~Time skip: 2 months~

Corliss quietly cleaned up the room then sighed. Their third month anniversary was a few days away. She didn't want to do anything special, but she didn't want something simple. What was a good middle ground? Honjo peeked into the room while Aoyuzu looked from between him and the doorframe.

"What do we do?" Aoyuzu whispered, looking at Honjo.

"Ms. Steinbeck likes flowers. Why don't we draw her some?" Honjo suggested.

"Too simple." said Aoyuzu before shrinking back. "I'm sorry."

"No, you're right. Why don't we go find some?" said Honjo.

"Where? We can't leave Sunny Side..." Aoyuzu said. "Wait! Aren't there some in the backyard?"

Honjo nodded then grabbed Aoyuzu by the hand. Aoyuzu silently stared at him, a smile creeping onto his face. Honjo pushed the door open then held it so Aoyuzu could get through. They looked around for the yellow flowers growing by the fence.

"Over here!" Aoyuzu said, pointing to a few.

Honjo squatted beside him then started to pull them out of the ground, unearthing the roots and dirt along with it. Aoyuzu brushed him off as dirt had gotten on him.

"Hey, Aoyuzu..." Honjo said, looking at the flowers. Aoyuzu hummed in response. "I heard you're going to be adopted..."

Aoyuzu's face fell. He had hoped with all his heart that Honjo wouldn't find out. He didn't want him to distance himself from him. He wanted to continue making memories with him. He himself didn't want to be adopted if it meant being separated from Honjo.

"It's true... but I don't-" he said but Honjo started to talk over him.

"Isn't that great? You'll have a loving family, maybe a sibling. Maybe a pet." said Honjo, smiling. "You'll even get to attend school and make nice friends."

"I don't want to!" Aoyuzu shouted, hugging Honjo tight. "I want to stay with you. I only need you."

Honjo looked at Aoyuzu who looked close to tears. He didn't understand. Why would he pass up such an opportunity just to stay with him? He pried Aoyuzu off of him.

"Don't say that. Not every child gets lucky to be adopted." said Honjo, standing up. "Be grateful."

Aoyuzu sniffled before bursting into tears. He was hurting, but he didn't know where. He just knew it hurt. Why did Honjo say that to him? Why didn't he say something different?

"Aoyuzu." a voice called out to him. He looked up with misty eyes and saw a small hand extended before him. He continued to look up and saw Honjo staring down at him. "Let's enjoy the rest of our time together at least."

"Honjo..." he whispered, sniffling. "Honjo...!"

He quickly leapt to his feet and hugged him tight. Honjo patted his back, wondering just how much he could cry. They looked towards the door and saw Ms. Steinbeck looking at them with an angry face.

"Boys!" she yelled.

They ran over to her and Honjo presented the flowers to her.

"We came outside to give you flowers because you seemed sad. You love flowers." said Honjo cutely.

"I appreciate the thought, but do I have to explain to you both again that you aren't allowed out here without supervision?" she said, taking the flowers. "Oh, dandelions."

"That's what they're called?" Aoyuzu asked, wiping away the last stray tear.

"Aoyuzu, were you crying? Did you get hurt?" she asked, noticing his eyes starting to turn red.

"Yeah, but Honjo made me feel better." he said, smiling.

"Still we need to treat it or you can get sick." she said, ushering them inside.

She separated them so she could take a look at Aoyuzu's wound. She looked at his arms and checked his legs. She didn't see any marks.

"Did you really hurt yourself...?" she asked sternly.

"Mhm. It was hurting here." he said, patting his chest.

"Was it like pinching or like a needle poking?" she asked.

"Squeezing." he said.

"Squeezing...? Aoyuzu, what exactly happened...?" she asked, worried that it might be something big.

Aoyuzu told her what had happened leading up to his chest squeezing. Corliss soon understood what was going on. The question was, how would she explain it to the young child before her? Then an idea occurred to her.

"Aoyuzu, it seems like you were experiencing the pain of losing a precious friend. You can't see it, but it hurts more a cut." explained Corliss. "That's why you felt better when he reached out to you because you felt he still wanted to be around you."

Aoyuzu nodded in understanding. Honjo was a precious friend. His heart swelled at the thought.

"Ms. Steinbeck, I don't want to be adopted." he said.

"Huh? Why not? You and your future parents get along so well." she said in surprise.

"I don't want to leave Honjo..." he said, a sad look decorating his face. "He'll be lonely without me... I'll be lonely without him..."

"Aoyuzu..." she whispered, stroking his hair.

Corliss internally sighed as it became more prominent in this moment. She told him to wait there while she went to go talk to Honjo in private.

"Honjo, what do you think of Aoyuzu?" she asked.

"He's quiet and listens to me. He reminds me of a dog." said Honjo cheekily. "I like that he wants to be friends with me."

"I see... do you treat him like a dog since you say he reminds you of one?" Corliss asked.

"No. Aoyuzu is a human, not a dog." said Honjo, feeling as if he was under suspicion for something. "Am I in trouble?"

"Not at all. I just wanted to make sure I understood everything." she said then had a thought. "Aoyuzu really cares about you. Don't do things to worry him or make him cry, okay?"

Honjo nodded then was sent to bring Aoyuzu back to the others. Aoyuzu looked up at the sound of the door opening.

"Honjo...?" he said out in confusion. "Where's Ms. Steinbeck...?"

"She told me to take you back." said Honjo, waiting by the door.

Aoyuzu left his spot on the chair then gave Honjo a happy smile. Honjo blinked then looked away, feeling embarrassed.

"Don't look at me like that..." Honjo mumbled, looking down at the floor.

"Like what?" Aoyuzu asked curiously.

"Like that." said Honjo, opening the door so they could leave.

"You don't like me smiling? Then I won't." said Aoyuzu, walking by his side.

"Forget what I said." said Honjo, feeling a bit guilty. "You can look at me however you want..."

"You're being weird... but I like it!" said Aoyuzu happily.

____

Illumi yawned as he supervised. He had trouble sleeping lately, mostly because of the plague of bad dreams he had been experiencing. All of them had to do with death. The internet was as helpful as Tori Meadows in Yu-Gi-Oh. He ran into a wall and earned himself worried looks from the workers.

"I'm fine. Was just giving this wall a hug before we tear it down." Illumi said, trying to play it off.

"That's the worst cover up I've ever heard." a worker said, shaking their head.

Illumi sighed then rubbed his forehead. Ever since that day a while back, Corliss had spoken to him less. He didn't blame her. He was technically snooping through her things without permission. Though, he didn't expect to see her get that upset to the point she cried. He ran into a table, knocking the wind out of him.

"Sir, are you okay? Maybe you should rest. No, you definitely need to rest. Look at those eye bags!" an employee said, worried about her boss.

"I said I'm fine. I can still tell my parrot green from dark green." said Illumi.

"Sir, I'm over here." she said, watching him talk to thin air from behind him.

Illumi's eye twitched then he cleared his throat. She didn't allow him to speak as she took him out to his car to rest.

"I don't want to see you back in there until two hours have passed. Do you understand?" she said sternly.

"Yes." Illumi muttered, being shut and locked inside the backseat of his car.

Could he really just take it easy? What if he had another death dream? He slowly closed his eyes, hoping he wouldn't be scared awake by another bloodbath.

Illumi opened his eyes and saw he was standing in nothingness. A blinding light made itself known and revealed the scenery. There was another him and...

"Corliss? What are we talking about? Why are we near a railroad track?" he thought, hoping for answers.

Corliss produced a knife and pointed it at him, as if threatening him. Was he going to die by her hand? Just when he thought she'd charge at him, the knife was turned and plunged into her neck. His other self was a wreck. Tears, snot, shaking. He didn't like what was going on. He wanted it to stop. His mind continued to replay it multiple times to the point he felt sick. He squeezed his eyes shut and prayed hard for the nightmare to end.

Illumi jolted awake, breathing heavily and sweating like crazy. He picked up his phone then groaned. He only slept less than half an hour. Could he really go back to sleep? He thought of his favorite things with his eyes closed, hoping it would grant him sleep.

____

List made his way downstairs then looked at Corliss from afar. He smiled happily, wondering if she got dressed up just for him. He was about to move from his spot when a nurse stopped him in his tracks.

"List, can you help me? I'm not sure if I remember how to work the machine." she whined, making sure her chest was visible to him.

He moved her over, only interested in Corliss. She held him back, explaining that she needed the help now.

"Look, I know you know how to work it, otherwise you wouldn't have this job." he said in a serious tone. "And get your filthy hands off of me."

He pried her hands off and hurriedly moved over to Corliss who seemed surprised by his presence. The nurse sucked her teeth then walked off to update the others.

"Um, you like it?" she asked List who had her stand.

"It really suits you." he said, smiling happily. "You're so beautiful, Liss."

She looked down at the floor as a blush dusted her cheeks. She didn't like that she was easily embarrassed by his compliments. Corliss sat down then felt his hand on her ear.

"I've never seen you wear these before. Are they new?" he asked.

"Oh, no. They're actually pretty old." she said, touching the heart studs. "A friend gave them to me..."

"Is there a story behind these?" he asked.

"Oh, don't you have to check on the patient in room 305? Get a move on." she said, avoiding the question.

"Liss-" List said.

"Go, go!" she said, pushing him away.

It wasn't time yet. She just needed him to wait until their anniversary came. It would be then that she told him everything. Her only hope was that he'd understand.