Thank you lordofwolfs for helping me with part of this chapter:3

{2 Weeks Later}

Ever since Kousei's birthday, Kousei and Kaori had gotten a little bit more comfortable with each other. Their awkward stage had gotten broken bit by bit, but it wasn't completely broken yet.

In the morning, Kousei had called Kaori to tell her good morning but she didn't answer so he thought she was probably asleep or getting ready. But when he made it to school he didn't see her at all, nor did he see her at lunch. He got a little worried and called her on the rooftop on his phone but her parents were the ones to answer. They told him that she had a high fever and probably wouldn't be well until tomorrow. He had gotten more worried and asked if he was able to stop by, but if she had a fever maybe all she needed was rest, so he bid them goodbye and decided to wait it out until he gets a call back from them or Kaori herself.

When the end of school came, Tsubaki and Watari were free to walk with him.

"Hey, Kousei!" Watari jumped up behind Kousei and wrapped his arm around him. "Has Kaori given you a call or anything of the sort?"

Kousei nodded and held back a sigh as Tsubaki walked alongside them on his other side. "What'd she tell you? Is she okay?" Tsubaki sounded really concerned.

"Yeah, she's okay. Her parents answered when I called her cell and apparently she has a high fever so I'm only hoping she feels better tomorrow or at least by Monday. I'm letting her be since she probably just needs rest."

Watari decided to ask the question. "What do you think caused her to have that fever? The weather wasn't all that bad yesterday..."

Kousei shrugged and dragged himself as he walked. "I dunno, really..."

"Well I hope she feels better," Tsubaki dragged off.

"Me too... Oh. I'm going this way, bye guys." Watari removed his arm from Kousei and waved goodbye as he went to the direction of his own house.

Kousei drifted his eyes away from Watari and walked alongside Tsubaki in comfortable silence.

I really wish Kaori was here...she always makes the atmosphere bright nowadays. This is what was going through both Kousei and Tsubaki's heads when the silence kept multiplying.

Kousei tried to muster up a conversation. "So...how-how was school?"

"It was good, without Kaori though it wasn't really as fun, Kashiwagi was there but she was just as bored as me since we've grown closer to Kaori as friends."

Kousei bobbed his head once and looked ahead of him once again. He thought to himself about how Kaori was able to change the atmosphere of one place with simply just her energetic attitude, and he wasn't sure how he'd handle it without her. Then again, without her his life was really dark so he wasn't sure how he even survived before meeting her.

He laughed a bit to himself. It's funny how a single girl can affect our lives greatly. I really love her.

"What's wrong with you?" Tsubaki had heard his little laugh.

"Huh? Oh nothing at all. I was just thinking."

"Ah."

More silence followed ahead and Kousei wasn't sure what to talk about. "Tsubaki, what do you want to do when you finish high school?"

Tsubaki stared at him but she didn't leave his question unanswered. "Well...I really want to be a professional softball player who goes worldwide. But I also want to go to college. What about you?"

Kousei shrugged. "Same for college... But what I want to do is be a transcriber. Or a composer, really. I'm stuck in between those two. I still have, yet, much to learn about the piano so I'm not sure which path to take."

"Maybe Kaori can help you. You said she wants to be a teacher, right? For violinists?"

Kousei nodded and hummed a yes. He stared at the train tracks as they walked by them and thought back to when he ran that one time. He didn't know what he was thinking, but everyone had followed and it was pretty fun.

"So you two are the ultimate musical couple, huh?"

Kousei chuckled and nodded. "Guess so. And if you and Watari went out, you'd be the ultimate athletic couple."

Tsubaki blushed and kicked Kousei as he laughed. "Shut up! I won't ever go out with that playboy!"

"Come on Tsubaki, he's a really sweet guy."

"Why didn't you guys out then?"

Kousei widened his eyes and to say the least he grew red and looked surprised. "US?! ME AND HIM?!"

Tsubaki nodded. "Duh. Who else?"

"But I don't like him in that way! And I'm not into guys, oh my god!"

Tsubaki smirked. "Now you know how I feel."

Kousei sighed. "It's different, though. You'll grow to like him, unless--" he gasped--"you're into girls?!"

Tsubaki widened her eyes and hit him on the head. "WHAT- NO!"

He laughed and rubbed his head. "Sorry, sorry."

"I'm not into girls, Kousei! I used to go out with Saito, I used to like you, and I used to like a bunch of other guys long ago."

"Okay, okay. I get it. You're straight, I get it."

Tsubaki groaned and flicked him on the head. "You're so dense. Is this how you act around Kaori?"

"Well...I guess?"

"Wow. You're such a good boyfriend, Kousei."

He was able to hear the sarcasm loud and clear. "I know right?"

Tsubaki sighed and frowned. "School's almost nearing to an end. Soon you and Kaori are gonna move to America. How's English going for you two?"

Kousei let out a breath. "It's good (bold means they're speaking English). And...that's true. But we'll all keep in touch hopefully. Kaori and I think we should visit when there's a break each year. But I'm not sure since there could be times where we're really busy."

"Nice English. And that's a good idea too. I grew up with you, It'd be a real shame to have the friendship end. Watari and I will still be friends, of course. Kaori and I had gotten closer as well, so I wouldn't want to lose her. I don't wanna lose the both of you."

Kousei smiled and stopped in front of a random house to hug Tsubaki.

To put it short, she was shocked. Kousei hasn't hugged her in years and vice versa so this felt pretty weird, but eventually she hugged back and let her head rest on his shoulder.

"Don't worry, Tsubaki." He had the calm voice he always used when trying to make an area bright or always trying to comfort someone. "Kaori and I will find ways to stay in touch with you guys."

Tsubaki grinned and hugged Kousei tighter and sniffed. "That kinda makes me feel better. I need to see Kaori and give her a hug too, I need to know she still cares.."

"Hopefully on Monday she'll come back so you can that do that." He removed himself from the hug and smiled. "But of course she cares, she always does."

He and Tsubaki walked together back to their own houses, which weren't so far now.

Tsubaki wasn't able to stop thinking about the hug and how different...Kousei is. She found it kinda saddening that Kousei is growing up now, but she knew it would've happened eventually. He's no longer a little brother anymore, I guess.

"Well, Tsubaki, I'll see you on Monday, or whenever I see you." Kousei smiled and waved to Tsubaki when he stopped her in front of her house and walked over to his.

She stared at his back, which was no longer slouched. She then sighed and walked to enter her house. He's a man now...I guess.

~0000~

Kaori breathed in sharply, her eyes cracking open as wide as they can go. She was breathing heavily, moving from her fetal position when she felt her damp pillows. She quickly sat up and looked around, all in a fuzz until she wiped at her wet eyes and looked at her hands.

Tears, she noted. The blonde gulped the lump in her throat and shakily placed her hand over her heart, feeling the rapid beat against her hand.

A dream... Kaori let out a breath and tiredly laid back on her bed. No, a nightmare, actually.

Kaori felt a little more tears wanting to break free but she held them back and wiped at her eyes, quickly reaching over to her desk to grab her glasses and slip them on. She then grabbed her phone and rushed as she looked through her contacts to call the person who she wants to hear dearly right now.

As the ringings were blasting in her ears, she started to think about her dream but she couldn't bring herself to even think about one second of it.

I...I don't want to go through it...not again...n-not ever, not-

"Uh...hello?"

Kaori felt her heart race at Kousei's groggy voice, and she started to cry again, but she swallowed and responded with, "K...kousei! I'm sorry for waking you."

"N-no, it's okay. It's 3 am, are you alright? I've been really worried since this morning... Why are you crying?"

"I..." Kaori didn't even want to utter a word about her dream, but if she wants to calm herself down she needs reassuring. "I had a nightmare...a-and-"

"Eh?! A nightmare?! Are you okay?"

Kaori felt her heart slowly steady itself and she wiped away her tears. She smiled in relief, knowing that it all really was a nightmare and the Kousei she knew was talking to her.

"Ye-...no, actually."

"What was it about, if you don't mind me asking...?"

Kaori shakily inhaled and exhaled, trying to get her brain to work with her as she recalled the events that occurred in her sleep.

"Okay, from the beginning then. I was back at the hospital, and you were there too. You were there to visit me. This is in the present, so of course we were a couple."

"Was it just me there?"

"Yes...but you seemed kind of...not like you, in my opinion. Every time I held your hand, you would not hold mines back and I kinda felt like I'd have done something wrong. But every time you spoke to me you would sound like you're...bored. Like you didn't want to be there." Kaori paused for Kousei's response.

It took him a while to process what Kaori just told him, but he answered. "R...really?"

"Yes."

"But...that's nothing like me. Sure before all of this stuff I was really awkward in starting a conversation but...I wasn't bored or anything like that. I didn't hate you."

"Exactly, that's why to me you were really different."

"I don't...know...- is there more to the dream?"

Kaori, nodded but she knew he couldn't see her. "Yes, and it's the part that really got to me."

"Alright, continue on."

"You were told to leave the room, because it was time."

"Time for...what?"

"I didn't know either, I was really confused. But when they put me on the operation table and strapped me on that's when I started to get scared. I was dragged out my room, and you were just watching from the door as I screamed and told you to help me and stop them from taking me to the operation room because I wasn't ready for the surgery that I was going to have...apparently. But the part that hurt me the most and caused me to probably wake up crying was when you just kinda...laugh, I guess, and told me who would want to help a loner like me and that you were happy I had a chance of not surviving. And apparently...you never actually loved me."

There was silence, Kousei was silent with shock. "I...I did?"

Kaori hummed a yes.

More silence for a few seconds.

Kaori groaned quietly and sighed right after. "Look, I know I'm not good at explaining things but-"

"N-no, you're explaining things well enough for me, but I'm just speechless because...I can't imagine myself ever doing or saying that..."

"Exactly...that's why I..." Kaori felt tears coming to her eyes, she sniffed and continued with her voice a little strained. "I woke up really scared, I never thought I'd hear those words come out of you, especially in your voice...so, I broke."

Kousei wanted to say something, but he just couldn't. He was at loss of words. But he got even more worried when he heard muffled sobs on the other line.

"Hey, hey. Kaori it's okay! Are you crying again?"

He didn't get a response back, letting him know she is indeed crying.

"Kaori, wait! P-please don't cry! You know I'd never actually say those words to anyone, or you as a matter of fact! I'm not like the Kousei in your sleep, and I really, really love you! Please don't cry, I don't like it when you do...j-just hearing you cry already makes me sad. And knowing that I kind of caused it...it just..."

Kaori smiled broadly at Kousei's words and took off her glasses to wipe away her tears with her available hand, sniffing to prevent a mucus breakout.

"Thanks, Kousei...I feel a little better now..."

"Just know, I will never ever do something like that, or anything, to hurt you Kaori. I already made my word with your dad and mom."

Kaori laughed a little bit. "Yeah, you did."

"Ahh...it actually feels nice to hear you laugh again after this."

Kaori smiled and sniffed again. "I feel good laughing."

"Hey, how about tomorrow I go to your house and see you in person because I feel like after this I need to let you know in person that I'll never hurt you...and that I honestly love you. And I would really like to see you."

Kaori almost felt tears come out again, but of joy instead. "I'd actually really like that."

Kousei smiled, but Kaori will never be able to see it. "Hey, do you have a window in your room?"

Kaori looked over to her curtain after she put on her specs. "Yes, why? Are you gonna randomly pop out, Romeo?"

Kousei laughed and said, "Nope, but I want you to look at the sky."

"Okay.

Kaori moved off her bed and out of her covers so that she was near the window before she walked to it and opened her curtains, looking at the brightly lit sky full of more stars that she could ever count.

"Wow..."

"You see it?"

"See what?"

"The moon."

"Yeah...it's really big tonight."

"Yeah..."

There was a comfortable silence in between the two teens as they stared at the sky above them, Kousei breaking it when he saw something in the sky.

"Oh! Kaori, do you see that?"

"See what, exactly?"

"The plane that's leaving."

Kaori looked around and when she looked more to the left she smiled and said, "Yes, actually. I wonder where it's going at this time of night..."

Kousei laughed, saying, "We're under the same sky, then."

Kaori was left surprised but she ended up growing a big smile. "Copy-catter."

Kousei laughed again and said, "Well it was the perfect time for me to shine."

"Was...was that a pun?"

"Only if you count it as one."

Kaori sighed and leaned her head on the window, watching the stars twinkle. "I don't know what I'm gonna do with you, you dork."

"You can start by singing with me."

"Huh?"

"Watch the stars, and follow me."

"Wait what do you mean by sing-"

"Twinkle, twinkle, little star, how I wonder what you are..."

Kaori beamed, she didn't know what she expected from Kousei but sang along with him, creating a duet.

"Up above the world so high, like a diamond in the sky. Twinkle, twinkle, little star, how I wonder what you are."

Kousei and Kaori laughed together, brightening the mood up for Kaori.

"Your english is so adorable. I...I remember when we rode that bike under the stars that one night singing this song...it was a real experience for me."

Kousei grinned. "I'm glad. It was for me too.Your English is really cute too, I've always thought that but never told you in fear of your reaction since we weren't together. I think you and I have improved ever since we started actually learning more English."

"I think so too, but learning English is hard." She whined, and Kaori wanted to say something, regarding her nightmare, but everything was going way too well to bring the mood down so instead she sighed in content and walked over to her bed, letting the curtain stay open to let the light from the moon and sky enter her room.

"Thanks for this, Kousei."

"No problem. It actually helped me, too. Can't wait to see you tomorrow, Kaori. I've been worried sick for you this entire day. Also, are you feeling better from the fever now?"

Kaori smiled, moving under her covers. "Likewise, Kousei. I've been worried for myself as well, but I'm doing fine. It was just a minor fever."

"Alright. Will you be able to sleep now?"

"Yup."

"Amazing. Okay, I wanna get rest now so that I could get there as soon as I wake up, and you should rest too after everything. To sleep, think of happy things."

Kaori actually let a yawn come out of her. "Okay."

"I can hear you're pretty beat. Sleep now, Kaori. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Alright, Kousei. Goodnight."

"Night Kaori, I love you."

Kaori smiled slightly. She really needed to hear that from him. "I love you too. Night now."

"Night."

~0000~

"Oh, hello Kousei!" Yoshiyuki let out a slight smile as he walked to his future son-in-law after telling his wife he'll be back after talking to Kousei.

"Hi, sir. How are you, today?" Kousei gave him a slight smile and a small bow.

"I'm doing fine today, kiddo. But are you here for snacks or my daughter?"

Kousei chuckled a little. "Your daughter."

"I suspected as much. I went to go wake her up but she looked like a complete mess. I asked what happened but she said she wanted to wait for you to come to talk about it. Her fever has gone down so it can't be that."

Kousei looked at the ground and fiddled with his hands. "Yeah...that's actually why I'm here because I promised I'd come over."

The man of the shop smiled warmly, taking Kousei into a bear hug. "I knew Kaori chose the right man!"

People around the shop were staring, so Kousei was starting to get slightly embarrassed.

"Ah...Y-Yoshiyuki, as much as I'm enjoying this moment, people are staring and I'd really like to go see if Kaori is okay."

Yoshiyuki got the memo and removed his arms from Kousei and let him down, patting his back a little gently. "Alright, I'll leave you be then. Do you know where her room is?"

Kousei shook his head.

"Ah. Okay. Just go through the door over there," the dad pointed to the wooden door behind the counter, "and walk through to our living room then walk down the hallway and you'll see a large frame with Kaori's name, spelled differently, on it. I'm trusting you to not make any intimate moves."

Kousei nodded at the end with a slightly red face and started to walk toward the counter to Kaori's mom.

"Hello, Ryouko," Kousei greeted with a bow.

"Hi there, Kousei!" Ryouko smiled and moved away so that Kousei was able to enter the door to their home. "You wanted to go see Kaori, right?"

Kousei nodded and bowed once more. "I'd really like to go see her right away."

Ryouko smiled and ruffled his hair. "Alright. I'll see you later then."

Kousei straightened back up and nodded. "Thanks for allowing me to enter."

"No problem, if it's to help our Kaori then you're allowed here anytime."

~0000~

Kousei followed what Kaori's dad had said and walked down the hallway with railing on the walls, leading to a door with 'Kawori' written on it.

Kousei half-smiled. Cute. He walked up to the door and knocked on it lightly. As he waited for a response he kept his eyes on the rails hanging on the wall in the hallway.

Will they still be needing those?

"Who is it?"

Kousei placed his hand on the knob. "It's Kousei, can I come in?"

Kaori immediately answered. "Yes!"

Kousei opened the door and right when he closed the door behind him, Kaori tackled him and had him hit the door with force from his back as Kaori latched onto him.

He wasn't able to see her appearance, but from how she was shaking and her hair messier than usual, he knew she was a mess and didn't get a good rest.

"I'm sorry," she muttered in his ear as she tightened her arms around Kousei, moving closer to him. "Even after everything last night...I still wasn't able to sleep..."

Kousei sighed but moved his arms more tightly around Kaori's as he leaned against the door behind him and buried his face in her hair.

"It's okay, Kaori." He laid a kiss on the crown of her head, rubbing her back in comfort. He pulled her as close as possible and just stayed put with the girl he loves in his arms. Kousei looked around her room and smiled slightly when he saw all the plushies around Kaori's room.

"Can we...can we go lay down?" suggested Kaori after a few moments had passed.

Kousei nodded, walking over with Kaori to her bed. He fixed her covers a bit before being the first to lay down and moved over so that Kaori laid beside him. She wound her arms around him again, which made him smile at how much she actually missed him, and he did the same after, moving her atop him so that her head was on his chest to listen to his heartbeat.

"Thank you for coming, I didn't want to come out of my room until you did."

Kousei smiled and started to rub circles on Kaori's back again, staring at her ceiling. "You don't really need to thank me since I wanted to come. By the way, is it okay if you tell me why you couldn't sleep?"

Kaori sighed and tightened her arms around Kousei's waist, which had lead him to do so as well. He moved one hand away from Kaori's back and placed it atop her head, running his fingers through her messy hair, carefully untangling it.

"I just couldn't stop thinking about the nightmare...it felt way too real." Kaori rubbed her cheek against Kousei's chest and shakily exhaled. "That feels nice," she muttered, referring to Kousei running his hands through her hair, and closed her eyes as she listened to Kousei's thumping heart and relaxed to his hand.

"I know, that's why I'm doing it." Kousei laughed so silently that only she would be able to barely catch it and kissed her head before placing his head back on the pillow. "And if you ever have nightmares...you can always call me, Tsubaki, or Watari because we're all there for you."

Kousei felt Kaori's smile and a muffled "Thank you" coming with it. He smiled warmly, bringing her more closer to him and kissing her head once again. "No need to thank me at all. You've done a lot for me, so it should actually be me who is thanking you."

Kaori laughed and moved her head up to plant a loving kiss on his lips. Kousei deepened it and momentarily stopped his hand until the kiss broke and laid his head on Kaori's pillow, staring at the ceiling and then around the room.

Very adorable and cute...well, of course it would be. Kaori is very girly despite her violent demeanor.

Kousei shut his eyes for a moment and enjoyed as he held Kaori and ran his fingers through her hair, it satisfied him that he was making her happy.

Oh yeah. Kousei opened his eyes and stopped moving his hand, earning a grunt of disappointment from the girl on him, and tapped her back before trying to sit up.

"I don't wanna get up though," Kaori whined.

Kousei grinned once he was sure Kaori was looking at his face and said, "I know, me neither, it was actually really comfortable, but remember why I came here?"

Kaori thought about it but then her features brightened up when she remembered. "Oh, yeah!" She got off Kousei and sat on her knees in front of him. She reached over around Kousei and grabbed her glasses so that she could see Kousei better and looked at him afterwards.

Kousei sat on his bottom and crossed his legs, reaching for Kaori's hand. He blushed when he saw Kaori in glasses, since it's very rare that he sees her in them and he thinks she looks really cute with them on. He went away from his thoughts and grabbed the both of her hands and held them by the fingers, smiling as he said, "Kaori, I love you. I love you more than anything in this world. And I just wanted to let you know that I will never turn out to be the person in your nightmare because I will never hurt you in any way."

Kaori felt little tears of joy wanting to break free but Kousei kissed one of her hands and wiped away the tears that had fallen.

"I love you too, Kousei." Kaori leaned forward and cupped Kousei's face in her hands and planted a gentle and sweet kiss on his lips.

It lasted for only a few seconds before Kaori pulled away and smiled again. "You really make me happy."

Kousei eye-smiled and laughed. "You do too. But I'm glad I was able to help you out from last night."

Kaori eye-smiled as well, but it slowly died down when she sighed and intertwined her fingers with Kousei's. "Actually...there's something I've never actually told anyone, besides my parents of course because they know about it."

Kousei grew worried, afraid that she has some other type of illness that will take her away from him, but little did he know that it would actually bring him closer to her. "W...what is it?"

"You promise not to tell anyone?"

Kousei nodded, looking sincere. "Yes. Promise."

Kaori let out a deep breath and nodded, making herself comfortable before saying, "I actually have this phobia called monophobia. Have you heard of it?"

Kousei was silent for a moment in thought, but when he tried figuring out if he knew the word or not, in the end he shook his head.

"It means that I'm actually afraid of being alone. It's not exactly common, but that's probably one of the reasons my nightmare decided to happen, I guess. I don't like being alone, it's just a really...scary thing for me."

Kousei was left in shock. He didn't know there was such a fear for that, and it's common too. He tightened his grip on Kaori's hands and warmingly wrapped her into a hug after. His hug was more than enough to make Kaori shake in his hold and break.

Kousei absolutely hated hearing his loved one cry. It broke his heart. He gently placed her onto his lap and brought her closer than they ever were and let her sob on his shoulder. He held her around the waist while she clenched some of the cloth from his shirt in fists as her body shook with sobs.

Kousei clenched his teeth as he tried to drown out Kaori's heart-wrenching sobs and rubbed her back soothingly, whispering into her ear, "It's okay, Kaori. Just know that we won't leave you—I won't leave you alone. There's this saying I've heard...when you find someone, you know you won't be alone again."

Kaori cried more, but it wasn't from sorrow or anything of the sort. Kousei tightened his arms around Kaori and let her just stay in his arms for as long as she needed before saying one more thing to her. "Don't hide away...never hold back your tears, you're trying so hard to be strong but sometimes tears need to be freed to let go of any emotion you've had hidden away."

Kaori let out uneven breaths as she pulled away and tried to hide her face from Kousei but he gently brought her head up and rolled down his sleeve to wipe away any tears that were smothered all over her face. He carefully removed her glasses and used his sleeved thumb to wipe her eyes clean from her tears and cleaned her glasses after before putting them back onto her face.

"When you cry, don't hide your face from me, please."

"Why?" Kaori let out a small hiccup. "I-I just lo-ok ugly."

Kousei shook his head and smiled warmly. "I think you look beautiful either way."

Kaori was at loss for words before she smiled broadly and hugged Kousei again, but no more tears. "Honestly, I'm really glad you didn't hit the reset button."

Kousei wanted to ask what she was referring to until he remembered that one time he finally went to go visit her at the hospital and she asked if he wanted to commit suicide with her. "Me too...and I didn't want to. When you told me you didn't mean it about wanting to kill yourself with me following along...I wanted to say something, but I wasn't able to let anything out when you said you were in pretty bad shape."

Kaori went rigid in Kousei's hold but she relaxed right after. She wanted to say something, so she pulled back and stared at Kousei, but nothing seemed to come out.

"When I saw you...I saw my mom. I didn't want you going away like she did, it would've been too much for me to bear." The young prodigy leaned forward and softly kissed Kaori for a few moments until he couldn't breathe and broke away to stare deeply into his love's eyes. "I wouldn't have been any happier if we never met...somewhere along the lines of that, that's what I wanted to tell you in that moment. Actually, I wanted to go up to you, hug you, and tell you the opposite of whatever you were saying. But in the end...I just stood there like an idiot."

Kaori smiled sadly, and Kousei didn't understand why she looked so worried. Kaori stared right back into Kousei's ocean-blue eyes and laid a quick kiss on his lips before she placed her forehead over his and let her arms loosely hang around his shoulders. Kousei swallowed and criss-crossed his legs while Kaori was still seated comfortably on his lap—he wasn't completely used to having Kaori this close to him still, this is the closest they've ever been too, and now being aware that he put her on his lap wasn't helping with his blush.

"That time, I was actually kinda worried I ruined whatever friendship we had." Lightly chuckling, Kaori continued on. "That is why I continued with the 'just forget about me' thing."

"I don't ever wanna forget about you, though." Kousei shut his eyes. "I never want to."

"Even if I lie again and probably disappear from this world?"

"Yes."

Kaori shut her eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath and pushing Kousei back so that he landed on her bed and laid there. He groaned from the unexpected impact and straightened out his legs to not be in an awkward position and looked up at Kaori. "Hey, why-"

"You really do make me happy, ex-Friend A."

Kousei smiled slightly at his old nickname and sighed in content, happy that everything is going well. He lifted his head and stared at Kaori for a moment, which lead to her tilting her head in question. He smiled and sat up to kiss her and brought her down with him on the bed, wrapping his arms around her waist and locking her in a hold from behind. Kousei snuggled with her and nuzzled the back of her neck, which deemed to be a little ticklish for Kaori, and enjoyed the moment when Kaori placed her hands over his and relaxed in his hold.

"I'm going to stay here with you until you fall asleep," Kousei muttered as he shut his eyes. "You need it."

Kaori sighed and wanted to protest but knew she shouldn't since Kousei went through all this to make her feel better so instead she nodded against him and took off her glasses and placed them somewhere on her bed a few feet away to avoid any damage. "Okay." She shut her eyes as well and shifted closer to Kousei for warmth.

Kousei temporarily removed his arm from Kaori to take off his own glasses and placed them on her drawer behind him and shifted to get more comfortable again while wrapping his arm around Kaori again.

"So I guess the jackass Kousei Arima can find some confidence and hold the girl he loves like this. And your little speeches to me, those were a surprise. I didn't know you had it in you."

Kousei smiled and let out a tired breath. "Yeah. I'm doing this all for you, and if I wanna break some of the barriers in this relationship I gotta take big steps."

Kaori smiled as well. "That is true. Maybe I should start doing that as well."

"Honestly, if I'm able to then you can too. We just shouldn't go too far...not yet, at least."

"Hm." Kaori slipped her fingers through Kousei's on the back of his hand and tried to get some rest. "Okay. I wanna rest now."

"Same, I didn't get the best of sleep since I was kinda worrying about you."

"Will you be gone when you wake up?"

Kousei shook his head and kissed the back of her head. "No, I'm gonna be here until you wake up and I'm sure you're okay."

Kaori discreetly smiled and gripped Kousei's hand tighter, but not too much. "I love you so much, Kousei. I'm so glad that I...survived and you read the letter."

"I love you so much too, Kaori. I really care for you."

Kaori smiled once more before letting out one more sigh and saying, "Ga'night."

"Sorry to ruin the moment, but...if we're speaking logically though, it's morning so 'good night' won't be a cor-"

"Night. Kousei."

"Good night."

~0000~

The young pianist was the first to wake up of the two. He actually expected Kaori to wake up first but apparently not, and according to him she was in a really deep sleep from the position she seemed comfortable in. Their legs were tangled together and Kaori's arms were around his chest and holding him as close as possible while half of her body was atop his.

He didn't mind the way everything was positioned—it was pretty comfortable—but he had forgotten to use the bathroom this morning so he was really needing to use the restroom.

He gently tried to untangle himself from Kaori but she didn't want to let go of him like a sloth. He smiled a little bit and kissed her head and still tried to slowly remove himself from her but she stirred and groaned quietly so he stopped and got scared she will wake up; he wants her getting the sleep she needs.

Kousei decided he'd just wait out his wake up call and just held Kaori again. He moved her on her side when he turned onto his own and she untangled her legs from him but threw her legs over his and snuggled more in the blanket and him.

He smiled at how adorable she was when asleep and wrapped his arms around her small waist and placed his head over hers. He closed his eyes eyes and tried to sleep again but he wasn't able to fall asleep again when he felt Kaori's lips on his.

Kousei hummed questioningly and pulled back while seeing Kaori grin.

"Morning, Kousei."

"Weren't you asleep?"

Kaori got off Kousei and shook her head while trying to stifle a yawn and stretched all over her side of the bed. "No," she strained.

"Oh. Did you have a nice rest?" He brushed her hair away from her face when she stopped stretching and had her look at him.

Kaori smiled while nodding her head and kissing him on the head and sitting up. "Yes I did, thanks to you."

Kousei laughed calmly and sat up as well. "I'm glad. Knowing you had a better sleep makes me feel better. But...uh..." he scratched his cheek, "do you mind telling me where the bathroom is?"

Kaori giggled and shook her head after she had gotten out of her bed. She grabbed her glasses and slid them on while Kousei did the same after standing up. "Do you need to use it?" Kaori walked over to Kousei's side and watched as he adjusted his glasses.

"Mm-hm." He tried petting down his bedhead but groaned when he saw it still sticking up from the top of his eyes.

Kaori laughed at how adorable he looked with his bedhead and grabbed his hand to lead him out of her room and to the restroom down the hall. She stopped in front of the door and patted Kousei's back. "Don't be in there too long, I also need to do my stuff."

Kousei gave her a smile for an answer and slightly bowed in thanks before entering the bathroom and closing the door.

Kaori sighed when he closed the door and leaned on the wall beside the door and slid down onto her bottom. She closed her eyes and rested her head on the wall.

How does Kousei ever fix his hair when it wakes up like that? She laughed to herself quietly. It's so cute.

From the bathroom, she heard a flush and she can only guess Kousei is trying to fix his hair if it's taking him an extra minute in the bathroom. She knocked lightly on the door and called out Kousei's name. "Hey Kousei! You almost done in there? I also have to fix my own hair and stuff!"

Kousei opened the door and his head peeked through the opening like a little child. He smiled and opened it all the way for her to get in. "You can come in and do your hair...mine's taking a while."

Kousei moved over to Kaori and held his hands out for her to reach for and when she grabbed them he helped her up and went back into the bathroom right after her.

Kaori left the door open and let some of the air from inside the house to the bathroom.

"Hey what time is it?" Kousei asked. He was using some of the water from the sink to try and fix his hair back to its usual state as he looked at Kaori through the mirror.

She grabbed her brush and shrugged as she tried to carefully detangle her messy hair. "I don't know, my phone's in my room."

"What if I've been here for too long? Your parents would surely get suspicious of us..."

Kaori playfully pinched his cheek. "If they did, dummy, they would've come to check on us, knowing them they'd probably do it during work. Most likely my dad."

Kousei rubbed his cheek and stared at Kaori through the mirror as she eye-smiled at him while brushing her hair.

"I guess..."

"It probably hasn't been that long, maybe an hour or so. Where's that watch I gave you for your birthday?"

"in my room, I'm afraid I'd probably ruin it." He rubbed his cheek again a second later when he stopped doing so. "Ouch...that pinch hurt Kaori..." He pouted. "You should go easy on your sensitive boyfriend."

Kaori scoffed but she put her brush down and grabbed Kousei's head and squished her lips on his cheek. She moved back and saw as he turned a little flushed.

"Uh, thanks I guess." He smiled awkwardly and kissed her forehead.

"Your hair is still messy. How do you even fix it?" She stopped minding about her own hair and ran her fingers through Kousei's and tried to flatten it out as best she could.

"I just...use water, or if I'm lucky enough I just gotta use my fingers."

Kaori nodded in understanding but smiled and pulled his head down to plant a deep kiss on his lips. Kousei was surprised at the random kiss but knew he should get used to it and rested his hands on her waist and kissed back.

When they heard a mini gasp from the door, they both jumped back from each other. Kaori looked behind Kousei and turned a little red when she saw her mom staring at them with a little bit of a wide eyed look but then she deviously smiled and bowed.

"Sorry. Keep doing what you were doing, love birds. Just don't go too far."

Before Kaori's mom could leave back to the shop Kaori stopped her and said, "Wait, Mom! Don't tell Dad, he'll flip."

Ryouko laughed and winked. "Don't worry."

Kaori thanked her mom, so did Kousei, and stared as she closed the door and heard her walk way.

"So....Kaori." Kousei tried to change the subject and leave the awkward aura. He turned back to Kaori and kissed the tip of her nose. "You're okay from the flu now?"

"Hm?" Kaori seemed like she forgot she even had a flu for the first few seconds until she remembered. "Oh! Yeah. I'm completely fine now." She grinned.

Kousei slightly smiled and laid a kiss on her head. "That's great." He looked back to the mirror and tried fixing his hair again, which worked this time.

"Finally!" he breathed out.

"There you go." Kaori smiled and hugged his side. "Now I gotta do my own stuff, like brush my teeth and use the restroom." She moved from the hug and pushed him out of the bathroom. "You can either go into my room and wait or wait outside of the bathroom."

Kousei stood outside the bathroom. "I'll wait outside the bathroom."

"Okay. I'll see you in like, I dunno, a few minutes." Kaori closed the door and all Kousei could hear was silence and Kaori's footsteps all over the bathroom floor.

He let out a tired sigh and slid down the wall and leaned his head against it, closing his eyes and thought to himself about life until he heard Kaori softly humming to herself on the other side of the wall.

Kousei's ears perked and he shifted over to the door and placed his ear over it, hearing Kaori's humming more clearly. She'd occasionally let out a few words to whatever she was humming to but all Kousei can say is that she had a really nice voice.

I should probably tell her to sing something for me one day. He grinned to himself and closed his eyes as he leaned against the door and let Kaori's voice lull him. It's really soothing...

He heard the faucet running so maybe she was brushing her teeth, he thought, but that reminded him that he couldn't brush his own so he'll just ask for mouth wash if she has any.

~0000~

"Hey Kaori," Kousei stared at the wall while Kaori was changing behind him, "do you wanna go walking or something? To...I dunno, clear your head?"

He heard the rustling of clothes behind him and a faint blush spread across his cheeks but an answer was given to him. "Sure!"

Kousei smiled but jumped when Kaori wrapped her arms around his neck from behind and pulled him down to kiss his cheek. She grinned and turned him around.

He covered his eyes and turned red. "Y-you're dressed right?"

Kaori laughed and opened his eyes. "Of course I am, you dumb-dumb!" She pecked his lips. "If you ever saw a bare part of me that I always hide, there's no way I'll ever get married in the future."

Kousei pouted. "But you have me to marry."

She flicked his nose. "Of course you do, dummy. I'm not ready for any commitment yet though." She moved up to his ear and whispered, "So take it slow, you chihuahua."

Kousei laughed. "Chihuahua? Really? Why? I thought I was 'cow'."

Kaori wrapped her arms around his waist and looked up at him. "The way you get scared reminds me of that dog." She grinned his way.

Kousei slowly grew a smile and he kisses her briefly before asking, "Did you put on your contacts?"

Kaori nodded and shifted closer to Kousei for warmth and held him tightly, his own arms wrapping around her shoulders. "Yes I did. When do you wanna leave?"

Kousei rested his chin atop her head and swayed swayed a little with her in his arms. "Uh...whenever you want, I guess. Do you wanna visit Tsubaki or Watari by any chance? I think they're practicing today and they've missed you."

Kaori immediately responded with, "Oh yeah!" and pulled away from Kousei to grab her phone and then his hand and dragged him out her room and back to the pastry shop, but not before putting on their shoes.

Kaori told her parents she'll be out with Kousei and Kousei could've sworn her parents looked worried when they let her go but he didn't ask or press the matter and just went their way.

~0000~

"So you want to go visit who first?" Kousei asked this while he felt Kaori slip her fingers in between his as they walked side by side to the park where Tsubaki and Watari usually practice when there's no school with their team.

Kaori looked up at the sky in thought and then tugged Kousei's hand, saying, "Let's visit Tsubaki first. Since Watari is the team captain he'll probably be a bit more busy."

"That's true...while we get there...want to see how much English we've learned?"

Kaori nodded and immediately answered with, "Yes!"

Kousei grinned and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, bringing her closer to his side. "Your English is so adorable, I love it so much. How...are you do-doing today?"

Kaori laughed and wrapped her arm around his waist. "Very well. You?"

Kousei struggled to correctly say and pronounce his English but thought for a while and said, "I'm good. I-I'm done."

Kaori giggled and kissed Kousei's cheek. "You're so cute."

"English is such a struggle. I hope someone helps us over there in America. You can help me a little more. You know a lot more English than I do, even though it's a little broken that's what I find cute."

Kaori bashfully looked away. "Thanks I guess."

Kousei smiled and kissed her cheek. "I love you."

Kaori smiled as well and pecked his lips. "I love you too."

The park came in view and Kaori pretty much rushed over there, but stopped Kousei from walking when she stopped and stared ahead of them.

"Eh? Kaori what's wrong?" Kousei moved beside her and held her hand again.

She slowly grew a grin and she pulled Kousei over to a tree and hid behind it with Kousei behind her. "Sh."

"Wh-"

"Look." She pointed to the field and Kousei peered over her and searched what to look at with his eyes but when he almost gave up on searching he finally saw it.

"Is that..."

"It has to be."

From afar, the silhouettes of Tsubaki and Watari were seen, but what caught their attention was that Watari had helped Tsubaki up but from thereon their hands hadn't separated.

"Are they together now or is it some 'realizing-feelings' thing?" Kousei looked at Kaori and she turned around, leaning on the tree with a smile.

"Pretty sure it's a realizing-feelings thing." She turned her head to look at the two brunettes but she was able to see Watari smile at Tsubaki and then welcome her for helping her up, but she wasn't even seeming to be paying attention and just simply holding Watari's hand, not that he minded.

"I'm expecting some kind of confessing soon, to be honest." Kousei scratched his head and stared as Tsubaki and Watari moved away from each other, catching the minor blush on Tsubaki's cheeks after seeing her walk away to her teammates after slightly scolding the soccer player for the hand holding.

"Can I go tease Tsubaki about this?" Kaori looked up at Kousei and grabbed both of his hands in hers.

Kousei laughed and lightly swung their hands, his eyes twinkling but the answer Kaori didn't want came out of his mouth.

"No. But unless you really want to...yes. I wanna tease as well."

Kaori grinned and left one of Kousei's hands in hers and jogged over to Tsubaki, whom was taking a break and drinking water.

Kaori let go of Kousei's hand and stalked up behind Tsubaki right as she closed her water bottle and waited until she pounced on her and wrapped her arms around her neck from behind. "Tsubaki! I'm back!"

Tsubaki almost fell from Kaori's unexpected hug but grinned and turned around to hug Kaori. "Kaori! I've missed you! Where were you yesterday?"

Kaori hugged her friend back and pulled back to show her her apologetic smile. "I was home sick with the flu. Sorry I didn't go. I'm all better now, though!"

Tsubaki smiled and nodded. "Well thank god you're okay. What're you guys doing here though?" She looked at Kousei.

Kousei walked up to Kaori's side. "To go see you and Watari. Kaori decided to go visit you first since Watari is probably busy with his team." He grinned.

"He is. But--" Kaori nudged Tsubaki's side and winked--"we saw you two look at each other all lovey dovey just a while ago."

Tsubaki widened her eyes and she stepped back a little. "What? N-no! I just coincidentally bumped into him trying to catch the ball..."

Kousei laughed. "Coincidentally, sure."

Tsubaki crossed her arms and looked away. "Shut up, Kousei! I...I don't like him like that..."

Kaori and Kousei both shared a look and nodded to each other. Kaori turned back to Tsubaki. "Alright then. I'm going to go visit Watari." She moved forward and quickly hugged her friend and ran off to the soccer side of the park, leaving Kousei with Tsubaki.

Kousei watched as Kaori got ready to sneak attack his best friend. "So you don't like him like that, huh?"

Tsubaki scoffed and crossed her arms, looking at Kousei. "No. I don't want to."

"And if you do...?" He kept pestering and turned to look at Tsubaki. "What was it about me that you liked anyways?"

Tsubaki sighed and uncrossed her arms, giving Kousei her attention. "I don't even know. Maybe it's just how you've always been there for me in my bad times and called me a girl when others usually called me a gorilla and stuff...I dunno... And...I know you promised me you'd stay here with me for high school but...I don't really mind anymore, to be honest." She smiled slightly.

Kousei took his time until a smile grew on his lips and he laughed a little, rubbing the back of his neck. "Well...Kaori really needed to get to a high school...and I had only been tested upon my pianist skills for the school I'm going to...showing a video of Kaori was the only thing I needed to get them to accept her." Kousei grinned and lightly pat Tsubaki's head. "And if you fell in love with me because of that then I think you can fall in love with Watari. You both have a love-hate relationship. Watari also is is a good guy, he just loves multiple girls at once."

Tsubaki sighed and wiped grabbed her water bottle and took a swig. "I guess...but I don't like him in that way."

Kousei sighed. Maybe letting Tsubaki figure out her feelings on Watari herself is a better choice. He wonders how Kaori's doing with Watari.

~0000~

Kaori waited until Watari's back was turned and ran up behind him and jumped on his back, scaring Watari since he wasn't expecting this.

"W- AH!" Watari fell to the ground and blocked himself, only to see Kaori laughing on the ground. He started to grin but his heart was beating fast from the jump. "Oh my goodness, Kaori!"

"Hello!" Kaori stopped laughing and grinned, giggling instead. Watari got up and reached a hand out for Kaori, to which she had grabbed and pulled herself up with his help. He let go of her hand and wrapped an arm around her in a hug.

"You're back!" He pulled back and grabbed her shoulders to shake her a bit. "Where. Have. You. Been?"

"Out sick, that's where." Kaori smiled and walked around him before stopping at the fence on the side and sitting down.

Watari rose an eyebrow and pointed to the bench a few feet away from her. "There's a bench over there..."

Kaori looked at his finger and followed it with her eyes, shrugging when she indeed saw the bench.

"It's full of your guys' equipment and stuff to keep you hydrated and extra shoes, I don't want to move anything or intrude so I'll just stay here." She grinned.

Watari sighed and sat down beside her, leaning on the fence with Kaori staring at him from the corner of his eye. He looked to her. "What is it?"

"I have a question I want to ask you, Watari."

Watari shrugged and gestured for her to speak. "Shoot."

"Do you, by any chance, have really strong feelings for a girl right now? Feelings where you want her and just her..."

Watari stared at her, nothing coming out of his unmoving mouth. He wasn't sure how to respond. Usually he's all about the romance and stuff...but...somehow what Kaori had just asked him was messing him up. "I...I don't know."

"Hm." Kaori looked at the ground underneath her. "So....you're thinking about it."

"I mean-" Watari sighed and ruffled his hair, "I mean...like...I guess I am? I had before with you and Keiko...but...that was also not it because I liked the both of you at the same time. Why are you asking this?"

Kaori sighed and shook her head. "Do you...like...I dunno, Tsubaki?"

Watari widened his eyes, immediately waving his hands. "N-no! I don't like her...in that way! I mean...I-I like her but not like..." He went silent, his mind rewinding. "I mean...I really don't know..."

Kaori slightly smiled. "So your emotions are all over the place then."

"Yeah..." He sighed and wiped the sweat off his forehead. "I'm so tired." He started to grin. "But if I want to be the best player I have to work hard."

Kaori laughed and agreed with a nod. "Same, but let's try not to push ourselves too hard."

"I agree. Hey, where's Kousei?" Watari looked at Kaori.

"Oh, he's over there with Tsubaki. I just went over there and talked to her." She smiled and leaned on the fence. "I don't want to keep you from practice, when's your break over?"

"When coach says it is...but I should probably go get my team ready for another go so I think I should get going now." Watari stood up and helped Kaori up.

"Thanks." She dusted off her skirt. "It was nice having this talk... And if you need help with your feelings about some person--" she gave Watari a thumbs up--"come to me!"

Watari laughed and thanked Kaori with a smile and a small bow. "Thanks. I'll be sure to give you a call or something."

Kaori grinned and waved to Watari as she walked over to her friend and boyfriend. "I'll see you later!"

Watari waved his arm in the air. "Bye!"

~0000~

Kaori decided to finish her streak of jumping on people and made a "shush" gesture at Tsubaki as she crept up behind Kousei.

Tsubaki held the conversation she was having with Kousei while pretending Kaori wasn't going up behind him and when Kaori gave Tsubaki a thumbs up she smiled and said, "I gotta go Kousei."

"Oh. Oka- AH!" Kousei's knees gave out when someone jumped on his back, leading him to falling to the ground with a blonde sitting on his back.

"I'm back!" Kaori laughed and waved "bye" to Tsubaki as she collected her water bottle and sweat rag before going over to her teammates.

"Ouch..." Kousei groaned and turned his head to see who was on his back, meeting Kaori's bright face. "What the-" He fixed his glasses and looked at Kaori more clearly. "Why?"

She giggled and stood up to help him from the dirty ground. "You were the last person I needed to complete in scaring."

Kousei sighed but let out a few laughs. "Alright then." He took off his glasses and examined them with his hands. "But you could've given me a concussion or break my glasses."

Kaori waved her hand and grabbed his glasses to put them back on his face. "Sh. That's a lie, you big baby." She grabbed his head and kissed the crown of it. "And if I gave you a concussion, your head would be better with a little kiss."

"Oh alright," he grumbled. "What now?"

"Ah...wanna just hang over there in the playground? I want to go play with some children!" Kaori ran off with Kousei's hand in hers as she dragged him over to the playground full of kids, not even giving Kousei the chance to answer her question.

~0000~

Kousei was left alone on the bench that was placed in the playground, watching as Kaori befriended some kids who looked to be about 7-10-years old.

He smiled. He wasn't sure how someone as boring and plain as him was able to end up being with someone so outgoing and energetic, but he guesses it can kinda work out. God, I really love her...

"KOUSEI!"

Said boy jumped from his thoughts and looked around to find Kaori and his eyes set on her when she stood out on top of the playhouse.

Kousei waved a bit in response. "Hello!"

"Come over here!" She grinned and happily picked up one of the kids. "They want to meet you!"

"Can't you bring them over here?!"

Kaori groaned and stared at Kousei for a few moments before grabbing the two kids' hands and walking with them over to Kousei.

"You're so lazy!" Kaori whined when she made it over to him.

"Oh I'm not lazy, just knew that if I went over that here you'd make me play." He smiled.

Kaori thought about his answer before nodding and sitting down beside him on the bench. "True."

"Is this your boyfriend?" One of the kids gestured to Kousei and then looked back to Kaori with a tilt head.

Kaori nodded with a grin and grabbed Kousei's hand. "Yup! He's really lazy though so don't hate on him for not being active."

"I-" Kousei stopped speaking and sighed. "You know Kaori, moving around too much in your condition can lead to something."

"I'm fine, Kousei. I left the hospital about 2 months ago."

Kousei was reluctant to leave her be but decided to just sigh and kiss the back of her hand. "Okay..."

"Alright, Kousei, this is June Takio. She's 9-years-old. Don't know much about her since she's kinda shy, but she's really adorable!" Kaori picked up the little girl and hugged her tightly.

"What about me?" the little boy pouted.

"You're adorable too!" Kaori laughed and picked up the 7-year-old.

"And your boyfriend...?" Kousei peered at Kaori with an adorably tilted head.

"And so are you." She smiled and kissed him on the lips.

"Ew!" The boy covered his eyes and the girl helped him, grinning. Kousei pulled back and laughed at the kids, Kaori smiling at them and ruffling her new friends' heads.

"You two will eventually go through the same thing Kousei and I are going through. Maybe you two will end up with each other. Isn't that right, Aizawa?"

The little boy blushed and shook his head. "We're just friends!"

Kaori laughed and placed the two on the ground. "Okay. Only time will tell if you two end up as friends or lovers."

Kousei nodded and smiled warmly at the children and June blushed. "Okay..." She grinned and tagged Aizawa. "You're it!"

Aizawa's blush went away and he grinned and chased after his friend after saying goodbye to Kousei and Kaori.

Kaori smiled as she saw the two kids chase each other around the park and turned to Kousei, jumping a bit when finding out he was staring at her. "What?" She looked behind her but Kousei chuckled and grabbed her hand.

"Nothing...I just really admire how you love kids."

"And you don't?"

"Oh no! Of course I do. You're just more...interactive with them." He sniggered and kissed her head. "It makes me wonder how you'll act with our kids."

Kousei could feel Kaori's blush from just placing his lips over her head and pulled back to see Kaori really red.

"Our kids? Kousei, you really surprise me sometimes." She laughed and kissed his cheek while lacing her hand with his. "If we do end up having kids together though...I'd be really happy knowing you're still with me."

The prodigy smiled and removed his hand from Kaori to wrap and arm around her, bringing her closer to his side. "There's so many things I want to do with you Kaori...get married, have kids, experience new things, play in some big concert with you, etc." He grinned and Kaori smiled brightly, planting a short, passionate kiss on his lips before hugging him and leaning her head on his shoulder.

"That sounds like a pretty serious life plan you have with me. What if we ever get in a fight and something bad happens?"

Kousei sighed and gripped her hand in his. "I don't want to end up alone without you...you're the only person I truly and only will love, so I will try my best to make sure that if we do have fights it'll end in something good."

"And I'll keep my end of the bargain as well." She played with Kousei's fingers and smiled lightly. "I love you, Kousei."

"And I love you too, Kaori."

"Should we start going somewhere else now or do you want to stay and walk around the park?" Kaori lifted her head from his shoulder and curiously looked at her love.

"We can walk around. Are you tired? 'Cause if you are then we can just stay seated." Care was etched in Kousei's voice.

Kaori pshed and stood up, holding Kousei's hand all the while and had him stand up with her. "I'm fine, Kousei! I told you this so many times!"

Kousei raised his hands in surrender. "Hey, I'm just trying to make sure you don't hurt yourself or anything. You recently left the hospital."

Kaori sighed and nodded, starting the walk. "True, true. But if something does happen, I'll just be happy to know you're there to help."

Kousei smiled and nodded, kissing Kaori's hand that was in his. "Mm-hm."

The two walked along the park and Kaori occasionally stopped to play with some kids, making Kousei smile as he saw how angelic Kaori looked with children.

If we do end up having children together...will she love them more than me? Kousei laughed to himself and scratched his head. Probably, really.

"'Kay, Kousei! Let's go!" Kaori linked her arm with Kousei's and walked with him again.

Kousei wanted to create a conversation but Kaori seemed too immersed in nature so he just kept quiet as he admired her and let her have her own fun.

Minutes passed and the two were just linking arms and walking around. Kaori was always pointing out the little things around the place, but Kousei noticed she lagged a bit.

"Hey Kousei..."

"Hm?"

"I...if something happens right now...j-just lay me on a bench..." Kaori's next words faded to a mumble. "It's pretty hot..."

As Kaori said the fading word "hot" her eyes drooped and her body fell to the ground...leaving Kousei to worry over her fainting in the middle of the sidewalk.

Hi there :)

Don't have much to say, really. Sorry for slow updates, as usual.

Thanks for reading :D (Sorry if it wasn't good ya'll I can't do cliffhangers I suck at them)

Good night/good morning/good afternoon/good evening!