not. I don't need any stupid counseling. I can deal with this. The weird moments, the nightmares, the no-touching...and Erin helps. She helps a lot.

He wandered through the house silently, feeling a little deja vu as he stood in the kitchen, staring around and mentally running through his head the possibilities. I should eat something. And I don't know why it's important to, but I know I should. He opened a cupboard and felt a chill run down his spine, but he ignored it again.Anything but crackers, right? He thought with a grim expression, turning to the fridge. The light splayed across the floor around him in an eerie sort of way, and he shivered when he had to reach in for a soda. He heard footsteps – without realizing how closely he had been listening – and jumped a little, looking up to see a silhouette in the doorway. After a second his eyes adjusted to see a disheveled version of his mother standing there, her eyes nearly shut in her sleepiness, her lips pouted as she tried to focus her vision on him, her arms crossed against her chest and holding her robe closed.

“Yukito? What are you doing up?” she murmured. He closed the fridge and walked over to lean on the counter.

“I couldn't sleep,” he punctuated the statement by opening the soda. It let out a satisfying hiss and finally a popping sound that made them both jump this time.

“Is everything okay?” she asked, and by her stance in the doorway, he guessed she wouldn't leave him be until he gave her an explanation. He worked to make his tone careless and easy-going. Why make her stay up late into the night over nothing? She was always so scared. He didn't want that – he didn't want to be scared all the time. Probably because Erin would pick up on it, but mostly because it seemed so stupid and useless in his mind. Get over it and move on with life. He mentally told them both.

“Yeah, it's fine. Stop worrying so much.” The first drink of the soda came as a shock to his throat, successfully making him fully awake and alert, while also sending a pang through his skull.

“How have you been sleeping?” she prodded again, still determined to know.

He shrugged, “Alright, I guess.” If there was ever a time to lie to her, this would be it. Another drink so he could form a full thought before answering her. When he lowered the soda can he was able to sneak a smug smile to her. “I want to sleep better if it means dreaming.”

Korkoro arched an eyebrow, and that made him explain, “I dream about Erin, mom.”

“Ah,” she said with a nod, but he knew she didn't get it. Instead of gushing and supportive, her next words were irritated and accusatory. And off the subject of his girlfriend. Or so he thought. “You still lock your door. I don't want you to do that, because then I can't check on you.”

“If you want me to sleep better,” his voice lowered to a defensive growl as he raised the soda again, “You'll let me keep it locked, mother.” Korkoro didn't respond to that one. He let out a sigh, his next words gentler now, “Go back to bed, mom. I'm fine.”

She started for her bedroom door, looking back over her shoulder and calling his name again. “Yukito...you really are doing fine, right?”

It was his turn to raise his eyebrow in question. “Yeah, I'll be fine, mom. Why?” He saw the look on her face when she couldn't answer him. He remembered it, and could see it clearly in his head in the half an hour he stood in the kitchen after she left, finishing his soda slowly. After he had crumpled up the can and tossed it, he stood wondering why that expression on her face had appeared so guilty

He really did know why, or at least suspected it. But he didn't want to admit it to himself. Any other excuse would do. Anything at all. Not the truth, though. Anything but the truth.

Chica was waiting for him when he stood silently in the doorway to his room, but he didn't enter. He waited in the doorway, staring in at his bed and the weird-looking lump of comforters there. This room looked so different from his other room. But it was well-known enough in his head by now for him to have a sort of comfort in it. And that comfort led to ease and lax, which his mind wouldn't quite register.

He would have stood here, like this. In a room a bit different from this one.

The thought struck him like a slap across the face, and he pressed his lips together furiously as he looked at it in retrospect. I can't think like that. It isn't good for me. I have to heal, and standing here like an idiot doesn't fix that. He started for the bed, trying to ignore the feelings again, when a knock came on the door that sounded alarming in the dead of the night. For a few moments, he had come to believe the night would be silent again. He started for the door but didn't reach it in time to answer before the next crashing thuds came. Yukito called out, “Wait, why don't you?” in Japanese, before peering through to spy Erin. Something in gut flew up and started tapping on the inside of his skull, making weird sensations on the journey up. He opened the door with a half-bewildered, half-flushed expression.

“Erin?”


~~~~~

Erin Spenser

She had ignored her homework for the evening, spending the time playing music instead, working her hands on the neck of the guitar for longer than she knew she could sit still. Erin moved from the guitar back to the keyboard and switched again as long as she could until her mother poked her head in, telling her they were going to sleep now. That meant no more noise from Erin's room. So she switched to playing online, wasting time on random flash games, car racing games, myspace, downloading music, browsing youtube.... Finally Erin's eyes dropped as she stared at the screen and she caved, curling up in bed and falling into sleep.

Early into the morning Erin's eyes flew open, wide in terror, heart trying its hardest to break out of her chest, sending echoes of thunder into her ears, and air tried to force its way out her mouth in a silent scream. In one cruel instant the images her mind had created crashed back down on top of her.

The frozen face. Pale and bloodless. Eyes staring up at her without movement. And the mouth, split apart by a knife so severely that the face itself was cleaved in two, drained of blood.

Two hands appeared in the darkness and yanked a cold, milk-colored sheet over Yukito's face.

Without wasting a second now that she had woken up, ghosts of the image still silhouetted in her mind's eye, Erin bolted from her room in a panic, tearing out of her house and only taking time to shut the door in case it could keep away the mental shadow. But it didn't work, it followed her as her bare feet attacked the cement of the walkway, just as real now as it had been when she was sleeping. And that felt more real than real life. He's dead. He's gone, he's dead, someone hurt him, he's dead, he's gone... The phrases recycled over and over a hundred times over the short distance and as she continued to thud both fists on his front door, purely frantic. "Wake up, wake up, don't be dead, wake up, wake up!" she pleaded at the door until it was no longer underneath her fists and a real person was in front of her.

"Yukito!" she shouted, terror seeping in her tone, fully expecting to find some cold remains where Yukito should be, missing the fact that he was right in front of her. She stormed inside, just reaching the entrance to the hall when she hadn't seen him and turned around, finally taking in his presence. "Yukito!" This time the word carried her relief, and she buried herself in his arms as, as though a dam had just vaporized, every tear she possessed seemed to pour down her face, terrified sobs shaking her with each breath. She placed both hands on his cheeks as if to confirm their warmth, their wholeness, his real existence, her own lips trembling with reminders of the cruelty of her imagination. "I'm so scared," she attempted to say, but not even a sound came out of her throat now, she could only stare at him, blurred from the cascading salt-tears.

~~~

Yukito Maki

He peered out into the hallway and spied Erin there, her eyes wide and fearful, both fists banging violently on the door. "Wake up, wake up, don't be dead, wake up, wake up!"

“Erin?” Is that supposed to be metaphorical? He opened the door and she flew in past him, shouting his name as if she couldn't see him standing next to her. She sounded scared out of her mind. Yukito stared at her with a look of confusion, and it took him a moment to call out to her, "Erin, I'm right here..." He held out his arms just as she saw him. Really saw him. She slammed into him with relief in every muscle, tears streaming out of her huge eyes. Erin looked up into his face, both hands taking hold of either side of his face. He couldn't help but note that a few years ago, she couldn't have done that. He wouldn't have let her.

He let out one of those awkward laughs that doesn't mean you find anything funny about the situation at all, but that you don't know how to deal with it. "Erin...what are you doing? It's like three in the morning..." She tried to say something, but it didn't come out. His lips curled into a tight smile as she stared fixedly at his face, wondering what she was seeing there. One of his arms curled around her comfortingly, the other reaching up to gently wipe away her tears, to brush against her cheek. "Erin, you're shaking..." At the look in her eyes, his eyes darkened. "Erin...what's wrong?"

"Yukito? Erinchan?" Korkoro sprinted into the room with a worried look on her face, but by this point, Yukito could only turn to her accusingly.

"Mom, go to bed." he said, warning in his voice.

"Is she al-"

"MOM!" he shouted at her, infuritated, his own voice shocking him and seeming to shake the very walls, "Go to bed!" He turned to Erin, pulling her closer possessively before lowering his voice to tell her quietly, "You better tell me everything that happened, Erin. Did someone hurt you? Are you hurt?"

~~~

Erin Spenser

Yukito said something to her, and she tried to respond, but nothing would come out. How could she explain what she saw? What if it was a premonition or a warning or something? What if someone was thinking of doing that? What if he couldn't be there anymore, what if his skin didn't feel warm anymore, what if his eyes couldn't see her anymore, how could she explain that? How could she explain how terrified she was, still with the images seared into her retina like staring at a demonic sun? Yukito wiped off some of her tears, and she could hear him say, "Erin, you're shaking..." She found that she was, pretty violently. "Erin...what's wrong?"

Erin shook her head frantically, wordless, her forehead rubbing against him with each shake of the head. How could she tell him? The words fell limp on her tongue.

"Yukito? Erinchan?" the familiar voice of Makisan reached Erin's ears, but she didn't look her way, only buried her face against Yukito.

"Mom, go to bed."

"Is she al-"

The burst in volume made Erin tighten her grip around him, jumping at any sound like a paranoid cat. "Yukito," she managed to croak out quietly, voice strangled with the urge to keep crying. "You better tell me everything that happened, Erin. Did someone hurt you? Are you hurt?"

She shook her head, still feeling shaky and weak in her knees, feeling physically ill in her stomach at the thoughts in her head, what her cruel imagination could do to her. "No-- I--" She swallowed hard, afraid her knees would buckle. "I feel-- sit..." Erin dropped to sit down on the floor, not taking her eyes off of Yukito's face. She was still shaking, still clinging like a lifeline to him. "Please, please don't leave me, please, please don't ever leave me, please don't leave me, please don't....!"

~~~

Yukito Maki

When he turned to scream back at his mother, he felt Erin jumped in his arms, like a child frightened by the sound of the thunder rumbling directly overhead. "Yukito," her voice seemed broken. He took a better hold of her.

"You better tell me everything that happened, Erin. Did someone hurt you? Are you hurt?" He felt a wave of relief as she shook her head.

"No-- I--" She swallowed hard, "I feel-- sit..." Erin began to drop to the floor, and he followed her, holding on to her so he could make sure she wouldn't go too fast, or too far away. He felt the strangeness of her eyes locked on his face, and he didn't understand the look in her eyes. The shaking didn't stop.

“What's wrong?” he whispered.

The wall of silence from Erin seemed to break, and the rush of words mingled together in a plea the tore him up inside to hear. "Please, please don't leave me, please, please don't ever leave me, please don't leave me, please don't....!"

“Erin. Erin!” he found himself chuckling a little, trying to reassure her, his hand brushing her hair back, his forehead touching hers, shushing her gently, “Erin, it's okay. I'm not going anywhere. Why would I leave you?” He paused, then thought he had come across the reason for her visit – last year when he had walked away from her and let her remain angry at him. Last year when she thought he didn't love her at all, that he had just been toying with her. “I love you, I'm not going to leave you ever again, I promise.”

He had her shoulders in his hands, but when he looked into her face he didn't see what he expected to see. “Is it something else? Why would you think I'm leaving you?”

~~~

Erin Spenser

Words were all stuck in her throat, jumbled and blocking any sound from passing to her lips now.

"What's wrong?"

She didn't even want to blink because of the pictures seared on the insides of her eyelids, but it wasn't working, and Erin found herself pouring out, "Please, please don't leave me, please, please don't ever leave me, please don't leave me, please don't....!"

He didn't get it.

“Erin. Erin!” His hand brushed her hair back, his forehead touching hers, and he didn't know how she was clinging so desperately to each gesture he made, each touch against her. “Erin, it's okay. I'm not going anywhere. Why would I leave you?”

Her immediate response was to shake her head again, screaming inside how that wasn't what she meant at all. “I love you, I'm not going to leave you ever again, I promise.”

His hands held her shoulders but right now all she wanted was for him to hold her as close as possible, to hug her and keep her from falling apart as she trembled. So now, feeling so exposed to her fear, so scared that he'd be snatched away, more tears flooded over the banks of her eyelids. “Is it something else? Why would you think I'm leaving you?”

Erin pulled closer to him, hugging him almost desperately. "I'm so scared," she muttered weakly through her trimmers. "I'm so scared, Yukito, I don't want it to ever be true, it was so bad. It was so bad..."

~~~

Yukito Maki

“I love you, I'm not going to leave you ever again, I promise.” he told her, but it wasn't what she was looking for. In a sense, that was a huge relief. In another, it left up so many options. What was she so upset about she came running over to his house in the middle of the night in tears, and trembling with fear? “Is it something else? Why would you think I'm leaving you?”

Erin pulled closer to him, hugging him almost desperately. "I'm so scared," she muttered weakly through her trimmers. "I'm so scared, Yukito, I don't want it to ever be true, it was so bad. It was so bad..."

"Shh..." he pulled her close, tucking her head beneath his chin and rocking back and forth, trying to comfort her. "It's okay. Nothing's wrong. I'm right here, see?" He kissed her forehead again. Then tilted her head back to kiss her lips. "See?"

~~~

Erin Spenser

Erin pulled closer to him, her arms around him tight for fear that he might slip away somehow, or get stolen away. "I'm so scared," she muttered weakly through her trimmers. "I'm so scared, Yukito, I don't want it to ever be true, it was so bad. It was so bad..."

"Shh..." he pulled her close, tucking her head beneath his chin and rocking back and forth as she clung to him, eyes refusing to shut despite the urge to rid themselves of tears. "It's okay. Nothing's wrong. I'm right here, see?" He kissed her forehead, and then her lips. "See?"

No, that's not the point! What about when you're not? It could happen! What if it was a warning, Yukito???!! "You didn't see what I saw," she protested, voice continually strained and half-broken. "You didn't see-- you didn't see-- how..." She tried to explain, tried to tell him what he hadn't seen, but the words got stuck on her tongue and behind her teeth, because she would have to say them. And saying them made it more real. And it was too real already. "You weren't-- you were-- someone--" The words were halted by fear and the wrenching in her stomach at the words that described what she'd dreamt. "You-- were-- not-- no-- breath-- you didn't have any...." Erin couldn't make herself say dead. And thinking of how she couldn't say it made her feel worse, and Erin's hand automatically went to her mouth. "I feel sick," she muttered, vision swimming now and not from the tears.

~~~

Yukito Maki

"It's okay. See?" He tried to reassure her by holding her close.

"You didn't see what I saw," she protested, voice continually strained and half-broken. "You didn't see-- you didn't see-- how...You weren't-- you were-- someone--" Yukito sent her a confused look, his mind straining to piece together the clipped sentences. "You-- were-- not-- no-- breath-- you didn't have any...."

His eyes widened. "I wasn't breathing? You dreamt I was..."

Erin's face looked so haunted and full of fear that it hurt his gut to look at her. Her hand flew to her mouth. "I feel sick," she managed, and he leapt into action.

"Lay down on your back right here," he told her, "Try focusing on the ceiling, and I'll get you a bowl or something." He took his hands from hers and flew into the kitchen, finding the same 'community bowl' they had reused in emergencies during their flu bout. Which, he suddenly realized, Erin had managed to evade completely. He ran back to her side and set the bowl down next to her, leaning over her and touching her gently. A moment passed before he said anything, and when he did speak, his voice was uncertain.

"Was it a dream, Erin? Is that what happened? Did you have a dream that I died?" He brushed her hair away from her face, his expression solemn. He knew the power of a nightmare. "That's not gonna happen, Erin. It's not. I'm right here." He watched her face. "You don't have to tell me about it, Erin. I know it's not gonna happen."

~~~

Erin Spenser

Stupidly, Erin tried to explain what had made her so distraught, but trying and failing only made everything worse, and she was already feeling so sick and weak and shaky and she wondered if she would faint right there. She didn't faint, but Erin didn't hear Yukito attempted to piece together the little bit of coherent words she was able to give him, either. I feel so... bad... ugh... "I feel sick," she forced out.

"Lay down on your back right here," Yukito ordered. What? Why? she wanted to ask, but couldn't, because she was scared that if she did, something besides words might come out. So she did what he said. "Try focusing on the ceiling, and I'll get you a bowl or something." Then the realization hit her-- he was going to leave. His hands weren't in hers any more, and by the time she knew he was going to leave the room, Yukito had already gone. "No, don't leave me!" she tried to shout at him in protest, but that coupled with her bolting upright again sent Erin's world tilting, and she couldn't get past, "No--!" She screamed in her head at herself for being so stupid, for thinking the person responsible for her dream would lurk behind the next corner Yukito turned, as she remained doubled over from her attempt at sitting up. But, she learned, it was a lot harder to chastise yourself when your mind was too busy trying to keep the room from spinning so much and trying to tell the stomach to shut the crap up. So instead she just swore to herself over and over.

Yukito was back, though she didn't notice until he was right next to her. He was back, and she couldn't force herself to calm down. Clumsily, she lurched forward, finally succumbing to the unfamiliar demands of her body. And it burned like hell. With a stupid, weak moan, Erin dropped her head onto the tilting floor, feeling similar to the way a person feels after spending all day in the ocean-- you can still feel the waves rocking you even when lying in bed that night. She felt too scared and too sick to care about how she looked lying on the floor, tired, sick, scared pale, and shaking--thought only in her hands now. She didn't care that he'd now seen her in her sleep clothes-- short shorts and a camisole-- stupidly making herself physically sick over a stupid dream. In fact, the only thing she cared about was forgetting that dream and making sure Yukito was safe. She could deal with all that other stuff later... way, way, way later...

Yukito brought her out of her train of thought, touching her gently. "Yukito..." she nearly whispered, voice high and tight and pleading.

"Was it a dream, Erin? Is that what happened? Did you have a dream that I died?" He brushed her hair away from her face. She nodded weakly, even though that made her feel worse, and automatically she leaned into Yukito to keep from falling, despite already being on the ground. "That's not gonna happen, Erin. It's not. I'm right here."

Somewhere along the line she'd started crying again, and, again, clumsily, Erin brushed away one of the persistent tears with the heel of her hand. "But it was really bad, Yukito, it was so bad, you don't--" A sharp intake of breath. "You don't know how bad it was..." I can still see it, Yukito, right there behind my eyelids, it's still so bad!!

"You don't have to tell me about it, Erin. I know it's not gonna happen."

For some reason, the statement made her feel like she should cry more, and Erin didn't want to shut her eyes against the tears, so she pulled closer to Yukito. "Hold me," she mumbled, voice thick from the lump in her throat. "Tighter," she added. As tight as you can, so I know you won't leave. Please. I'm so scared I won't feel you there...

~~~

Yukito Maki

"Lay down on your back right here. Try focusing on the ceiling, and I'll get you a bowl or something." He leapt up from her side, dropping her hand next to her side, and raced into the kitchen. He had just reached the cupboards when he heard her scream out, and he rushed back in as if someone was chasing him. “What's wrong?!” he let the panic slip into his voice as he looked her up and down. She looked like she was hurting, and bad. “Erin..here...” He awkwardly, hesitantly, placed his hand on her back, the other hand offering the bowl to her. She didn't take long to make use of it, and Yukito's eyes tried to stay trained on her face, though his eyes flickered to the bowl. It didn't look any worse than normal to him. None of the strange coloring he had been giving out with the flu. That means it's okay, right? She's not physically hurt, she's just...really messed up after this..whatever it was...

”Yukito..”

“Was it a dream, Erin? Is that what happened? Did you have a dream that I died?" Yukito's hand on her back raised to pull her hair out of her face. She leaned against him heavily. “That's not gonna happen, Erin. It's not. I'm right here."

He looked down to see her crying. She wiped the tears away. "But it was really bad, Yukito, it was so bad, you don't--" A sharp intake of breath. "You don't know how bad it was..." I can still see it, Yukito, right there behind my eyelids, it's still so bad!!

He took in a slow breath and let it out. Yukito wanted to ask her what she had seen, so he could reassure her, so he could fix it. But her nightmares were reminding him too much of his own. What if the best thing to do would be to bury it and not think about it. "You don't have to tell me about it, Erin. I know it's not gonna happen."

Her lips trembled a little and she pulled him closer. "Hold me," He did. He wrapped his arms around her, careful not to hold her too tightly because he was afraid of what she had seen.

"Tighter," she commanded. He squeezed his eyes shut and held her close enough that it was harder to breathe. I don't want to let you go and I want to hide your own dreams from you now. It was his turn to start the trembling from holding her so tightly. His arms ached but he kept holding her.

“Erin, I'm here. I promise. I'm not leaving. I don't want to leave you.” He kissed her head, “It's okay..It was just a dream, I promise..”

~~~

Erin Spenser

"You don't have to tell me about it, Erin. I know it's not gonna happen."

She didn't want to cry anymore, she hated crying, and now it made her head hurt worse, but she couldn't help it completely... "Hold me,"she mumbled. He did. But it wasn't right. She had to make sure. To feel safe.

"Tighter." He held her tighter, so she was pressed against him, his arms around her as close as possible, and finally she began to feel safe again. The dream started to feel less like a fact or a promise, and more like the worse dream she could remember at the moment. My throat hurts now.

“Erin, I'm here. I promise. I'm not leaving. I don't want to leave you.” He kissed her head. “It's okay..It was just a dream, I promise..”

"I know," she muttered. "I know. But it was so bad..." Oww... I need water... "Let me come with you to get water," Erin added, still in the same subdued mutter. "I feel dizzy now, Yukito. I sat up too fast..."

~~~

Yukito Maki

“Erin, I'm here. I promise. I'm not leaving. I don't want to leave you.” He kissed her head. “It's okay..It was just a dream, I promise..”

"I know," she muttered. "I know. But it was so bad..." He held her a little tighter. I don't see what you're seeing, Erin. But I know how you feel.

"Let me come with you to get water," Erin added, still in the same subdued mutter. He felt her grip on him was determined. Afraid to let him go. "I feel dizzy now, Yukito. I sat up too fast..."

"It's okay. Just take it slow." He held her onto him so he could carry her weight as they stood up gingerly and started for the kitchen. Once there, he hesitated, wanting to help her sit down somewhere but not wanting to leave her side. It was like his hand was glued to hers, and had to keep contact. Stretching out his arm, he reached into the cupboard to grab a cup for her. His hand tightened in hers as he pulled her arm around his waist so he could still feel her hold on him while he turned the faucet on, two fingers held beneath the running water until it turned from freezing to a lukewarm. The cup made a strange, unfamiliar sort of sound as it filled up in their silence, and he turned on the spot to hand it to her.

"I've had nightmares too." he stated simply. "It's not easy to get over it. You wake up and you forget what's real and what's not." Yukito leaned his forehead on hers and met her eyes solemnly. "Right?"

~~~

Erin Spenser

"I know," she muttered. "I know. But it was so bad..." She felt him hold her tighter-- did he know just how much that helped? "Let me come with you to get water." She shifted her position a little to get up. "I feel dizzy now, Yukito. I sat up too fast..." Actually, it kind of felt like her body wanted her to faint. The floor tilted underneath her and she could hear her heartbeat in her ears, and even though she wasn't shaking so much now, Erin felt like someone had just sapped all the energy from her. She was pretty sure the only things keeping her up were her own stubbornness and Yukito keeping her next to him.

"It's okay. Just take it slow." Together they made it into the kitchen, her exhausted body's demand for rest hitting her like a wall that she forced herself to ignore repeatedly. And she couldn't have described how grateful she was that Yukito didn't let go of her, even as he managed to get some water for her one-handed. When he handed it to her, she took it, and wanted to say 'thank you', but her tongue was too heavy and the cup was already at her lips anyway. Thankfully, since the water silenced the burning in her throat. She leaned back against the kitchen counter, silently ordering her weak knees to cooperate.

"I've had nightmares too," Yukito told her plainly as she slowly sipped at the water. "It's not easy to get over it. You wake up and you forget what's real and what's not." As he talked, Erin had started thinking. She couldn't pinpoint the exact moment when she wok up, and she didn't really remember coming over to his home, because it had still felt like part of the dream. And even though she knew without a shadow of a doubt that she was awake and that Yukito would be fine, the irrational fear of a premonition or a warning still sent jolts down her neck. Yukito leaned his forehead on hers and met her eyes solemnly. "Right?"

Erin's gaze shifted away at the truth in his words. "I feel so stupid," she half-whispered, setting down the nearly full glass a little carelessly on the counter. "It's just a stupid dream, pieces of memories manipulated to occupy your brain, I know that!" The words were rushed as another sob clogged her throat. She sunk down to sit on the floor again. "So stupid," she hissed the chastisement to herself, fighting off the exhaustion.

~~~

Yukito Maki

"I've had nightmares too," Yukito told her plainly as she slowly sipped at the water. The sentence didn't quite convey all that it entailed. It didn't account for the weeks and weeks that morphed into paranoid months of no sleep for anyone in the Maki household. If you called dark hotels rooms a household. "It's not easy to get over it. You wake up and you forget what's real and what's not." He saw her eyes start to glaze over, and to keep her mentally with him he leaned forward and touched his forehead to hers, staring into his reflection in her eyes. "Right?"

Her line of sight averted from his face, which was an accomplishment, seeing as he was so close. "I feel so stupid," she half-whispered, setting down the nearly full glass a little carelessly on the counter. "It's just a stupid dream, pieces of memories manipulated to occupy your brain, I know that!" His expression didn't change much as she sunk to the floor in front of him. He let her go, following after her slowly. Crouching in front of her, he just stared at her face, listening as her voice sounded increasingly less like the Erin he knew. "So stupid,"

"It's not."

He leaned a little closer, tilting his head down to try and catch her gaze again. "It's not. It's not stupid. It's not easy. It's everything you're afraid of. And it keeps replaying in your head but you push it aside until your mind slaps you in the face with it." He brushed her hair away from her face, making a silent decision to wait here on the floor with her until she was ready to get up and keep going, continuing being Erin. "It was just a dream. But it's not stupid." He sighed. "Your dad can tell you what it is psychologically all he wants, but it doesn't mean it's stupid. It means you're human, just like me."

Yukito held his arms out to her. "Come here..."

~~~

Erin Spenser

"So stupid," she muttered to herself in chastisement, forgetting for a moment that Yukito could hear her.

"It's not." She couldn't help but jump a little at finding him crouched down low in front of her. When had he done that? She blinked heavily, casting a glare at the blackened floor. "Yes, it is," she objected, words muted by lips that didn't want to move enough.

"It's not. It's not stupid. It's not easy. It's everything you're afraid of. And it keeps replaying in your head but you push it aside until your mind slaps you in the face with it." He brushed her hair away from her face, the motion making Erin shift for some reason, and she'd shifted to look up at him, still with scared eyes that she didn't want to keep anymore. It was just like he said. "It was just a dream. But it's not stupid." He sighed. "Your dad can tell you what it is psychologically all he wants, but it doesn't mean it's stupid. It means you're human, just like me."

Erin wanted to shake her head, but she was already too dizzy, and she didn't want to fall, even if she was sitting down. "No, that's why, because it's not real it shouldn't matter because I know it's not real so it shouldn't matter, because you're supposed to control them because they're in your head and not someone else's so it shouldn't matter." The words were a jumble, recited and rushed and repeated a little out of whack. And she didn't believe a word of them.

Yukito held his arms out to her. "Come here..."

Immediately Erin leaned forward into his embrace, holding onto him for dear life, her head against his chest. After a moment, when she found her voice again, Erin heard herself saying, "I don't feel good... I'm really lightheaded and stuff... sorry..." She still held close to him.

~~~

Erin Spenser

Despite her solid hold on Yukito and feeling him against her, it still felt like she was moving, like the apartment was on a ship at sea. "I don't feel good... I'm really lightheaded and stuff... sorry..."

She felt his kiss on her head, reassurance that went beyond words. She preferred it that way. His hand brushed against her hair. "Just breathe." She took him literally, focusing on taking deep breaths, though the rush of oxygen didn't help matters. One long inhale quivered and shuddered with the remnants of a cry as Erin ignored her body's cries of exhaustion. She was only just now blinking without fighting it-- she didn't want to give herself an excuse to see anything like that again.

"Erin?" Yukito voiced, and it was like he'd read her thoughts. Or noticed what she was doing. "It's okay to go back to sleep. I promise."

The words woke Erin with alarm, and she sat up more in earnestness. "No, don't make me leave you!" she exclaimed in haste, automatically clinging tighter, feeling the whelp in her throat from another urge of tears. "Please," she whispered, her voice sounding so pathetic in her ears.

~~~

Yukito Maki

He kissed her forehead, trying to reassure her without using the wrong words. He was so bad with words. But it felt like there wasn't enough being said between them, so he was constantly caught between saying too much and screwing it all up. Yukito gently ran his hands through her hair, pushing it away from her face and hoping it calmed her like it had always calmed him. "Just breathe."

Erin took in several deep breaths and released them. He felt her still trembling beneath his hands. A sudden idea struck him; this must have been what he was like when he had woken up from his nightmares. He could have trembled like this, and he had probably been unreasonably afraid and desperate. But he hadn't pulled his mother closer, or anyone else. He had run away, afraid of everything and everyone. It had taken his mother hours sometimes to get him to look her in the eyes and actually see her. Yukito never wanted that for Erin - it was huge that she had come to him and said something. He looked down at her with wide eyes.

"Erin? It's okay to go back to sleep. I promise." You shouldn't have to sit alone in your room all night hoping you won't see it again, that you won't feel that way again.

She completely shocked him when she sat up, her eyes full of fear. Erin clung to him as if he had just promised he would jump off a nearby cliff if she asked. Or if he had told her scorpions were dropping from the ceiling. "No, don't make me leave you!" she exclaimed. She clung to his shirt with anxiety in every quiver of her hands, her voice tense and her eyes lost. "Please," she whispered.

Yukito stared at her blankly, then his lips twitched up into a smile made of nervousness. "Erin...you're not leaving me. Not really." He took hold of her shoulders, then ran one of his hands down the length of her arm to gently pull at her fingers digging into his shirt. "It's okay...I'm serious. You won't dream that again. Not tonight." He took a breath, "Not again. Because it's not. Real."

He smiled at her, tilting his head to the side. "Don't you remember, when I had the flu? You dream about me more than I dreamt about you, and I felt bad about that. Good or bad dreams, I want to see you in my sleep." He kissed her lips, lingering to breathe into her mouth, to send her breath back to her. "Think of all the good dreams, Erin. Don't I make you feel better in those dreams? You won't take those away, will you? Good comes with bad." He chuckled, "Our whole relationship proves that. We have ups and downs, and sometimes...it's so..." his voice broke, and he tried to clear it to choke down the lump in his throat but it didn't work. "It's so bad, there aren't words for it. But we can't lose to the bad times. We just can't. You have to go back to sleep, Erin. So you can have good times, too. Please?"

He ran his hand through her hair again, his eyes pleading with her as well as his words. "You don't have to leave me, I'm right here, waiting in the real world for you to wake up. With good and bad things, but mostly...I hope mostly good." He pulled her closer into a hug, laying her head against his shoulder. "You have to go back to sleep sometime, Erin. It's better to face it now. I'll be right here with you. It's okay to dream, because it's not real."

~~~

Erin Spenser

"Erin?" Yukito said. "It's okay to go back to sleep. I promise."

Thinking he was sending her back home and away from him, Erin clung closer to him in desperate objection. "No, don't make me leave you!" Her fingers twisted tight around the cloth of his shirt. "Please," she added in a pleading whisper.

He smiled at her, she not knowing what that smile meant. She felt no reason to smile. She probably missed something again. Stupid. "Erin...you're not leaving me. Not really." He took hold of her shoulders, then ran one of his hands down the length of her arm to gently pull at her fingers digging into his shirt. Automatically she resisted, but her exhaustion lost to Yukito. "No," she muttered.

"It's okay...I'm serious. You won't dream that again. Not tonight." But how do you know? How do you know what I will and won't see? How can you promise me that? Yukito, I'm still scared... "Not again. Because it's not. Real."

"I know," Erin moaned, so frustrated with herself for not being able to just let go and move on. In fact, she immediately had reverted to hugging him again, even if it wasn't half as tight and desperate.

He smiled at her, tilting his head to the side. "Don't you remember, when I had the flu? You dream about me more than I dreamt about you, and I felt bad about that. Good or bad dreams, I want to see you in my sleep." Erin didn't have time to form any kind of response, because surprisingly, Yukito kissed her lips, lingering to breathe into her mouth, bringing her back to reality a bit more-- odd, since it usually had the opposite effect... "Think of all the good dreams, Erin. Don't I make you feel better in those dreams? You won't take those away, will you? Good comes with bad." He chuckled, and Erin realized he hadn't been talking about sending her home, but about getting her to just sleep again. If she hadn't felt so.... whatever it was... she would have found the misunderstanding to be funny. "Our whole relationship proves that. We have ups and downs, and sometimes...it's so... It's so bad, there aren't words for it. But we can't lose to the bad times. We just can't. You have to go back to sleep, Erin. So you can have good times, too. Please?"

She looked at him intently, the shadows covering so much of his face in the night. "Yuyukun, you're... you're not...?" The words fell out with nothing to follow them. In fact, she wasn't sure what she was even trying to say. I feel so.. worn down...

He ran his hand through her hair again. "You don't have to leave me, I'm right here, waiting in the real world for you to wake up. With good and bad things, but mostly...I hope mostly good." He pulled her closer into a hug, laying her head against his shoulder, the simple actions more comforting and reassuring than anything he could think of to say. Just hold me and let me hear your voice and I'll be okay. "You have to go back to sleep sometime, Erin. It's better to face it now. I'll be right here with you. It's okay to dream, because it's not real."

"You're not gonna make me go back home?" Erin asked, tone subdued, knowing how much of a kid she sounded but unable to really do anything about that now. She shifted into a more comfortable position by him, still holding her arms around him securely. "I'm sorry," she muttered once more.

~~~

Yukito Maki

He smiled at her, tilting his head to the side. "Don't you remember, when I had the flu? You dream about me more than I dreamt about you, and I felt bad about that. Good or bad dreams, I want to see you in my sleep." Yukito kissed her lips, lingering to breathe into her mouth, hoping to bring her back to life again with the little gesture. Then he proceeded to get progressively cornier with every sentence. "Think of all the good dreams, Erin. Don't I make you feel better in those dreams? You won't take those away, will you? Good comes with bad. Our whole relationship proves that. We have ups and downs, and sometimes...it's so... It's so bad, there aren't words for it. But we can't lose to the bad times. We just can't. You have to go back to sleep, Erin. So you can have good times, too. Please?"

She looked at him strangely, "Yuyukun, you're... you're not...?"

He ran his hand through her hair again, trying to ignore the usage of the stupid nickname at the moment. He really had to find a way to properly get back at her for using that one. "You don't have to leave me, I'm right here, waiting in the real world for you to wake up. With good and bad things, but mostly...I hope mostly good." He cuddled her closer, feeling her relax a little into the hold. "You have to go back to sleep sometime, Erin. It's better to face it now. I'll be right here with you. It's okay to dream, because it's not real."

"You're not gonna make me go back home?" Erin asked, tone subdued, like she was afraid. He arched an eyebrow, his expression twisted in confusion. "What?" She shifted into a more comfortable position by him, still holding her arms around him securely. "I'm sorry,"

"Stop being sorry for it, Erin. You didn't do anything wrong..." He paused for a beat, "And of course I'm not gonna make you go back home. I hate when you have to leave me..." He settled himself precariously with his back leaning against the cupboards beneath the sink, careful not to shift too much in case she pushed away. He was making himself comfortable, expecting her to sleep soon and wanting to stay right here. "You can stay whenever and for as long as you need. In fact, the longer the better, for me..." He smiled. "I know it's cheesy, but I loved waking up with you. Even if you were suffering from a really bad hangover last time."

~~~

Erin Spenser

"You have to go back to sleep sometime, Erin. It's better to face it now. I'll be right here with you. It's okay to dream, because it's not real," he reassured her, holding her closely.

"You're not gonna make me go back home?" she heard herself asking timidly.

"What?"

She shifted into a more comfortable position by him, still holding her arms around him securely. He hadn't planned on making her leave, and that felt really... good... "I'm sorry," she muttered, recounting the many ways she had disrupted his night and made herself look so bad in front of him, and had let herself become so worked up that it made her sick. He did not need that.

"Stop being sorry for it, Erin. You didn't do anything wrong..." Yukito paused for a beat and when didn't respond he continued, "And of course I'm not gonna make you go back home. I hate when you have to leave me..." He shifted a little, and Erin followed suit, unwilling to separate herself from him now. "Good, 'cause I'm not goin' anywhere," she mumbled, allowing his arms around her to comfort her, together with his words. "You can stay whenever and for as long as you need. In fact, the longer the better, for me..." He smiled. "I know it's cheesy, but I loved waking up with you. Even if you were suffering from a really bad hangover last time."

She smiled too, sleepily, snuggling next to him comfortably. Don't make me move, I like it here and I'm too tired to move anywhere else. "That part wasn't fun... but waking up with you, I liked that a lot... I'm so dizzy..." Her tongue felt so heavy, and her eyes were closed, but she didn't want to give her mind the chance to think that he wasn't there so it would try to scare her again. So she made herself remind him, "Keep talking to me, kareshi.."

~~~

Yukito Maki


"And of course I'm not gonna make you go back home. I hate when you have to leave me..." He shifted to a more comfortable position, afraid she would sit up when he did so. But fortunately, she just moved with him, as eager to stay close as he was to keep her close.

"Good, 'cause I'm not goin' anywhere," she mumbled endearingly. He smiled at her. I'm glad.

"You can stay whenever and for as long as you need. In fact, the longer the better, for me..." He smiled. "I know it's cheesy, but I loved waking up with you. Even if you were suffering from a really bad hangover last time."

She smiled too, sleepily, snuggling next to him. "That part wasn't fun... but waking up with you, I liked that a lot... I'm so dizzy..." He didn't say anything for awhile, thinking back to that morning, and the mornings following. Her voice floated up to him in a heavy tone, and he could almost feel her starting to drift off again. "Keep talking to me, kareshi.."

He sighed, leaning his head back against the counter. There were those strange moments when he was trying to piece together his thoughts into the right words, but when he spoke he kept rambling, in the way she did that he loved. He didn't let himself stop because he wanted to help her feel better, and to help her go to sleep. If she wanted her to keep talking, he wanted to try and do that. “I remember first coming here. I didn't want to know anybody. I hated everything out here, really. I knew what to expect, most of the time – that people here don't bow to each other, they're more straight-forward about stuff, more individual-crazy... - but I didn't expect to like it here. I dunno why. I keep thinking back on it and it doesn't really make sense. Maybe I thought I'd stand out too much – I always stand out. People just seem to set me in my own box and stare at me through the glass all the time, or they try so hard to get me in their group, thinking it's so much better than being left alone.” He frowned, “I wanted to be left alone. So it doesn't make any sense why I came over to knock on your door. It seemed so easy and normal to do, to walk over there and say hello to you as if we'd known each other forever, but it wasn't like me at all. I've been thinking about that a lot – when we first knew each other. I always act differently around you and I couldn't put my finger on it why that was. It's still that way – Aidousan said it when we first talked to him together over my phone. He said something like how I'd been 'so talky' or something similar...in really, really bad English.” Yukito punctuated the sentence with a little chuckle, wiggling his foot a little so as to not upset Erin's position, but to keep his foot awake. It was starting to tingle a little. “You made me smile more than anyone, and you make me tell you more and you it's not because you actually do anything, really. You're just there, and you're just always so happy, even if you're willing to take the serious stuff in stride, and you're always yourself in a way no one else is. You made me laugh harder than anyone else can make me, from the first day we met, and I didn't notice it until way after you did. You kissed me and I really didn't expect it. So it's weird. I think I'm just really stupid sometimes. But you knew. Somehow, I guess...” he paused. He'd been talking for quite some time in a quiet, slow way. He looked down at Erin, then just to make sure whether she was asleep or not, he said the exact same thing but in Japanese, sure she would react if she was awake to hear him switch languages on her. He smirked. “I love you.”

~~~

Erin Spenser

"Keep talking to me, kareshi..." she requested with a heavy tongue, allowing him to comfort her.

She felt his sigh more than heard it, the exhale making her sink just a little lower until he breathed in again, to talk to her. Erin kept her arms around him, looser now than they had been before, though her fingers were still intertwined with his shirt. Even though a fear still taunted the back of her mind, she knew it would be okay, because she wouldn't even need to open her eyes to know he was there, breathing beside her, keeping her. “I remember first coming here. I didn't want to know anybody. I hated everything out here, really. I knew what to expect, most of the time – that people here don't bow to each other, they're more straight-forward about stuff, more individual-crazy...

Despite how much she relished the moments when he talked, and how she wanted to remember everything he was sharing with her now, the frantic workout she had given her body had left Erin swallowed in fatigue. And coupled with the strong vertigo, she couldn't keep herself from drifting off a bit from his words, hearing the sounds of his voice more than the meaning of his speech.

"Maybe I thought I'd stand out too much – I always stand out...."

You do stand out. That's why I liked you as soon as I saw you... I stand out, too. I like standing out...

“...Seemed so easy and normal to do, to walk over there and say hello to you as if we'd known each other forever, but it wasn't like me at all. I've been thinking about that a lot – when we first knew each other..."

Maybe we did know each other forever.

He was still talking to her when at some point she fell completely into sleep, nestled against him as though it was second nature. She didn't dream any more, or if she did, it was nothing memorable the next time Erin woke up.

~~~

Yukito Maki

Despite his complete loyalty to staying with Erin the whole night, the kitchen floor was less than comfortable. He ended up not sleeping most of the night, just sitting still with his head pressed against the cupboards, his eyelids like iron and his mind drifting dully. When he did sleep, it was only lightly, and neither he nor Erin moved more than a muscle or two the entire time. Whenever his legs started to cramp he would focus on the feeling of her arms around him, loosened but still needy, and the sensation of her staying so close for so long.

Light began to sneak across the kitchen, wiping away the dark and shadow bits of the room. Yukito let out a sigh moments before his mother appeared. She stared at them quietly for a few moments, then pointedly avoided them as she made her morning coffee. Yukito wondered what her parents were gonna think of Erin staying overnight at his house again. Were they gonna be all upset like last time? His mother hadn't even really responded at all to either situation. He had no idea what was going through her mind about it, and it irritated him the more he thought about it. Erin seemed confused, too. He could see her hesitations around his mother, and he felt the awkwardness of the situation when all three of them were near. But what could he do about it?

His mother left for work soon afterward. He sat very still, trying to remember everything that had been said the night before. Something Erin had said was too blurry in his mind to remember, and it irritated him, so he kept replaying the scene in his head, seeing the panic in her eyes as her lips moved, but the words didn't come.

He sensed Erin was waking up, and he leaned over to peer into her face, his head tilted to the side. "Ohayou..." he whispered, then smiled. "Morning."

~~~

Erin Spenser

The light was what woke her up. The light, and then the coldness. Normally Erin buried herself under a comforter and some fleece blankets (even the comforter during the summer months wasn't enough sometimes), but now she was on a cold floor completely exposed, and she learned that morning that Yukito wasn't very good at producing tons of warmth for her, either.

But it really didn't matter all that much. The cold was a cheap price compared to how much she coveted sleeping and waking beside him. Erin felt him breathing beside her, could smell him before she opened her eyes. The terror from last night seemed so far away now, even if it was only a few hours. She let out an incoherent groan as she tried to ignore the sun a little longer. No, go away, I want to stay here with my love... even if I'm freezing now and not as comfortable anymore... But sleep had left her, and slowly Erin blinked into the morning.

"Ohayou..." he whispered, then smiled. Erin smiled back. "Whassat," she muttered, not catching what he'd said. Too early to make me translate stuff, even if I do think it sounds better than English... especially from you....

"Morning."

"Mmm..." She pulled back from him, stretching her arms above her head, eyes shut tight in the effort. "Mornin' to you, too..." Glancing around her, it finally hit Erin that she hadn't just gone to sleep on the floor, but stayed there. "I slept on the floor?" She looked back over at Yukito and smiled, joking with him. "At least I got a bed last time." There was only a pause between the statement and her giggles. Then a more serious, "I need to get home before they realize I'm not there..."

~~~

To be Con't

[Elda Forever]

Yukito Maki

"Ohayou..." he whispered, then smiled.

Erin smiled back, a half-asleep, half-awake look that made him want to laugh. "Whassat," she muttered, so he translated for her.

"Morning." I like saying good morning to you while it's still really morning. Even if I don't like all the reasons you ended up on my doorstep hours ago.

"Mmm..." She pulled back from him, making him realize how chilly it was, as she stretched her arms above her head, eyes shut tight in the effort. "Mornin' to you, too..." She looked around the kitchen as if for the first time. "I slept on the floor?" She looked back over at Yukito and smiled, joking with him. "At least I got a bed last time."

"What? I'm not a good mattress?" he muttered, stretched his back and frowning with the screams of protest from most of his parts. Erin giggled.

"I need to get home before they realize I'm not there..."

"Yeah, I was just thinking that..." he paused, watching herwith a solemn expression - maybe with a bit of a pouting look - then flashed over to pulled her back into his arms in a crooked sort of hug. "But I don't want you to." His little efforts, what with the lack of sleep and all, were cut off abruptly by a painful hiss that escaped through his lips. "Gah...my foot...." It had fallen asleep hours before, but he hadn't realized just how determined it was to remain so until he shifted. "Ouch...that never made logical sense to me...feet falling asleep...it's not like they have a freaking' conscious state anyway..." He begrudingly stood up like he was thirty years older than actuality, flexing his foot to relieve him of the pain. "I would've taken us both to the bed, but I didn't want to wake you..." You were sleeping so peacefully, I didn't want to ruin that.. "I say, 'next time, screw it'."

~~~

Erin Spenser

Dropping her arms by her sides after their long stretch, Erin realized the implications of waking up on the chilly tile. "I slept on the floor?" She looked over at Yukito with a smile. "At least I got a bed last time," she teased.

"What? I'm not a good mattress?" Yukito muttered, and Erin laughed a little. "Where's my blanket and pillow then, mattress-kareshi?"

The morning light shined in her eyes, reminding her of the time, and where she was supposed to be. "I need to get home before they realize I'm not there..."

"Yeah, I was just thinking that..." responded Yukito pensively, then out of nowhere Erin found herself being pulled into his arms. She beamed at his actions, laughing silently. "But I don't want you to." She was just opening her mouth to tell him that she didn't want to go, either, even though she thought it was sweet of him to say so, but Yukito made a sudden noise, halting Erin and making her tense up at the sound. "What--!"

"Gah... my foot..."

She exhaled, brow furrowing at his making her worry over a foot. It hadn't been that long since her dream, anyway... "Your foot?"

"Ouch...that never made logical sense to me...feet falling asleep...it's not like they have a freaking' conscious state anyway..."

She didn't respond, only giving him a look for startling her like that and then talking about a foot.

He got up from his spot slowly, gingerly, finally telling her, "I would've taken us both to the bed, but I didn't want to wake you..."

That made her smile again. "Aww."

"I say, 'next time, screw it'."

She looked at him curiously. "Screw what?" Erin shifted position, sitting back and crossing her legs Indian-style on the floor. I'm cold... Goosebumps peppered her skin.

"Uh... Yukito..." She bit her lip, trying to think of the least uncomfortable way to ask. Then sh gave up on it, dropping her head so that the heels of her hands were on her forehead, fingertips in her hair. "I can't believe I made myself sick over a stupid dream... I'm really sorry, Yukito! What do you want me to do?"

~~~

Yukito Maki

He admitted begrudingly that he knew she had to go home, then he leapt over and pulled her closer into a sudden, impatient, forceful hug that made her smile. "But I don't want you to." Then a quick flash of pain shot up the length of his foot, demanding immediate attention.

Erin tensed, but he didn't realize the extent of her concern until he heard it in her voice. "What--!"

"Gah... my foot..." He grimaced, reaching down to poke it irritably.

"Your foot?" She sounded... he wasn't sure. It wasn't quite mad, but it wasn't alright, either. He looked up at her and wiggled his bare toes, noticing how cold they were.

"Ouch...that never made logical sense to me...feet falling asleep...it's not like they have a freaking' conscious state anyway..." He stood up slowly, then met her eyes and saw that expression again. "Sorry..." he mumbled, though he almost laughed since he wasn't even sure what he was sorry for. Maybe it was too early for him to be talking to her. "I would've taken us both to the bed, but I didn't want to wake you..."

That made her smile again. In his mind he high-fived himself, though he was still clueless as to what had just transpired. "Aww."

'Awww'? What the heck? Am I puppy now or something? You say 'Aww' when you see a cute dog, not when your boyfriend says you were sleeping like a log. What's cute about that? I don't think I'll ever really understand you...

"I say, 'next time, screw it'."

She looked at him curiously. "Screw what?" He was sensing another weird look, so he had to cover quickly. But he was a bad liar, so he decided it was best to stick closely to the truth. Even if it was an evasive little line. And even if it resulted in 'Awww's...

"Uh...screw sleeping on the floor so you don't have to move an inch, I guess. I think I'll pick you up and carry you. You'll probably just fall back asleep anyways, right?" He felt his words choke themselves down before he could add how that wouldn't have been possible for him to do the previous night, anyways, so the point was moot. He was afraid she would go back to sleep and have nightmares again. It was as if in his mind, there was a certain setting for it, and somehow he had talked to her to sleep and that kept the awful images in her head away. If he had disturbed her, if he had taken her - of all places - into a room he hated and needed, into a room she didn't know well, it would have ruined the delicate state things had been in. He turned from her as his expression darkened, searching for some nourishment to keep his hands busy. Ah...a cola...perfect breakfast food.

"Uh... Yukito..." He turned to look at her and found her looking exasperated, her face buried in her hands and her fingertips entwined in her long, messy, pretty, haphazard morning hair. "I can't believe I made myself sick over a stupid dream... I'm really sorry, Yukito! What do you want me to do?"

"Eh..." he paused, midway between opening the cola and not as he watched her, unsure of what to say. "Bring a blanket next time?" He offered. Lame. Yukito tilted his head to smile a little at her. "Erin, it's alright. It happens. I've gotten sick like that, too, and..." He let his voice drop off abruptly, thinking immediately afterwards that he should not have added that. Stupid. Like that makes it any better. He opened the cola and just as quickly set it back on the counter without drinking any of it. "Did you... are you come back over tonight?"

~~~

Erin Spenser

"I say, 'next time, screw it'."

She looked at Yukito curiously. "Screw what?"

"Uh...screw sleeping on the floor so you don't have to move an inch, I guess. I think I'll pick you up and carry you. You'll probably just fall back asleep anyways, right?"

"Probably," she agreed, trailing off the word in a demure laugh. If there's a next time... I really want there to be one... is that okay? You might not want that, though.... is it one of the things you don't want? I don't want to make you feel like that again, I really, really don't even if it's something I want. I don't want to make you have to pull away from me.... but if you wanted me here again, it would be totally okay with me... Really!

Yukito had gotten up and was fishing through the kitchen for sustenance. Erin watched him for only a moment before something from the night before resurfaced. "Uh.. Yukito..." The embarrassing thoughts made her drop her face into her hands, frustrated at how to get the right words out. Right or not, soon they burst: "I can't believe I made myself sick over a stupid dream... I'm really sorry, Yukito! What do you want me to do?"

"Eh... Bring a blanket next time?"

That earned Yukito another confused look from the disheveled girl on the floor. He smiled at her, explaining, "Erin, it's alright. It happens. I've gotten sick like that, too, and..." Yukito's sudden halt didn't faze Erin, who only knew that that meant she wasn't some kind of anomaly or drama queen for letting a figment of her imagination get to her so badly. "Really?" she found herself asking, even though she knew it was true-- why would he lie about that? Her anxious expression melted into relief. "That makes it a little better then... still wish you didn't see me though..." Her face fell a little with the phrase, until she turned it into a more humorous observation. "You always get to see me at the most non-flattering times, you know that? I don't think it's really fair."

Yukito put down the coke that he'd dug out of the woodwork. Ugh... how can you drink that so early in the morning? "Did you... are you come back over tonight?"

Erin's eyes lit up with pleasant surprise. "You want me to?" she asked, wondering briefly if Yukito had somehow figured out what she'd been thinking earlier. She scrambled to her feet, ignoring the headache that was now announcing its presence once more, and slid over to Yukito's side, wrapping him in a hug, beaming at him elatedly. "I can totally come back tonight!! I can just say I'm over at Cassie's or something," she reasoned dismissively. After a brief and excited kiss on his cheek, Erin added, "But I gotta get home real quick before they notice I'm gone, 'cause I cannot think how I'd get outta this one."

~~~

Yukito Maki

"I can't believe I made myself sick over a stupid dream... I'm really sorry, Yukito! What do you want me to do?"

He wasn't sure how to respond to that one, and he couldn't busy himself forever with his coke. All he could think of was that she had slept on a cold floor in his lap because of what she'd seen, and that sort of a situation was too familiar to him, too wrong for Erin. "Eh... Bring a blanket next time?"

That earned Yukito another confused look. This was a more adorable one, making him smile as he started explaining, "Erin, it's alright. It happens. I've gotten sick like that, too, and..." The sentence was dropped. But Erin didn't seem to care.

"Really?" She sounded almost happy to hear it. "That makes it a little better then... still wish you didn't see me though..." His gaze dropped to the counter. It's not like I could've just left or something. What did you want me to do? "You always get to see me at the most non-flattering times, you know that? I don't think it's really fair."

"I don't think you've topped my flu yet, even with a drunken stupor and a nightmare," he countered automatically. I couldn't have left you. You were holding onto my shirt like a lifeline when you fell asleep. Yukito put down the coke "Did you... can you come back over tonight?"

Erin's eyes lit up with pleasant surprise. "You want me to?" He turned to send her a look of utter disbelief and found her scrambling to her feet. Her arms reached out to embrace him and her face was befitting to her rare nickname.

"Duh," he mumbled briefly before she answered his question at last.

"I can totally come back tonight!! I can just say I'm over at Cassie's or something," she reasoned dismissively. After a brief and excited kiss on his cheek, Erin added, "But I gotta get home real quick before they notice I'm gone, 'cause I cannot think how I'd get outta this one."
He smirked crookedly, his arms entwined around her. "I don't even get five minutes, huh? I guess I'll just have to wait for tonight." He sighed, looked into her eyes for a long moment, then added, "You know I'll be worried, right?"

~~~

Erin Spenser

"You always get to see me at the most non-flattering times, you know that? I don't think it's really fair," Erin concluded, half-joking.

Yukito countered easily. "I don't think you've topped my flu yet, even with a drunken stupor and a nightmare."

Erin's mouth dropped open in mocked protest. "I was not that bad," she insisted, retorting to his "stupor" comment. "I remember the important parts and everything! So there." Erin smiled at him smugly, well aware of the ridiculousness of her argument. She just wanted to lighten things a bit-- things felt too serious, and she had enough of that last night-- or early this morning, or..whichever.

"Did you... can you come back over tonight?"

"You want me to?" More thoroughly awakened now that he'd said that, Erin jumped up to hug him excitedly."Duh," he mumbled briefly as Erin plowed on with her own thoughts. "I can totally come back tonight!! I can just say I'm over at Cassie's or something." After a brief and excited kiss on his cheek, she added, "But I gotta get home real quick before they notice I'm gone, 'cause I cannot think how I'd get outta this one."

He smirked crookedly, his arms entwined around her. "I don't even get five minutes, huh? I guess I'll just have to wait for tonight."

Erin tilted her head upwards, her nose just touching his barely, before she responded with a light kiss on his lips. Thank you. I'm glad you love my quirks instead of just deal with them... that's really nice... And if there's no nightmares involved again, I'd like to do this every night. But not sleeping on tile... I can't believe your mom won't even care... I really like how your name sounds with mine... Have you thought about that?

Yukito broke her out of her reverie. "You know I'll be worried, right?"

"What? Oh-- wait, worried? Why?" She kissed his cheek once more. "I'll be fine now, really. You be okay, too." She released one arm from him and pointed her index finger at him in an attempt to be authoritative. "Okay, I really do need to get now, otherwise I have nooo idea what I'll do..."

~~~

Yukito Maki

Erin's mouth dropped open in mocked protest when he claimed her drunken stupor hadn't topped his bout of flu. After all, he hadn't thrown up just once from that. He still couldn't look at most milk products without cringing. "I was not that bad." She defended her evening out with alcohol with an aghast expression. "I remember the important parts and everything! So there." Erin smiled at him smugly. He smirked down at the counter. Perhaps she had, perhaps she just thought she had. He'd sort of liked the way she'd almost glued herself to him once they'd gotten back to his car. Yukito had been grateful a million times he had buckled her seat belt in. Who knew what would have happened if she'd thrown herself at him while he was driving a dark, busy street while she was drunk and he was still sore from his 'argument' with Aidousan? It had been a busy evening. But they'd ended up together. They'd talked. Drunk or not, Erin had really been with him that night for the first time in a long, long time.

"Did you... can you come back over tonight?" he mumbled the question more than anything, and she leapt on the idea.

She promised to come back that evening, kissing him before adding, "But I gotta get home real quick before they notice I'm gone, 'cause I cannot think how I'd get outta this one."

He smirked crookedly, his arms entwined around her. "I don't even get five minutes, huh? I guess I'll just have to wait for tonight." The growing light seemed drawn to her magnetic eyes, captured there and spiraling as she beamed up at him. Her face lifted up towards him, her nose just brushing his with a feather-light touch, and he moved a little closer to meet her lips. Slowly, a rush through his head that made his chest fill and a smile permanently curve his lips, he added, "You know I'll be worried, right?"

"What? Oh-- wait, worried? Why?" She kissed his cheek once more. The only thing he could figure from the broken sentences was that kissing him was a good distraction. This was confirmed in his head at last, and he filed it for future use. He didn't answer her question, though, sure it was a little obvious. The reason for her being over at his house in the first place and all. She clued in. "I'll be fine now, really. You be okay, too." She released one arm from him and pointed her index finger at him. "Okay, I really do need to get now, otherwise I have nooo idea what I'll do..."

He frowned, his lips pouting since he knew any further attempts at delay would be met with - regrettably - only one end. "Fine," he sighed the word out somehow, "I'll see you later." His hand reached out to grab hers. Stop, for just one moment. "And Erin?" A beat. "I love you."

~~~

Erin Spenser

"You know I'll be worried, right?"

"What? Oh-- wait, worried? Why?" She kissed his cheek once more. "I'll be fine now, really. You be okay, too," Erin added, pointing authoritatively at him."Okay, I really do need to get now, otherwise I have nooo idea what I'll do..." Which couldn't be more true-- she couldn't think of a decent way to worm out of it, and she was just hoping luck favored her as she tried to sneak back home.

Yukito's face fell, making her feel even worse about leaving and pushing her chances higher of being found out. C'mon, Yukito, I'll be back soon, I will!

"Fine," he said, exhaling the word out in a sigh. "I'll see you later."

Erin nodded, giving him an encouraging smile. I love that you don't want me to go... I thought sometimes that it was just me that felt like that. "I'm gonna be back soon, I promise." She started to pull away until Yukito captured her hand once more. "And Erin?"

"Hmm?"

"I love you."

She smiled softly. "I love you, too, Yukito." Let's keep it this way... without the bad dreams, okay? A brief kiss against his cheek before adding with finality, "Okay, I'll be back later, I promise. Ohayo!" she chirped, mixing up the words for 'good morning' and 'good bye' without noticing as she headed out the apartment's door.

Once home, fate decided to be nice to her, and she was able to slide back into her room without getting the fifth degree. Thank you! Back in bed, Erin wrapped herself up in the blankets, relishing the warmth and smiling as she thought about returning back to him later, sans nightmare. They were pretty weird, comparatively-- there was a whole other meaning for most couples when they spent the night or "slept" together. They were different, and it was actually kind of nice. She liked just being next to him and sharing their time together. Erin knew now that he wasn't going to be the kind of person to push, that when he wanted her to stay with him, that it was honestly not for anything besides just being with her. And it was nice to have that assurance. But at the same time in the back of her mind, Erin had to wonder, would he ever feel up to more? If they ever went farther than just dating, if they ever moved onto other titles.... fiance, our spouse.... they couldn't just sleep next to each other forever.... It made her wonder, seriously, "what if...?"

Erin's gone for now.

~~~

Yukito Maki

He finally gave in with a sigh, deciding to release her for now in order to claim her later. They could only hope her parents weren't waiting in all preparedness for another grounding and lecture sequence. He wanted her to come back. Erin nodded, giving him an encouraging smile. "I'm gonna be back soon, I promise." She started to pull away until Yukito captured her hand once more, delaying her for just a moment longer.

"And Erin?"

"Hmm?"

"I love you."

She smiled softly. Like she really understood. "I love you, too, Yukito." He was lucky enough to get a kiss on his cheek to seal the agreement. "Okay, I'll be back later, I promise. Ohayo!"

Yukito smirked at that, waving as she vanished through the door, all smiles and cheer. He turned from the door to stare at his untouched can of cola, the smile still lingering on his face. He liked how Erin knew when not to push, and when she should push for both their sakes. He liked how she always tried to take the world on in her own way, trying to get through it and still be happy as much as she could.

And he liked it when she mixed up her Japanese even more than when she got it right.

It didn't take him long to find his bed again, Chica sending him a bitter look for not returning hours earlier to warm the bed for her. He pushed her aside gently before flopping down on the blankets, out in seconds.

Yukito and Erin are done heeeeere!