Just a really quick note before going into the chapter.  First of all I apologize for the delay.  I don't have a really good excuse, only the days slipped through my fingers and my muse has been in hibernation.  Secondly, Lin is a bit out of character in this chapter but for a reason.  I think loving Madoka and being around her sparky personality would rub off on him, and she would have full access to that part of his personality.  Lastly, February is a busy month for me so I plan on the next chapter being up March 2nd.

John rinses out his teacup in the kitchenette sink before he leaves the room. The barely veiled aggravated conversation gets louder as he progressively gets closer to the lobby. It probably never shocked any of the team members to find Monk and Ayako arguing. John had always wished he could have somehow got through to the two of them though.

He had attempted to get the two to try to communicate through one of their arguments without using elevated voices. That only ended up with a pillow knocking the poor young man out of the seat he had taken during the discussion. So instead of trying to intervene now he quickly passed them by.

He was heading upstairs when he almost took a detour into the conference room. Mai had just plopped down on the ground, and he was immediately concerned for her well being. A hand touched his shoulder and John turned to look up at Gene. "Don't worry. I got it."

He smiled up at Gene. "Thanks, mate."

He could have taken the elevator and made his trip easy. Instead he decided to take the stairs so he could heavily consider some of the thoughts that had been buzzing around in his head.

"Do you even know what we are arguing about anymore? Or are you intentionally being belligerent as well as obtuse?" The corners of Ayako's lips turned downward as she attempted to take a deep breath through her nose. If she breathed through her mouth she was sure to interrupt it with wail of despair.

"Woman, I never know what we are arguing about! Half of the time I am suddenly in pain because you have hit me with your purse, fan, hand, or some other random object you find handy, and I almost never understand your reason behind your actions!" Luckily he never needed an ice pack or a bandage for the injuries she inflicted. But he was starting to wonder if he had some deep seated masochistic urges that she was uprooting with her daily beatings.

Ayako sighed and felt the energy just burn out of her. She puddled into the chair that was generally reserved for new clients. "I'm so tired of this bickering back and forth between us."

He arched an eyebrow her direction. "Could have fooled me!"

"Don't do that." Ayako tried to fight the frown that was attempting to form on her face.

"What?!"

"Don't go making some snide quip to put humor into the situation. I'm honestly serious. I really am sick of all these nonsense arguments we have. It makes me wonder—" She trailed off and closed her eyes as she realized she had to fight off the tears that began to gather there.

"Wonder what?" Hosho now knelt on the ground by her side. He was rapidly realizing that she was honestly hurting this time. That this time wasn't some random fight. She was serious.

"How can we honestly love each other when we treat each other like garbage all the time?" There were no tears on her face but she wasn't able to keep the shakiness out of her voice.

He sighed as he tried to think of the words to supply to her to make her feel better. The words that would give her confidence in not only him but the both of them together as a couple. He had been doing research on all the right things to say to her. He had found quotes that sounded perfect in the moment but he wasn't sure he could ever pull them off. But he had to try something. He mentally rephrased a couple of quotes he had seen over and over again before responding. "Just because we have moments where we don't see eye to eye, moments where things just seem difficult, doesn't mean our love isn't worth fighting for. Love isn't easy, nor should it be. If it were easy life would be boring. I love you, and I want to be with you. That sounds simple saying it aloud but really it's a whole lot of complicated."

She sniffled. His words were sweet but they didn't completely help alleviate her concerns. "I just think we need to do something to keep this from getting ugly all the time."

Monk considered that comment for a moment. "Should we consider couples therapy?"

Ayako was honestly surprised he would suggest such a thing. In her opinion it took a strong man to admit when he needed outside help for any reason. If it be as simple as directions or as complex as plumbing. Then she also realized that was part of the reason why she loved him so much. She shook her head. "Maybe not that. I mean, we can Google some strategies that are used first in couples therapy. Try them out for ourselves on our own before seeking outside guidance. If that doesn't work on our own then maybe we can try therapy after that."

He snatched her hand with his own, immediately twining their fingers together. He kissed the back of it before pulling her out of the chair. "Then let's go upstairs to kiss and make up."

Once the elevator doors shut behind the two they lunged at each other. Both of them were barely able to keep from ripping each other's clothes off before arriving at the top floor.

The tall man with glasses introduced himself as Akiyama Katsuo to Akane. His large green eyes seemed kind and were greatly enhanced behind the glasses he wore. They were now standing outside the door of her own apartment. She wasn't sure she could remember the exact date of the last time she had something that was her own.

"I'm afraid we didn't get to decorate it much for you before you got back. Daichi was pretty enthusiastic to go on a huge home décor shopping spree but I persuaded him to refrain."

He dangled the keys from his fingertips, and she automatically cupped her hand out to receive them. The sharp edges of the metal somehow comforted her skin. "Why did you talk him out of it?"

His eyes widened. "Oh, because I thought you might want to decorate it yourself. Daichi's tastes are rather...colorful! I just didn't want his style to overwhelm you."

She nodded. It didn't completely answer her question but she could at least see his point of view on his decision.

"Okay, then. Well, I will just leave to let you get settled in." He walked backwards away from her and waved goodbye. It was a bit of an awkward clunky movement but she understood that he was just wanting to appear friendly and give her some space.

She stared up at the peep hole of the door for a few moments before inserting her key into the lock. When the tumblers slid to release the latch she sighed as she was overcome with a sense of enthusiasm. It's mine!

Her jubilation somewhat deflated as she stared at her surroundings. Everything about the apartment was utilitarian. Sure, she understood that they had provided a modicum of furnishings so she had some things to get her started. But the living area definitely needed some splashes of color and personal objects to share the personality of the one living in it. Too bad she didn't own much besides the clothing on her back.

A knock on the door had her turning on her heel and immediately swinging the door open without a moment to glance through the peep hole to see who was on the other side. She shifted in slight discomfort when she found it was John that had knocked.

His smile was friendly as he held up his hand in greeting. It wasn't any less awkward than the one Katsuo had only recently pantomimed when he was saying goodbye. "I just wanted to make sure you were settling in okay."

She shrugged her shoulders. "I only just walked in the door moments before you arrived." She looked around the room and frowned.

"What's wrong?"

"Oh, it's nothing."

John wasn't one to pry but it was a pretty easy lie to detect. Something was definitely bothering her. He wasn't sure how to coax her into talking to him about it though. He usually was a man of patience but he was anxious to know if he could do something to help. "That doesn't seem to be true."

She shook her head. "I keep forgetting that you were studying to be a priest. You probably see when someone's feeling troubled easily just because you have seen it so many times before."

She wasn't wrong exactly, and in this moment she was exceptionally easy to read. But there was just something about her that made her easy to read even when she was trying her hardest to veil all the things that were troubling her. He knew she had several things in her past that made it hard to open up to people. He knew that trusting anyone would be difficult for her. But yet she seemed to be easily comfortable around him. He just hoped it wasn't only because he had been a priest.

"It's been a long time since I could call anything mine." She looked around the room. "I should feel more grateful than I do. But, I look at these walls, and I feel like a stranger barging into someone else's life."

"So, then we will change that. Tomorrow morning I will take you out shopping for anything and everything you may need. We can look around the apartment now and make a list." John smiled at her encouragingly.

"Oh, but I don't have any money! I couldn't let you pay! No, no I can deal with this for now."

"I assure you, it's fine. I want to help. Besides, I have money burning in my bank account that I barely touch. Money's meant for spending right?" It took a bit more coaxing but eventually he was able to convince her that it would be fun, and there was no reason to worry about the money.

Lin looked over at the clock on his bedside table. It was barely past seven pm so that would make it just past eleven in the morning in London. He should be able to get Madoka just before she headed for lunch.

He felt his lips lift up at the corners as he pondered over what her ringtone for him was currently. Last he knew she had assigned ZZ Top's "Sharp Dressed Man" as her ringtone for his calls. But she would change it sporadically to suit her mood.

"Just the Chinese man I was hoping to talk to today." Fabric rustled in his eardrum and he was sure she had just began to pace the carpeted floor of her office.

"You mean there is another Chinese man you have been having conversations with? Should I be worried?" Lin attempted to keep his voice as straight laced as possible but he failed miserably. Just hearing her voice again after what seemed like forever put him in a good mood.

"The only one that matters is you." She cooed into his ear. He could easily imagine the way she would often loosely wrap her arms around his neck, stretching to her tip toes just to try to close in the gap of their height difference. "So, how did the case go?"

He honestly wasn't much up for discussing the case at that moment since he had only gotten home a short time ago. But he knew she would continuously pester him about it if he didn't accommodate to her questioning. So he attempted to give her a brief synopsis about how the case went, not lingering overly long on any single detail.

"Hmph. You know that was exceptionally too brief." He heard the rustle of her skirt fabric as he imagined it bunched up when she sat back in her seat. "But I suppose I can let it go and read your notes from the case when you send it over. Anything on the romance front to report?"

He laughed aloud at that. "Quite a bit actually."

He had to pull the phone away from his ear when she let out a high pitch scream. "You mean Mai and Noll, right? Please tell me you mean Mai and Noll!"

"Those are definitely one of the couples I was referring to."

"One of? Who else? Who else has coupled off romantically? I'm dying over here."

He released a sigh mixed of frustration and loneliness. "God, how I miss you, woman."

"Aw, I miss you too!" He could hear the sound of fabric movement again. She must have stood up to pace once more. "But, don't think that gets you out of a full detailed report!"

"What if I told you I was imagining I was there with you? Standing behind you as I sat in your office chair and pulled you down to sit in my lap."

He didn't mean to add a smoky seductive quality to his voice but he must of because she was screaming in his ear once again. "Lin Koujo we are not having phone sex while I am at work!"

He should have been embarrassed but instead he ended up just laughing at her exuberance. "Well, that wasn't my intention but if you insist."

Her groan of annoyance had him laughing once again.