"Karen?"

Evan had been trying to get his girlfriend's attention for five minutes, but it seemed that every time they stopped talking she would completely zone out. He was trying to maintain the conversation, but it was proving to be difficult since she rarely contributed more than a few words, leaving him basically talking to himself. He was beginning to wonder if she'd been replaced by a clone or something because usually, it was hard to keep Karen from talking. Maybe that was why they hadn't had a fight for a while.

"Karen?" He waved his hand in front of her, which seemed to finally get her to snap out of whatever daydream she'd been having as she blinked and turned her head to face her boyfriend.

"Sorry, what were you saying?" She felt bad for zoning out like this so much, but no matter how hard she tried, her mind seemed to want to remain elsewhere.

"What is wrong with you today? You can't focus for more than a minute."

Karen bit her lip; she knew exactly what was keeping her mind so occupied recently, but it was a dangerous topic to bring up with Evan. It had only been a few days since Rin had woken up, and while he was acting like his normal infuriating self, Karen was still worried about how well he was recovering. Now that they knew that his healing was slowed down, she couldn't help but start thinking about other things that might go wrong with his health. But of course, telling her boyfriend that would only make matters worse.

"I'm just tired. I stayed up too late last night working on something."

"It is getting late," he commented sympathetically. "Maybe you should stay the night here?"

Karen considered his offer.

She did not want to think about Rin this much, she did not want to have the thoughts she was having, but she couldn't help the way she mysteriously cared about him. When Evan had called her, and asked if she wanted to come over for a while, she'd been grateful. It had been a little awkward, being back in her old apartment after so long, but it didn't take long for her to settle back in. It felt just like old times, and she wanted to focus on that, but her mind just wouldn't sit still.

"Yeah... that might be a good idea, " she said, thinking that some distance could be good for her.

It wasn't untrue that she was tired. Rin was proving to be more difficult than she thought to keep from ignoring the doctor's orders and actually getting some rest. It was a full-time job just trying to stop him from going outside. She had tried yelling at him, reasoning with him, but the only thing that proved effective at keeping him in bed was promising that by the time he was fully recovered, the Lunar Room would be finished. Considering the amount of data she'd lost in the explosion, this wasn't a promise she was entirely sure she could keep. So, while Rin rested, she'd been frantically trying to catch up to the information that was destroyed, while also fix the issue that had caused the accident in the first place. This was hard to do, since she was still unsure what caused it.

Rin hadn't proved to be that helpful. When she asked him what he remembered, he'd just blamed her machines for not working right. The only useful detail he'd provided had been that her prototype had had the desired effect on him, so at least she wouldn't need to adjust her blueprints for that.

Evan seemed pleased that she agreed to stay, not even minding when she decided to head straight for the bedroom. A lot of Karen's stuff from when she lived here was still around, most of it untouched since the day she stormed out and left. A wave of something akin to homesickness washed over her as she saw what used to be their bedroom. It took her a moment to realise that it wasn't this place she missed, but the way she felt when she lived here.

Too tired to give it any more thought, she climbed into the bed. The moment her head touched the pillow, her eyes drifted shut and she almost immediately fell asleep.

-W-

Karen woke up feeling groggy. She wasn't sure how long she'd been asleep for, but it was one of those times where you woke up feeling worse than when you went to sleep. She almost jumped out of the bed when she felt something touching her back. She turned around to discover Evan sleeping soundly beside her. It was a surreal experience, to be sharing a bed with him again.

She sighed heavily; why in the world wasn't she desperately in love with him? Evan was a sweet, nice, and caring guy. Any girl could fall for a guy like him, which she supposed was the problem. Any girl did, and then he fell for any girl. No, that wasn't quite fair to him; he didn't fall for any girl, he did have a type.

Karen winced at her own pettiness. She wondered if she would ever really forgive him for cheating on her. Did she even want to? She could still remember when they were teenagers, and the way she'd felt then. It wasn't like she'd met Evan and just assumed everything would play out like some fairy tale, but she supposed on some level, the idea of them being together forever had just seemed so natural she'd never really thought about things not working out.

They hadn't been together physically since before they broke up, and Karen could tell it was bothering Evan. She guessed he saw it as a punishment, but it was more than that. Karen didn't want to be with someone she didn't trust, someone she wasn't entirely comfortable with. Someone she didn't love.

"Are you alright, babe?" Karen's heart skipped a beat and nearly burst out of her chest as Evan's voice pulled her out of her thoughts. His eyes were wide open, and his face was filled with concern. "You seem preoccupied." He immediately felt bad. "Is it because I slept here with you?"

His concern for her instantly made her feel guilty for the thoughts she'd been having. "No, I just... had a nightmare," she lied, trying to spare him the blame for her off mood.

Evan's expression became even more worried, and her leant forward to wrap his arms around her. She accepted the embrace, letting him bury his face in her neck, making her giggle every time he breathed. He missed the feeling of her soft skin, or the way it felt to hold her in his arms. He had lost that before, but he didn't intend on losing it again. He couldn't help but be happy; he loved these little moments with Karen. Those smiles and laughs always made him forget about their troubles. She was always so distant now, pushing him away any time he tried to get closer to her again.

He had realized by now that, every time they were together, Karen was always thinking about something else. Evan knew for a fact that Karen thought it went unnoticed, but he wasn't that clueless. She had that lost puppy look on her face every time they were doing something. The night he'd taken her to that restaurant was the first time in a while that she'd actually been completely there with him. He only wished he knew what was going on in her mind.

That night at the restaurant had been perfect; she had been all his. He should have taken advantage of that fact at the time, but he'd been trying to take things slow. It's not that he was angry with Karen because she didn't want to intimate with him again, it was simply that... all right, it was a little annoying. They'd known each other for years now, and had been in an intimate relationship for the majority of that time. They'd fallen in and out of love more times than he cared to remember, but it had never taken this long for things to go back to normal.

It seemed to Evan that Karen perhaps didn't want to, because he knew it wasn't about not being ready anymore. He had waited for patiently for her to completely trust in him again, and she had forgiven him for what happened in the past, or at least, he told himself she had. He knew she was scared of being hurt again, scared that he would cheat again, but she should know he wasn't stupid enough to do that. He'd done it once, and had learned his lesson. He would never do it again.

It wasn't like he hadn't had the opportunity. One of the perks of his career was having women throwing themselves at him. He felt like he should get more credit for his resolve lasting this long. But if Karen kept being so distant... he'd never had the best impulse control in the world. But he was determined not to hurt her again. Even if it was killing him a bit.

-W-

"You look tired. Did that weakling finally get lucky?" asked Rin, a smirk on his face.

The instant he'd seen Karen walk into the kitchen, he'd come up with the perfect way to mess with her. She looked so exhausted; her semi-closed eyes had huge dark circles under them, her skin was paler than usual, and her hair was a complete mess. It was obvious she had been suffering from a lack of sleep lately, and she probably wasn't in a great mood. Although, when was she ever in a good mood around Rin?

"Shut up," Karen snapped at him half-heartedly. Right now, she barely had enough energy to walk upright, she really wasn't in the mood for Rin's bullshit. "Can't you just leave me alone for one day, Wolfy?" she complained, knowing full well how much he would hate that nickname.

Rin's smirk vanished from his face. "Don't call me that, woman," he warned darkly, threat evident in his voice. "You didn't answer my question."

"No, I'm pretty sure I told you the shut it." She clenched her fists, trying not to rise to his stupid challenge. Why did he even want to know?

Rin chuckled. "That means no." Karen wished she could smack the smirk off of his face, but she had a feeling she'd end up hurting herself more than she did him. "Perhaps you've finally outgrown him. He doesn't know your weaknesses anymore." Rin walked towards Karen, stopping just a few steps behind her. It had been a while since they'd last had a chance at this little game of theirs, and Rin was determined to win this round.

"I don't have any weaknesses," she said irritably, not bothering to turn around. She had to hold back a yelp of surprise as she felt his arms snake around her waist. She was so tired, and he was so warm, that she couldn't help but want to relax into his hold. It took a lot of will power to try and remain standing by her own two feet.

He bent down, so he could whisper in her ear. "That's funny, because I could swear I'm the only thing holding you up right now." Karen couldn't see his face, but she knew he was smirking right now. Abruptly, Rin let go of her, and she did her best to try and grab something to stop her falling over.

Karen tried to hide the slight blush covering her cheeks, but it was without hope; Rin noticed it. "Why the hell did you do that?" she asked, her voice not sounding as angry as she wished it would. She didn't want to answer his comment; she didn't have an answer.

"Do what?" Rin asked, grabbing an apple and acting like nothing had happened. Karen hated when he did that; pretending he didn't pick on her, or that he hadn't had his body pressed against hers five seconds ago. The last thought made her shiver involuntarily. "Bother you? Excite you?" he continued.

Karen was pretty sure her cheeks could not get any redder than they already were. How could he say these things with so little shame? "You have no idea what you are talking about!" she replied, perhaps a little louder than necessary.

Rin could barely contain his laughter; Karen was way too easy. This method was quickly becoming his favourite way of tormenting her. "So, are you done?"

Karen turned her head, still flustered. "Done with what?"

Rin sighed heavily. "The Lunar Room, what else?" He had been waiting for that thing for far too long.

Karen winced; she hadn't thought about that yet today. Well, it was almost done, she just needed to extend the limit of the light intensity, but she hadn't had the energy since getting back from Evan's. "Almost. I just need to fix one more thing."

"Then why don't you do it now, instead of sitting around on your ass doing nothing?" Rin asked, annoyed that he seemed to have to motivate the woman into doing everything.

Karen ran her fingers through her hair, wanting to rip it out of her head. "Alright!" she said, throwing her hands in the air, "Why are you so impatient about it, anyway? It's not like you'll be able to use it, even if it was finished. You're still recovering, remember?" she taunted, glad to see the irritation on his face at the reminder.

"I know that! Which is why the extra time you waste by not having it completed is time I don't have to spare."

She sighed, knowing that there was little point in refusing. He was just going to bug her about it until it was finished, anyway. Might as well get it over and done with.

"I'll go do it now."

"And I'll come with you." Rin declared, to her surprise.

"What for?" she asked, bewildered. Rin rarely volunteered to spend more time in anyone's presence, especially not hers. Was he actually lonely?

"To make sure you don't start doing something else," he replied unconvincingly.

Rin crossed his arms and looked away. It wasn't like he had anything else to do, and he refused to just go lie down in bed like some sick puppy. He didn't particularly like the woman, but she would at least stop him from being board out of his mind for a while. When she'd gone out yesterday he'd been forced to spend time with her mother, which only reminded him that while the woman wasn't exactly fun to be around, she was at least better company than the majority of her species.

Which, coming from Rin, was basically a compliment.

-W-

Karen threw herself onto her bed, her eyes closing immediately. It took her about four hours to finish the Lunar Room, and even then, it was hard to believe she was actually done. While she still held to her belief that Rin was an annoying asshole, he had been quite effective at his self-assigned job of keeping her focused on her tasks, and was even helpful at times. The moment she had thought it she vowed to never actually tell him, but maybe he had been right about keeping her mind on track.

Now, the project that had been slowly consuming her life for the past month was over, she barely knew what to do. The most difficult part had been persuading Rin to not immediately jump in there and test it out, causing him to stomp off agitatedly back to his room. After Rin had left her alone, she had decided to take a long relaxing bath to celebrate, as well as unwind from all her arguments with him. That werewolf really knew how to get on her nerves, but she'd be lying if she said she didn't find fighting with him fun from time to time. There weren't many people that argued with her about anything, mostly because they knew that she wouldn't let up until she won. It was kind of refreshing to have someone who wasn't afraid to challenge her. It was also extremely annoying, but what was life without difficulty?

It was certainly a nice change from Evan, who tended to mindlessly agree with everything she said. Karen frowned to herself slightly. She'd been doing that a lot lately, comparing Evan to Rin. It was silly, really. You couldn't compare them, they were too different, it wasn't fair. Evan was emotional and kind, if a little too impulsive at times, while Rin was cold and cruel and unfeeling. It was totally clear which was better.

Right?

Karen pulled her pillow over her head, as if it could shut out her own mind. All this thinking was driving her nuts. It would be better if she slept. She slid under her covers, trying to ignore the inner chatter in her head, and get some rest.

Eventually, she lifted her head up and glanced at the clock. Angry red digits blinked back at her telling her it was one in the morning. She groaned, not having been able to get to sleep for three hours now. She figured it might be time to just give up and do something else.

She kicked her covers off of her, and began heading downstairs to the kitchen. Her throat felt dry, so she was going to get a drink. It was pretty late, her parents wold be fast asleep by now, and even Rin was normally sleeping at this time. It came as quite a surprise to find the kitchen occupied once she got down there. What was even more shocking was that Rin was the one inside, and he was... cooking?

Since when did Rin know how to cook? She crept closer, trying to see if that really was what he was doing, and sure enough there he was, pots, pans and all, cooking for himself for the first time in the entire time Karen had known him. For some reason, she didn't want to disturb the scene, so kept herself hidden in the shadow of the hallway to observe. After about a minute she saw Rin stop what he was doing, and turn is head in the direction of the doorway.

"Is there a reason you're spying on me?" Karen stepped back, wondering how he knew she was there. Rin turned around to face her fully, "Don't act so surprised, I heard you came down the stairs. You are not quiet."

"Are you cooking?" she asked as she walked up beside him; there was no point in hiding anymore. He watched her wearily, not sure what it was she wanted from him.

"Are your eyes not working or something? What does it look like I'm doing?" he answered irritably, clearly not happy at having been discovered.

"Alright yes, I can see that." Karen rolled her eyes. "What are you cooking then?" she asked, leaning over and breathing in. "It smells amazing."

"None of your damn business," he said, turning back to what he was doing.

Karen watched as he added a small bowl of shrimp to the pan where he was frying something that looked like chopped leaks. Karen was yet again surprised. She would have though Rin would be making something simple, yet here he was, cooking something that had more than one step. She stepped around him and, ignoring his expression of outrage, lifted the lid off the pot to his left to reveal some already cooked pasta. She recognised this recipe.

"Did my mom give you a cooking lesson?" she asked incredulously. Rin blushed, shoving her out of his way so she couldn't see his face anymore. That quite hilarious over-reaction was all the confirmation she needed. "When?"

He sighed as he put his spoon down on the counter. "Look, I was board, and since you were NOT here, I had to find something else to do." Karen rested her chin in the palm of her hand, interested. "I came in here to get something to eat and then she cornered me and insisted I 'help cook dinner'." He shivered at the memory. That woman could be very... persistent.

Karen tried really hard not to laugh. The image of her mother forcing a wooden spoon into Rin's hand as she listed off all the ingredients they would need, probably oblivious to his discomfort, was just way too funny. She actually wished she'd been there to see it. "Well, I am very impressed."

Rin rolled his eyes before returning to his cooking. "I couldn't care less about what you think, woman."

"I'm serious. Can I have some when you're done?" she asked with a smile.

Rin cast a glance her way, wondering why she would want any. Why was she even here at all? Shouldn't she be asleep? The whole reason he was doing this now, in the middle of the night, was to avoid moments like this. "Hn," was all he said.

Karen started to set the table. What a bizarre situation she'd found herself in, about to have dinner with Rin, that he'd made himself. It was almost too adorable, and so out of character coming from him, that she had to wonder if she actually had fallen asleep and this was some strange dream. Dream or not, she had no intention of passing up an opportunity like this. After all, who knew when such a moment would pass by again?

Rin gave her a strange look, as she was setting the table; why the hell was she making such a production out of this? It wasn't like he was doing anything impressive. If she was so easily awestruck by a recipe as simple as this he wondered how she would react to some of the more complicated ones Mrs. Frost had gone over with him. She would taste his food, experience again his superiority over her, and then go away. He had no time to lose with this stupid woman for anything else.

A few minutes later, and everything was ready. An apprehensive silence had fallen over them as Karen was yet to take the first bite. Rin seemed rather uncomfortable with her presence, but Karen was way too excited by the surreal experience of getting to try some of Rin's food to notice. She brought a forkful of pasta up to her mouth and tasted it.

"Wow... this is really good!" she couldn't help but compliment him honestly. It really did taste great.

Rin let out a silent sigh of relief. There, she liked it. "You can leave now, then," he said.

"What?" asked Karen as she took another bite. "Why?"

"Why would you stay?" Rin asked, genuinely confused, it seemed.

"So we can talk?" She suggested. Rin physically recoiled at the idea.

"What on earth would I have to talk about with you?" He asked, unable to comprehend the notion of the two of them having any sort of civil conversation.

"Anything." She tried not to be insulted by his lack of enthusiasm. At this point, it's something she should expect from him. "I know barely anything about you. Why don't you tell me about... your parents?" He never talked about his family before, so it could be a good place to start.

Rin gave her a death glare, "They're both dead, what is there to talk about?" he said, eating a mouthful of his pasta to punctuate how little he had to say on that subject.

Okay then, family was a bad idea. Karen should probably have predicted that. Most of Rin's past was probably going to be along the same lines. Still, there was one thing she was desperately curious about.

"You could tell me about Yora?"

Rin's eyes widened, almost dropping his fork. "How do you know that name?" his voice was barely a whisper.

"You talk in your sleep," Karen explained. She had been right then, Yora was a person. "Who are they?"

Rin closed his eyes, trying to compose himself. That was a name he hadn't heard in a long time. To hear the woman say it was... distressing, he guessed was the word for it. "I don't want to talk about it." He pushed his chair back and got up, his unfinished plate in his hands. He threw it in the sink, having completely lost his appetite. He should have known that the woman would ruin his dinner. Why hadn't he just said no to her request to try some?

His gesture only made Karen want to know more about this mysterious Yora. Obviously, it was someone important to him, why else would he be talking about them in his sleep? She hurried after him, knowing that this topic was upsetting to him, but also really wanting to know more about it. She got in front of him and, almost unconsciously, reached out a hand to comfort him. "What happened?"

Rin froze at the contact.

He hated her, he hated the way she tried to care about him, and he hated how she wanted to know his past. There was nothing to share; he had nothing to say to her. "I. Don't. Want. To. Talk. About. It." he repeated each word slowly, trying to make her understand. He was controlling his anger the best his could, but she was making it rather difficult.

"What happened to them?" she asked again, conscious of the risk. She could see that he was getting angry with her. But she'd never let a fear of his rage stop her before. She wasn't afraid of him, and it would be nice for him to finally open up to her.

Rin took Karen's hand from his shoulder, but not in a caring way; he was trying to hurt her. He twisted it away from him, painfully, making her wince. And then suddenly, he stopped, releasing her. She stayed where she was, watching as he turned away again.

She really wanted to know? He didn't even understand why it mattered to her in the first place. "I killed her," he said, but his voice wasn't sad, or anything. He was using a very neutral tone, like he was talking about his day, like it didn't matter.

Karen clutched her hand to her chest. It took a moment for her to completely process what he said. For some reason she was more hung up on the fact that Yora was a girl than the fact that he admitted to killing her.

"Who was she?" she asked after a few more moments went by, indicating she was still listening.

"She was no one." His eyes were filled with coldness as he looked at her. "Just another castaway The Professor picked up. Another werewolf. She was my... the closest thing I had to a pack." Karen didn't miss the flash of pain on his face as he said that.

"Why did you..." she trailed off, but it was clear what the question was

Rin chuckled mirthlessly. "I was ordered to. She crossed one too many lines, and it was my job to punish her for it. The Professor knew we were close, he made it that way, just so he could test my loyalty to him." Karen stared at him in horror. She didn't quite get all the details, but she could understand the gist of it all. "I don't know why I'm even telling you this. None of it matters anymore."

Because clearly, you've been through a lot of trauma, and you've never had the chance to actually talk about it, Karen answered him silently, knowing he would never accept that as the reason. She'd always known that Rin's time at The Company had been bad, but she hadn't really thought about what might have happened over all those years he'd been held captive. She hadn't realised just how terrible it must have been.

"Because I asked," she replied instead, because that was also true, reaching out for his hand.

He jerked away from her, flinching at the contact. "I don't need your pity woman," he said, coldly.

"I wasn't –" she started, but Rin cut her off.

"Would you just shut up already!" He looked at her, his expression now one of anger.

Karen simply nodded before looking away, letting her hair fall over her face. Rin thought she did that because she was scared, and satisfied, he walked away into the dark.

But the look she was trying to hide wasn't one of fear, but of sadness. She was sad for the Rin in the past, who had clearly felt something for this girl and had to destroy that part of himself to survive. She was sad for Rin, now, because of the pain all this was still causing him, would probably never stop causing him. She was sad because tonight, she had found out that Rin had a heart, once upon a time. He'd simply stopped using it.

Hers though, was torn apart.