“Hello, ojōsama. I am happy to see you again,” Atsuki said, a soft smile on his face.

“This is the one you call Yūben'na? And that would make you the oka- Kimura Genkai?” Yamato-san said as he caught himself.

Genkai colored and swallowed, his throat suddenly dry. “Yes… That is me. Who do I have the honor of speaking to?”

Yamato-san sketched a courtly bow to Genkai and said, “I am Hiroshi Yamato. I am quite pleased to meet you.” He held his hand out, palm up.

Genkai slowly rested his hand in Yamato’s and made a soft squeak when it was kissed by the man.

“I….uh…. I….wow.”

“Would you like to play with me, Kimura-kun?” Yamato asked.

“I…well…” Genkai stammered, looking around fearfully, then, spying Markus’ smiling face, he shook his head quickly and took a deep breath. “I’d love to, Hiroshi-san.”

Yamato smiled broadly, and led the shy man off into the arcade.

“Well, Yūben'na?” Hanako said, then leaned closer to Atsuki. “Would you like to go play with me?” she whispered huskily into his ear.

Atsuki stiffened and nodded. Markus watched with a grin as the pair wandered off toward a different part of the arcade.

“I’m not one hundred percent sure just what happened, but I doubt we will see those two for quite some time,” Markus laughed.

Akane laughed with him, then stopped as she suddenly realized that they were alone. She looked down at their hands, clasped together, then up at Markus, who seemed to be watching his friends as they were whisked off to parts unknown by her friends.

She swallowed, feeling suddenly self-conscious. She felt a tremor from deep within, as her heartbeat increased. She was alone with a man! Well, not exactly. They were still in public, after all. Still, her thoughts swirled chaotically, some benign; others, not so much.

Markus felt the slight tremor in his hand and looked down, seeing Akane there with a thousand-yard stare.

Leaning over, he murmured, “Usagi-chan? Tell me; just what is going through your mind right now?”

Akane, startled out of her reverie, whipped her head around, dislodging that errant lock of hair, finding herself face to face with Markus, his piercing gray eyes gazing lovingly into hers.

“I… uh… Well. Nothing. It’s nothing. Nevermind,” she said, suddenly feeling too hot in her coat.

“Hmm?” he arched an eyebrow and cocked his head to the side. “I’m pretty sure it’s more than ‘nothing’. You wouldn’t have been shaking, and your skin wouldn’t have suddenly gotten….what’s the word? Damp? Wet? Damp. We’ll go with damp,” he said, nodding decisively.

Akane squirmed a little, then tried to blow the hair out of her eyes. Markus chuckled softly, then reached up and gently brushed the offending hair out her face, tucking it behind her ear. Akane closed her eyes as she felt his tender touch, and leaned in slightly towards his hand.

“I cannot listen to my Usagi-chan’s hopes and dreams and fears if she will not speak,” he said.

Akane looked at him, her mouth slightly open. He was right, damn him. She was afraid to tell him that she was nervous, and just wanted to play games and forget everything else. She certainly wasn’t going to talk about the thoughts that were deeper in her mind that were just now bubbling to the fore.

In the face of his maddening smile, however, she could do only one thing: nod. “Kuma-kun is right. Usagi-chan must talk, or none of this works,” she sighed and closed her eyes. Upon opening them again, she felt a stronger resolve. “Let’s go play some games. Be a kid again, Kuma-kun. Play with me,” she said.

“I would love to play with you. Let’s go, my Usagi-chan,” he replied.

Akane gently pulled her hand from his grip, and wiped it on her coat. It was time for her to stop being so nervous. Taking his hand again, she led him to the kiosk where he could purchase his own game card and waited for him to finish his transaction.

“So, how often do you come to this family of arcades? I’m just wondering how much to put on the card, is all,” he asked.

“Oh! Um. Maybe once or twice a month? I don’t have much free time with work, so I try to come at least once a month to relax and smile and laugh. Why?” she explained.

“Okay, then. I think fifty should be enough. I can always come back, right?” Markus said, feeding the machine.

Akane watched him with wide eyes as he fed ten 5000 yen notes into the machine. She looked up at his face to see him smiling softly.

“What? I love video games. I also intend to come back here” -he leaned down, placing his mouth beside Akane’s ear and murmured- “as often as I possibly can once my training is complete. Would my Usagi-chan like that?” Markus stayed in that position, simply taking in Akane’s reaction.

Akane’s heart beat like mad, forcing her to place a hand on her chest. She heaved a pair of breaths and leaned her head up, and softly spoke. “Kuma-kun, if you insist on doing this to me, I’m going to have to ask you to let us take this elsewhere. You’re driving me crazy!”

Markus chuckled softly. “Good.” He straightened and gently took her hand once more. “What would you like to play first, Akane?” he asked, in a more normal tone and volume.

Wordlessly, Akane led him to an air hockey table, and tapped her card. “Loser buys the next game!” she said with a confidence she did not feel.

“Excellent! Let the games begin!” Markus exclaimed, dropping the puck onto the table.

A few hours and several games later, Markus and Akane were at a sweat-drenched stalemate. There was a crowd of people nearby watching the intense back and forth between the two.

Akane make a lightning-quick maneuver with her striker, sending the puck careening off the left wall at a low angle. Markus tried hard to move his own striker to intercept, but was only able to adjust it’s trajectory such that it dropped right into his goal slot.

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Akane thrust her arms into the air in victory. “That makes three in a row! I win!” she exclaimed, laughing.

Markus smiled and set his striker down and clapped along with the rest of the crowd around them. “Fantastic job! You’re real good at this. I bet you could’ve beaten my mother in her prime,” he said, grinning at his girlfriend.

Akane giggled and bounced on the balls of her feet. “Thank you!” she said happily. As if for the first time, she noticed the sizeable crowd around them, and sidled over to Markus’ side. She wrapped an arm around one of his and attempted to hide behind the much bigger man.

“Where did they all come from?” she asked in a whisper.

Markus laughed and looked down at her. “They’ve been here for almost an hour. You seem to have a bit of a fan club, now!”

Akane made a high pitched noise of fear and dismay and reached down to pull her coat over her face, only to realize that it wasn’t there anymore. Frantic, she whipped her head around, only to find it tied to her waist.

“When did I do this, Markus?” she asked, gesturing to her coat.

“About an hour and a half ago. We were four games in and you were sweating a lot. I suggested taking it off, and well, there you go. You were more comfortable, and your playing got so much better. It was an honor playing with you,” he explained, wiping his brow.

Akane realized just how hot this man was at that moment. He felt like a furnace, and was dripping sweat. Wordlessly, she led him to the door, ignoring his protestations.

“Where are we going? Why are you taking me outside? Hey… just what-” Markus stopped as a blast of wonderfully cold air hit his skin, and he sighed in relief.

“This is where we are going, Kuma-kun. Outside so you can cool” -her eyes widened as she took in the view of Markus standing there, arms outstretched, steam rolling off his body- “....off,” her voice trailed away as she saw the spectacle before her.

Markus took a deep breath and let it out slowly, feeling the heat roll off his body. “Thank you for looking after me, Usagi-chan. I sometimes forget to do so. There is nothing quite like this feeling,” he said, eyes closed.

“Wow. I knew you had gotten warm, but I didn’t think you’d gotten this hot. That’s just crazy,” she replied.

“Hmm?” Markus looked down and around his body. “Am I steaming again?” he asked nonchalantly.

“Again?! You mean you’ve done this before?” she asked incredulously.

Markus nodded as the door opened, revealing the other four of their number. “Yeah, a few times. I used to play a ‘sport’ in the States that involved full-contact with foam-covered plastic pipes. This happened whenever we played in the winter. It got to be a running joke. ‘Where’s Markus? Oh, just look for the cloud of steam!’ I never was terribly good at the game, but I had fun,” he replied as the others took in the spectacle.

“I didn’t quite believe it, Barton-san. Now, however, I absolutely do. Are you actually comfortable out here?” Yamato asked.

“I’m getting there, yeah. Still a bit warm. Once I stop steaming, and actually feel cold, I might be okay to go back and play some more games,” he said.

“About that… Do you realize that it is almost ten PM, Markus?” Atsuki said.

Both Markus and Akane stared at Atsuki. “Seriously?” they said in unison.

Hanako nodded, and rested her arm on Atsuki’s shoulder. “Yep. Anyone up for drinks?” she ventured.

The other five looked at each other, nodded and shrugged. Hanako smiled and took Atsuki’s hand. “Off we go, then!”

Yamato gestured ahead of him as he looked at Genkai. “After you, my dear,” he said. Genkai colored slightly and giggled softly as he followed his brother.

Yamato turned to Markus and smiled. “I like him! He’s so cute! Thank you for introducing us, my friend,” he said, bowing to Markus, and trotted off after Genkai.

“My Kuma-kun is a good man. I’m proud to be here beside him,” Akane said, taking Markus’ hand.

The pair began following their friends to whatever bar they were heading towards.

“I’m grateful to be with you, Usagi-chan. I’ve had such a wonderful time with you today. And it seems that it’ll continue for a little while longer,” he said, pulling Akane into a gentle one-armed hug, and kissed the top of her head.

Akane giggled and hugged him back. It was hard to believe he was still somewhat sweaty.

They followed their friends, staying about thirty feet back, so they could talk with some level of privacy.

“Tell me the truth, Markus. What do you intend to do with me?” Akane asked.

Blindsided by the question, Markus blinked rapidly, processing what he just heard. “I’m sorry. What?” he asked.

Akane laughed softly. “What is it you want with me, Markus? Why have you decided that I, of all the people in this world, am deserving of your time?” she clarified.

Scratching his head, he looked down at his girlfriend. “Well, I… I’m not sure how to answer that, Akane. What do I want with you? Um… Let’s see. I would say that I want the same thing from you that I would expect of any girlfriend,” he began, and felt Akane both tense up and wilt at the same time. “Wouldn’t any guy? I mean, I count myself as exceedingly lucky to have attracted your attention in the first place, so I’m not gonna go crazy here. I want a partner. Someone who would want to be by my side through whatever time we have together on this little rock. Someone who is delighted when I walk in the door from work. Someone whose face lights up when they see a message from me on their phone. Someone to hug and hold and kiss. Someone who will hug me and hold me and kiss me.

As to why I felt you were deserving of my time? I would say that Fate gave me a nudge and said ‘Hey. Look over there. You might want to try asking her out.’ And I looked over there. I saw a beautiful and cute woman that I thought I would like to get to know, and maybe go out on a date with. See where the road of Life took me. And” -he stopped walking, turning her around to face him- “I’d say that I may well have found the right road to walk this time,” he said with a soft smile, caressing her cool cheek with his warm hand.

Akane gasped at the sudden halting of movement, and gazed into his steel-gray eyes. His hand felt so warm against her cold cheek, that she nuzzled into it happily. Those indecent thoughts crawled to the surface of her mind once more, and she grew warmer at the idea.

This bear of an American wanted the woman she was, and she wanted the man he was. She felt a trembling in her midsection, just below her ribs. The butterflies wanted out, and she didn’t feel like denying them anymore.

She reached up, and pulled his head down, her other hand on his chest, meeting his warm lips with hers, feeling his mustache tickling her nose. She held him there, willing her heart to tell him all she didn’t have the words or courage to say.

That she wanted the same things. A partner. Someone to kiss and hold and hug. Someone to dote on. Someone that would come home to her every night, and not to a bottle or a drug or another woman.

Someone to love.

She felt his hammering heart beneath her hand, and knew that he was just as nervous and excited as she was.

As she broke the kiss, she looked into his gray eyes once more, seeing the delight dance across them. “Let’s keep walking down this road, my Kuma-kun. I’ll be with you for as long as you will hold my hand,” she whispered.

“As my Usagi-chan wishes. You might get tired of holding my hand, though,” Markus murmured.

Akane laughed and took his hand again, tugging him down the sidewalk as they began to catch up to their friends. “Never, Markus Barton. Never!”