Rex blinked as he found himself alone with the queen of thunder, Mei Raiden. Why was he alone with her? 

It started when he was woken up by another argument between Kiana and Bronya with his new older sister, Himeko, instigating them while she was drunk. She was probably dumped again by her date. Some things happened, and Himeko dragged the two off to train with the principal. 

"Crozzo-san," Mei called out towards the resting young man on the floor, looking at the ceiling. 

"Yes?" The young man stared at Mei's eyes as she looked at him. 

"Do you mind going with me to the city?" Mei asked as she looked at him with warm purple eyes. 

"Sure..." The young man answered, pushing his limp body with a perpetually blank expression. "Just let me get my keys." The young man said as he went back to his room. 

"Keys? For what?" The young woman asked while tilting her head. There was a motorcycle in the garage. Maybe that was his. 

"Come on," The young man said as he descended the stairs. 

He was dressed in a pair of jeans, boots, a simple shirt, and a varsity jacket. 

"Before you ask, Kiana asked me to drive her around the city yesterday," Rex said as he showed her a white helmet with cat ears. 

Mei blinked as she looked at the young man in shock. A pout replaced the look of surprise as she followed him from behind. 'Since when did Kiana and Rex become close?' It had only been several weeks since they last moved in, and now, Kiana was with the young man whenever they were not together. It was a bit annoying, but now, it was just both him and her. 

Arriving at the garage, Mei watched as Rex uncovered his behemoth of a ride. 

A silver-colored motorcycle with amber accents, and she could see some heavy modifications and the engine made by one of her father's companies. 

"Hop in," The young man said, voice muffled by the black helmet he wore with several dragon designs after he finished locking the house. Looking closely, Mei could see that despite his eyepatch, he was confident. Gently getting on his bike, the young woman was surprised by how comfortable the bike's seats were.

"Hold on," Blushing lightly. Mei watched as Rex fixed her helmet before he let the engine roar. It was not loud but similar to a pleased growl. The young woman held the young man tightly as the motorcycle went from a zero to a hundred in less than three seconds. She could feel her heart hammering inside her chest. She did not know that her normally stoic roommate was a speed junkie! 

For his part, Rex kept an emotionless face despite the way that Mei hugged him tightly. He could feel her warm body and big- An image of an angry Kiana armed with a pair of guns appeared on his mind. He did not want an angry Kiana hunting him down. Anything was preferable to an angry attractive woman that can kick your ass, as stated in the book of the Crozzo guide for gentlemen. 

Seeing traffic in front of him, the young man swerved past several cars before turning right to a red light and quickly using his bike's speed to find a U-turn to the marketplace. Mei looked in amazement as she watched the sights of vehicles pass by them due to how fast they were going. Holding him tighter, the young woman gently let out a small smile. She can understand why Kiana asked to ride with him. Noticing that he had slowed down, Mei reached in and tugged his jacket lightly. 

"Rex-kun,'' Mei called out. Hearing his name, the young man glanced at her with his good eye. "Can we stop at the harbor later? Himeko-Sensei asked me to buy some fish." 

"Sure," The young man replied before stopping his bike and parking it in a parking lot. Rex got down. Not caring about his clothes, the young man took Mei's hand and helped her get down from his motorcycle. As the two walked through the market, Mei could not help but keep on holding his hand. Luckily, he was wearing a pair of gloves. 

As the two walked in comfortable silence in the marketplace, the duo paused as they saw a familiar figure. It was Fu Hua, dressed in a sundress, beside a young man that bore a striking resemblance to Rex. Blushing at the memory, Mei let go of Rex's hand to cover her face. Fu Hua had a serene smile on her face as she walked inside a cafe with the young man. 

"You okay?" dark eyes softened a bit as the young man asked Mei the question. Mei saw the young man's expression change for the first time without being near Kiana's side. The young man was a stone-faced enigma that could even contend with Bronya, only to have his streak broken when Kiana is near.

"I'm fine," Mei replied. She did not know if it was because of the memory of the last time she saw Fu Hua or from the heat when she felt a bit hotter at the slight smile on his lips that was similar to the class representative. 

"Come on," The young man said as he offered her his hand. Looking at it, Mei smiled as she took his hand. "Kiana told me she likes it when someone holds her hand, so I thought you would too." 

"It's not that bad," Mei said as she walked beside him, being taller than him by a few centimeters. 

Entering the grocery store, the young man accompanied Mei while carrying the basket effortlessly. 

"Hmm, do you have any favorites, Rex-k-san?" Mei asked, stopping herself from being too overly familiar with the stone-faced young man. 

"I am fine with anything." the young man said before remembering a time when... "as long as Kiana does not cook it." 

"Kiana-Chan is not a good cook," Mei said with a smile while he followed her. While the two continued their shopping, they were interrupted once a growl escaped from Mei's stomach, causing the normally dignified young woman to turn as red as a tomato. 

"Come on, I'll treat you to lunch," Rex said, wearing his blank face once more as he carried their groceries with them while Mei followed him. 

Rex looked at his coffee, all black with no sugar or cream inside the cafe. A plate of mango cheesecake was by his side as he looked at his reflection. For some reason, he could see an older male with a shadowed face hiding a smirk before it changed to him with an amble glow coming out of his eyepatch. 

Looking away from his coffee, the young man let out a small chuckle at the sight of Mei enjoying her cake. 

"Hey," He called out gently, reaching in to wipe some cream beside her lips and licking his finger clean. "strawberry," 

Mei blushed bright red at the indirect kiss before returning to her meal. Heart beating loudly, she took some shy glances at him before opening her mouth. 

"Rex-san, would you mind telling me more about yourself?" Mei shyly asked as their eyes met. The eyepatched male was curious. Besides Kiana (someone he considered not normal), Mei was the only one who asked about his life. 

"About what?" Rex clarified as he took a sip of his coffee. 

"Well, other than what Kiana tells us, we do not know much about you." 

"Oh? Simple, you girls never asked me about things other than Kiana," The young man said before taking a slice of his mango cheesecake and elegantly eating it. "Well, I won't be able to tell you much of my childhood. I lost my memories when I was around... let's see, 7-ish years ago. But some things are hazy. I think it was a result of brain surgery." the young man said with a shrug, clearly not minding about the lost times of his life. 

"Brain surgery?" Mei curiously asked as she looked at him. 

"Yeah, they said I was confined in the hospital for a long time... from the year 2000 to 2007," Rex said as he tried to remember back then, but it had no result whatsoever. 

"That's horrible!" Mei whispered, resolving herself to talk with the others about this. 

"No worries, it's not like I had any attachments left from back then. I was pretty young." Taking another sip from his coffee, the young man then remembered something, someone who was with him. "I do remember a girl... around the same age as I. I can't remember much but here was someone always by my side." 

"Well, what about now? The school session will start once more. Will you be enrolling once more?" The young woman was curious. Besides Kiana and Bronya, the young man was one of the few people she was comfortable around. 

"Honestly, I feel like I should just accept the offer I got from the overseer to train at the headquarters." The letter had been sitting on his desk for a few months now, ever since the surgery that made him lose his eye. The overseer had been pretty curious about him ever since he enrolled in the far east branch. "I have bad memories in the far east branch." 

That made Mei flinch. It seems like she stepped on another land mine. His leaving will probably make Kiana upset. Mei had noticed that Kiana was becoming a bit more open to him, like when she found the two having a nap on the couch after she returned from training. 

"I see. Can you cook?" Mei asked, hoping that she would not step on another landmine this time.

"Not as good as you, but I can cook some and bake better goods." 

Baking? This was good! "Can you teach me how to bake? I can teach you to cook in exchange." She offered, eager to spend some more time with her new... friend? Acquaintance? She did not know yet. 

"I guess I can. This is a satisfying contract." The young man whispered as he finished his coffee. 

"After St. Freya, do you have anything you would want to do?" Mei asked with a gentle smile on her face. 

"Something I want to do?" 

"Hey! ***! Is there something you want to do after this?" A feminine voice asked as a young man turned around, dressed in a zip-up turtleneck and navy blue pants. 

"Hmm, a bakery, a legal consulting firm, or a pawn shop?" The young man replied as a woman smiled in front of him. 

"But why?" She asked.

"A legal consulting form is in line with my training, a pawn shop can be a hobby, and a bakery will make sure I will not have you going hungry on me." The young man said with a smile as he tinkered with something. 

"Oh? Why me too?" 

"You will probably stay with me and drag the others to where I am, *****" The young man replied

"A bakery or something, I guess." The young man said with a smile.

"A bakery? That is a nice goal to have."

"One thing is for sure. I won't hire Kiana to bake anything without me near her." He said, making the both of them chuckle fondly.

After finishing their meal and conversations, Rex paid for their meal and led her to his bike. 

 "Friends of yours?" A young man with dark hair and eyes dressed in a purple button-up shirt with a black tie asked a young woman with blue hair in front of her dressed in a sundress. 

"She is one of my future classmates, according to the principal." The woman said with a smile as she watched both Mei and Rex walk away, a cup of tea in her hand while the young man smiled at her. Noticing something, she leaned in and wiped some stains on the man's mouth with her finger before licking it clean. "Delicious." She said with a smirk at the sigh on the male's burning face. 

"Stop..." The young man groaned out as he hid his face.

"I don't want to." She said with a small grin. 

As Mei and Rex walked back to his bike, a group of three girls smirked as they raised their phones and took a photo of the two before walking away. 

---

Instead of rushing on their way back from the harbor, Rex leisurely drove his bike with Mei on the back. Holding him close, Mei smiled as she saw the beautiful sight of the setting sun on the beach. 

'Time passed by so quickly,' She thought while loosening her hold on his body. 'Maybe, Kiana and I will have times like this too.'

A young woman with pink hair dressed in a shrine maiden outfit smiled happily from behind a horse as she held onto a young man wearing clothes similar to hide armor.

The young man chuckled as he made the horse run faster through the forest, expertly maneuvering through the branches and stopping near a waterfall. 

Before she knew it, the two were back in Himeko's house. She was slightly disappointed, but she smiled as she got down with help from the younger male. 

Rex helped Mei clean the entire house, paying no mind as he emotionlessly fixed his new older sister's messy room while he cleaned. Eating dinner together, Rex sighed in contentment as he sat down on the couch. 

Hanging out with Mei was different than hanging out with the excitable Kiana. It allowed him to drop his guard while he was much more expressive around the troublesome white-haired girl. 

"They aren't back yet?" Rex asked, referring to the girls. Both he and Mei ate dinner earlier. That, combined with how relaxed he felt, made him think his eyes were heavier than usual. 

"Himeko-Sensei said they are all going to be a bit late." She said with a smile as she sat down beside him. 

"Is that so?" The young man asked, closing his eyes and before he knew it, the sweet embrace of unconsciousness claimed him. 

Smiling at the young man, Mei gently let his head rest on top of her lap and played with his hair gently. 

"Thank you for befriending Kiana-chan, Rex-Kun," She said with a gentle smile as she gently pushed some strand of hair to look at his forehead, tracing the scar over his right eye and eyepatch. 

When the girls arrived, they all saw a relaxed Rex, sleeping on top of Mei's lap. The young woman smiled at them before putting a finger on her mouth, telling them to not make too much noise. They were all quite happy or glad to see that he was more relaxed. Kiana was not even jealous, in fact, she grinned playfully and lied down on top of the young man and used him as a mattress