Aisle was seated in her room, staring at the ledger from her father's company. She had been gone for four long weeks now and Aisle had never imagined she would stay this long without seeing him. But she couldn't say that she had nothing better to think of than her father's absence in her life. The grey clothes on her bed were probably the only thing that Aisle had been thinking about these past few weeks. She had acquired another reminder in her life. But this one was a good one. It was a reminder of a blissful life. A life she wanted for herself. Aisle turned away from the clothes and back to the ledger. She had to get done on the work she had come here to do in the first place. She was just about to settle into her paper work when she heard the sound of her infatuation calling to her.

"Hey, what does a 'massage' mean?"

She smiled to herself as she turned around to watch Clew stand in her doorway, a spa pamphlet in his hand. He might have been the most brilliant man she had ever met, but he was still clueless when it came to social life in the Middle Division.

"It's kind of like a relaxing treatment where you get oils and other ointments rubbed on your body. You should totally try it."

He was silent as his hazel eyes scanned the piece of paper in his hand and Aisle was almost lost in that action. He had that narrowed look in his eyes that Aisle had only seen when he was trying hard to understand something.

"So," he said at last, raising his eyes to meet hers, "You mean I have to get naked and have someone rub oils on me?"

"Well... not all the way naked... but yeah that's the gist of it."

"And this is relaxing to you?"

"Hey, I don't make fun of your pass time activities."

"Yeah but we keep our clothes on when we're doing them."

She laughed so hard that Clew couldn't help but join in. It had been so long since he had this much fun in his life. And the most important point was that it was because of the hazel eyed beauty in front of him. She was dressed to day in one of those very pink and very lacy items of hers. It was still mind blowing that he had not know what the item had been for until very recently. But he was right about one thing, they were of true sentimental value now.

Aisle could feel Clew's eyes on her and she honestly couldn't continue with whatever it was she was writing. There had to be a law that prohibited this kind of reaction caused by those luminous-blue hazel eyes. She supposed that maybe she was a cause for the stare since she was only dressed up until the point that she could say is decent enough for a stroll to the bathroom. Then again, what was there that he hadn't seen by now?

She was just imagining how working with him here would be hard when his hands found their way around her neck. She had felt them in every inch of her body before, but each time they landed on her skin, she felt the fire kindle in her anew. This was surely a crime now. The light touch on her shoulder was enough to send her mind completely off work and onto the one thing she had been dying since she got to her room.

"Clew... you know I need to finish this report before we go."

"Don't mind me then."

That was almost impossible to do when his mouth was now doing the skimming along with those clever hands. She was sure that one of these fine days, she would self combust from the fire he kept lighting in her being with this action.

"Finished yet?"

"Huh?" she spoke like a complete idiot. There was just no way she could string coherent thoughts with him breathing down her ear.

"I'll take that as a yes."

She was suddenly out of the chair and in his arms. She had no time to protest at all when her was mouth was already occupied by his. Clew was like a silent predator whenever they would make out. Slow at first, then a steady climb in speed until he reached a peak that he held until his prey was held in his trap. Aisle had no experience with this kind of thing. I mean, she never even had boys in her life to consider one to be her boyfriend.

Boyfriend. That was a word that she heard with him. In the Commoner's world, boys were always looking to serenade girls until they were able to convince them to a date. This were so far from the M.A.T.C.H.E.S system that they never bothered to follow the survey. They just went for the one they liked. And that had never made more sense to Aisle than now as she was sprawled on her bed in Clew's arms.

A month had passed since she had met Clew, and she was sure that it was fate by the second day. He was everything that she could say she wanted in a man if she would have had a choice in life. He was caring, responsible and not to mention insanely hot. They and only started going out last week but it only took a week for her to be completely and irrevocably in love with him. He told her that he was smitten the first day she looked at him, but she didn't care when it had started. She was just happy that it did.

"I believe I have consumed ten minutes of our allotted time here," she heard Clew speak but she didn't care. She could always call Rosy or Rochelle and have one of them do the paper work for her.

Clew's machine allowed matter displacement, but it had a limit on the duration one could stay in the other space. It took him a few days to master it, but he could now send her and himself here at will. The problem, aside from the time limit of twenty nine minutes, was that the Neos tech in his machine was depleting twice as much as normal since two people were using it now.

This meant that Clew now risked his own safety just so he could steal some of the Neos tech from the Factory, something that caused so much discomfort in Aisle's heart. Then again, it was something she wanted him to do because she couldn't stand not seeing him, something only the Neos tech could facilitate. It was a nasty catch 22 situation that caused her immense anxiety.

So far it seemed to be working out fine. He made sure to steal only small amounts of the green stuff so that the Authorities there wouldn't notice the difference. Aisle had asked why it was so that she could spend almost five hours in his world and he could only manage twenty nine in hers. He had answered by saying that the Neos tech that had spilled on her had somehow altered her genetics so that she could resist the pull from the machine to return back to her space in time. When she had suggested he bathe in it too, he had merely laughed and said that just because it had worked on her, there was no guarantee that it would work with him. He had to run numerous tests on himself and her to really know why the time difference was so.

So Aisle was resigned to the fact that she only had twenty nine minutes of pleasure to savor whenever he would visit her here. She had to come back at least once a week into her visits at Clew's home because he had mentioned that her absence would raise eyebrows. He might have loved her, but his family's security was of more importance than his very own life.

"We can just finish this at your place," she purred at him and the vibrations his body did under her as he laughed was sort of like a massage to her very soul.

"Which reminds me," he finally got a hold of himself and pulled something from his pocket, "I made this for you."

It resembled a bracelet in many ways apart it was glowing a neon green color. The outer part of the ornament was clear and hard. It refracted the light from the thin strip of neon green light that was causing the glow. It was a beautiful device that she could not help but be amazed at. He took her had in his and clamped the bracelet on her wrist.

"This is your new Space Displacement machine. I got tired of having to carry you every time you had to come to the Outer Division. When you want to displace, you just press the green strip."

Aisle was amazed. Not by his ingenuity, she already knew he was super smart, but at the gesture of actually making her this device. It might not have seemed much to anyone on the outside, which would be true as if was probably made of litter pieces, but to her it meant the entire universe.

"Clew... I don't know what to say..."

"How about 'thank you'. That's what normal people say when they are given a gift."

She laughed as she gave the ornament one last look of admiration before she jumped off the bed.

"Since I don't need you to carry me anymore, I can finish my work without a timer."

Clew smiled at her as he watched her shuffle the papers on the desk into the bag she had gotten them from. He was just wondering how he had gotten this lucky in life. How had he managed to have Aisle love him when he had nothing to give her that she already didn't have? The thought took him back to the place that he ventured when she had left him in his room after another night of wondrous pleasure.

What was he doing with Aisle? Was he this foolish to actually think that he could have a life with her when she was a Controller? What would happen when he was finally an adult and had to leave his home and her behind? He had made no significant progress in the Cell Degeneration Inhibitor and he could honestly say that he was not giving it his one hundred percent attention. Aisle was becoming a drug he was addicted to. He was forgetting the number on reason he had decided to venture into the science of this world.

But how could he let her go? That night he had been prepared to do it. Quit her cold turkey, as was right. But she wanted to get to know him. She said she wanted to know what freedom was and what it felt like to have choices in life. Every now and then after they had just had one of the best nights of his life, she would profess her sincere gratitude to him for allowing her the opportunity to breathe free air. So if this was so wrong, why did it feel so right to him?

I... I don't know.

Even Papa had no reasoning for this feeling inside his being. He did not understand it. And that was frightening enough to cause Clew the reasons he had now of thinking if he was doing the right thing.

Aisle saw those luminous eyes narrowed again in concentration. She knew about his conflicts and his demons. When he was asleep next to her, he would whisper apologies to her in his dreams. He spoke of how he was ruining her life by starting something that can never be finished. Those times were hard for Aisle. She remembered that her match had already been decided and she should have told Clew about it, especially when he started apologizing to his father for not taking better care of his siblings and grandmother.

But she would lose all reasoning when he would turn right around in that dream and tell her how much he loved her. How she had brought meaning to his life and how he could never survive without her.

Air.

That was what he said she was to him. And she could have never loved anyone more for that than him.

"But of course, that doesn't mean I don't want you to anymore," she said as she turned around and went to her bathroom, but not before removing that very pink and very lacy item from her luxurious body and throwing it at him.

* * *

"Can I open my eyes now?"

"No... not yet."

"Clew... I'm going to fall on my face."

"Would I ever let that happen, Aisle?"

"Yes... because I would if it were the other way around."

Clew laughed at her comments as he guided her past the wall he had been debating internally whether he should just let he walk smack into. It was a few weeks but the woman knew him so well.

"Then you just have to trust me."

Aisle was not big on putting her trust in people. But she had little of thought on this matter when Clew's hands kept dancing on her back with the pretense of guiding her around.

"Clew, you know I don't like surprises. I never react well to them."

He remembered the first time they met and her throwing almost everything he owned at him in his room. She had a very valid point on that one.

"OK. You can open your eyes now."

Aisle opened her eyes and had to blink six times to make sure she was seeing what she was seeing. The field was beautiful. Enclosed by the forest scenery, it looked magical, especially with the setting sun in the background. In front of her were his three siblings standing next to the checked, red and white cloth that had all the kinds of food that Commoners had here. She had not known about this until Clew had taken her to one. It was a Sunday tradition for the family, he said.

"But it's only Tuesday, Clew? Why are we eating outside?"

"Happy Birthday, Aisle!" Elena and Mihaela chorused in unison as they both raced the distance between them and Aisle, locking her in a hug.

"I tried to restrain them, Clew. But they just can't be stopped when they start," Luca spoke as he chuckled at his sisters' enthusiasm.

"Don't worry Luca. I've read about these parties and they are supposed to have this level of enthusiasm."

He turned to Aisle and saw she was still trying to understand how this was possible.

"How did you find out my birthday?"

"Aisle, I made a machine that can displace matter from one point in time to another. I think finding out my girlfriend's date of birth wouldn't be that hard."

It had actually been coincidental. He had only found out about it four days before it was about to happen. She had given him her Connector to fix since the screen was acting up. They had both been caught in the moment and went to make out in the shower with their clothes on. He had just finished recovering all her data when he the message her father had sent her, wishing her a happy birthday in advance. Since then, it was smooth sailing. Luca had outdone himself with this feast actually.

Aisle was speechless by the time they all sat down on to eat. Luca's cooking was as always divine. She had never had so much fun in her birthday than now. Elena and Mihaela were pleased to know that this was Aisle's best birthday compared to those in the Controllers' world. They were, however bored by the ceremony an hour in and went to play tag with each other and dragged Clew into it. Aisle was left with Luca alone and she just realized that this was the first time she and the boy were alone together.

"You don't want to play with them?"

"I prefer my adventures in a written format," he answered her and Aisle was not surprised at all. Luca was not your average eleven year old, "I would like to say thank you for the last three novels you have lent me. They were very good."

"Well, I knew you'd like them," she said and observed him for a while before she spoke, "You know, Luca, as much as adventures of other people are fun to read about, it's the adventures of your life that will always be unforgettable."

Luca glanced back at his older siblings who were all trying to beat each other at wrestling. It was always pointless because only he could at least provide enough of a challenged to Clew for a fair contest.

"You might have a point. And may I also give you one of my own?" he waited for Aisle to nodded before he continued, "I found something stuck in the middle of your books. I don't really understand much about it, but I understand the general idea that your people have laws when you reach your age. I like you. I think you are a wonderful person. But I love my brother more. If you don't tell him about the matches, I will."

Aisle was left looking at the boy as he rose and went to play with his siblings. She had forgotten about that survey list she had stuck in the novel. Why did she even keep that stupid thing in the first place? Now Luca knew about her secret. But he was giving her the option of being the one to tell Clew about it first. And just how was she supposed to do that? How was she supposed to walk up and tell the man that she loved of her marriage plan to someone else?

But Luca had a point. She only had a few weeks before her 'husband' came calling now that she was legally and adult in the eyes of the Government. But she had finally found her life. She had finally known what it was she wanted in this world. She had found Clew. Was fate going to rob her of the very thing it had allowed her to have?