Awkward at first, yes, but oddly comforting to see them all there, she thought.

also got praised by some of her teachers for getting her assignments done right (that was a relief)

also questioned by some (okay, half) of her classmates when they saw her enter the school walking alongside Kyouya, dread prefect of the DC

which prompted the barrage of "What are you doing with the prefect? Is he your boyfriend? You're living together?! It's a miracle he hasn't-

-bitten you to death yet!" comments when she reached her table. Chrome simply shrugged and stayed silent.

just gotten her shoes from the locker and was now leaving the school building for the walk home

waiting by the school gates, ignoring the odd stares and loud whispering that has resulted among the student body due to his presence.

that the lunch earlier was a little strange. Sawada kept staring at him whenever the boy thought he wasn't looking.

if the Sawada he had seen earlier *hadn't* been a figment of his imagination, and they had somehow crossed each other in his dream.

call the other boy on it eventually. Maybe. The whole idea's just too strange. ~_~

noticed the louder-than-usual buzz that surrounded the school gates and finds Kyouya standing there. She runs over and greets him.

Kyouya-san. Off to patrol again tonight?

wanted to ask where he disappeared to after lunch, but she figured it was due to DC responsibilities.

... come to think of it, Chrome wondered, did Kyouya regularly attend classes in Namimori? Probably, she concluded to herself.

shakes his head. "...Heading home?"

I'll walk with you if you are.

he doesn't sound as tired as he feels. He had left after eating earlier in the hopes of taking a nap in the D.C. room, but

had soon discovered that he was a little scared about sleeping. The nightmare was, after all, getting worse, discounting the most recent one

... ah. Yes, I am.

notices the dark rings that were shadowing under his eyes. *He hasn't been sleeping well lately?* she wonders...

Okay. Let's walk home together, Kyouya-san.

nods and starts walking. He makes sure they're at pace with each other, just the way they were this morning.

to ask himself why he's letting this happen. Maybe he's tired. Maybe he needs someone to talk to. Either way... it's quite odd.

as though the only person he could've possibly "talked" with would be Takeshi, and even Takeshi would have to force it out of him.

if it's because Chrome said she'd be there. That she wanted to help. That she stayed and didn't ask.

their relationship gets odder by the day.

getting used to the silence that hung between the both of them as they paced their way towards home. At least it wasn't awkward anymore.

that the thing bugging him was causing him to lose sleep, but, again, she did not want to press him to tell her what was wrong.

figures that, if he wanted to tell her, he will. And she'll try her best to help him.

takes care of letting them both inside when they get home. He makes a beeline straight for the porch, but

turns to face Chrome before stepping outside. "...I think... I'm ready to take you up on your offer."

If you don't mind staying with me while I smoke, anyway.

blinks. "... ah! Yes! I mean, no, I won't mind the smoke. Just let me place my bag in my room."

bounds off to do just that and comes back outside to the porch seconds later.

now looks expectantly at Kyouya, waiting for him to begin.

settled down on the porch with his back against the wall and one knee drawn up, smoking, watching everything but Chrome.

trying to find the words in things that don't mean much of anything to him Talking always requires such a supreme amount of effort.

...I think... I think I can finally say I'm in love with him. And that scares me.

We haven't been on the best of terms either. There were things he never bothered to tell me. I found them out the hard way, on my own.

It's been a long-standing issue, really. He either underestimates me, or I overestimate him. And he never speaks about himself.

...Even when he is talking about himself. So... when I heard about the one he was with before me...

pauses, looking down. He takes a long drag of his cigarette. "He's not in Namimori now. I don't know where he is."

I don't even know if he's going to bother coming back now, since I never answered him when he asked me to.

standing when he started and eventually sank down, cross-legged, beside him. Of course, it involved - stemmed - with his relationship -

with Dino-san. But she didn't expect the first words that came out. That he was in love and was scared.

shifts her legs, brings her knees up and rests her chin on them. She wasn't exactly expecting this heavy confession all of a sudden,

but she steeled herself. "... so you are... mad at him because he didn't tell you anything about his previous relationship?"

or... jealous?"

I don't really know. I just... I had wanted to hear it from him.

He once told me that it was all right for us to be together. That he'd wait.

I don't know if that still holds. What I *do* know is that I can't seem to function without him anymore.

"And that's frightening" in a softer voice, as he puts out his cigarette. He lights up another one.

biting her lower lip. She sort of knew the feeling. Of not being able to function without someone that meant so much to you. Which was-

with Chrome the case. Literally. Now that Mukuro-sama was free his sights were solely trained on the boss. Which made her feel...

jealous and cast aside, despite Mukuro-sama's occasional comfortings. But she was, really, learning to live without the strings that bound-

her close to Mukuro-sama. Chrome frowned and shook herself. *Not the issue here now* she scolded herself.

, haltingly. "Maybe... he was going to tell you, eventually, but didn't feel like it was the right time to say it?"

You said that Dino-san doesn't tell you much, even when he talks about himself. Maybe... he's also looking for the right things to say?

That he doesn't want to scare you off, or give the wrong impression... because he cares very much about what you think...

And... if Dino-san says that it's okay for you two to be together, and that he'll wait for you then...

you should trust Dino-san, and the way you feel about him?

sort-of cringing inside, hoping that she said the right words to help him.

had not considered that possibility: that Dino had been waiting for the right moment. "Right", though, was questionable, as always.

too used to a Dino who couldn't see him as anything but a child, or a student. They're both creatures of habit. They both sucked at change.

...I really don't know.

helpless and tired and lost, and tonight he's bound to dream about losing out again.

helpless and tired and lost, and tonight he's bound to dream about losing out again.

helpless, lost and tired. Tonight he will dream about losing out again, and he won't be able to do anything about it. He knows this.

finishes his cigarette. "...Thanks for listening to me."

Umn. I... hope you figure things out with Dino-san soon. I don't think... he's having too much sleep over this either...

Perhaps.

quietly stands up and heads into the house. Maybe he'll poke around for those sleeping pills.

(Plurk for fucking up so much with double/triple posts.)