And Then, They Fell in Love

The moment Osamu pulled his apartment door open, Sara launched herself into his arms, planting a kiss on his lips. He stumbled backward briefly, making a small noise of protest. Osamu pushed her away, a look of amusement crossing his face.

“Good morning.” Sara grinned.

“You’re chirpy this morning.” Osamu commented, nudging the front door shut with his hip. Sara noticed he was still in his typical nightwear - sweatpants and an old t-shirt. A small flicker of guilt ran through her when she realized she must have woken him up. Sara knew that Osamu prized what little sleep he got every night.

It also took her a moment to realize they were alone. Completely alone. Sara chose to ignore his comment about her attitude. “You’re home alone?”

“My parents and Ken took a weekend trip to see my grandmother and a few of my aunts.” Osamu rolled his eyes, and turned the corner into the kitchen. Sara followed him and took the coke that he handed her. Osamu leaned against the kitchen counter and continued with his explanation. “Since I can’t stand the old woman, I refused to go. It’s fine with me, though. I like to have the apartment to myself, sometimes. It’s quiet, and I can actually focus on things.”

Osamu fell quiet, and Sara turned her attention to the kitchen table. A bowl of half-eaten cereal, a glass of milk. . .and two pills. “You’re taking your pills again?” she asked, focusing her attention on Osamu.

He shrugged. “I’m considering it.”

A frown crossed Sara’s face. “If they help, the--”

“They don’t help. That’s the point. Trust me, Sara, if they made things better, I wouldn’t have three prescription bottles sitting on my bedroom dresser. This is not just a rebellious teenage thing. They make me feel odd. End of story.” He took a sip on his drink, “Do you have plans for this evening?”

The change of topic caught Sara off guard, but she let it go. “Osamu,” she pinned him with a small glare. “We have been dating for how long now? How many weekends out of the months that we have been dating have I ever had anything planned that did not revolve around you?”

“You spent the night with Itaria a few times.” He pointed out.

“I didn’t say I had never done anything else. That’s not the point.” Sara shook her head. “No, I do not have anything planned for tonight. Why do you ask?”

“Stay with me tonight.”

Sara blinked. “All night?”

“Yes, all night.” Osamu paused. “I am not expecting anything, Sara. Do not get that idea, please. I wouldn’t dare try to pressure you into something that you don’t want to, and I’m not so sure I’m ready for that myself.” He shrugged. “Whatever happens, happens. But as much as I play up the “I like my alone time” . . .I really do not want to be alone tonight.” A slight blush crossed his face, and he shrugged again. “You can sleep in Ken’s room, or I can take the couch. But. . Please?”

Sara was torn. On one hand, a night alone with Osamu sounded wonderful. A time when they didn’t have to worry about parents walking in, or little brothers bothering them at the wrong moment. No noise in the house, no fighting between siblings or parents and children. . . Yet on the other hand, those same reasons frightened her.

A hand rested gently against Sara’s cheek, and she was startled to find Osamu had closed the distance between them. He cupped her cheek gently, and brought her face to meet his. “If you want to say no,” he whispered. “I won’t be offended. I swear.” He placed a small kiss on the tip of her nose, and rested his forehead against hers.

Breathe, Sara reminded herself. You must breathe to live. She lifted her eyes to look into his own, and a small smile crossed her face. “Sure.” She decided. “I’d love to. What do you plan to feed me?”

That earned an honest laugh from Osamu. He stepped away and grinned at her, rolling his violet eyes. “Feed you? What am I, a chef?”

“No. Just my personal slave.”

He snorted. “I’ll scrounge something up. Are you serious though?” Osamu scanned her face for any trace of doubt. “You’re really okay with this?”

“Osamu, it isn’t like I’m spending the night with a werewolf.”

The corner of his mouth twitched. “I was thinking more along the lines of serial killer.”

“Serial killer, werewolf. Same difference.”

“I’m sure the lycanthropes would thank you.”


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When Sara entered Osamu’s apartment again, she found her boyfriend sitting in the middle of the floor, DVD cases spread all over the floor. He grinned up and her, and waved one in her face. “I thought that we could have a movie night.” He explained. “I borrowed a few DVD’s from Itaria.. There is a manga series I fell in love with a while back, and I just learned it has an anime. I thought you might be interested.”

“Sure,” she replied, setting her purse on the couch. “What’s it called?”

“Saishu Heiki Kanojo, or Saikano.”

“I haven’t heard of that one.”

“Then we have to watch it. Although I warn you - it is seriously one of the saddest stories I have ever read in my life. If you want to talk about a doomed romance, it’s right in front of you.”

She grinned, “Sounds great. What’s for dinner.”

That earned a roll of Osamu’s eyes, and he pointed toward the kitchen. “I made soup. And rice, of course. I was going to attempt to make sushi, but I thought better of it.”

The smell from the soup was wonderful. Of course - Osamu had to be great at cooking too. Why not? He was apparently great at everything else.

She was about to help herself to the soup when Osamu suddenly pulled her to him. “Thank you,” he whispered against her hair, resting his cheek on the top of her head.

“For what?”

“For trusting me.”

Osamu seemed honestly shocked that she would. Sighing, Sara stood on the tips of her toes to meet his eyes. “You are not as bad as you think you are,” she informed him. “Sure, you can be a jerk. Maybe you do need to work on that, because sometimes you really can hurt people. But you are psychotic, and I don’t think you have it in you to hurt anyone. And if you are referring to the other reason why I would trust you tonight. . .” Sara paused for a moment and bit her lip. “I came here knowing that is a possibility. And I’m okay with it.”

Dropping from her toes, Sara let him go and turned toward the soup. “Come on, genius. The soup’s getting cold and we have a four hour anime to watch.”

Osamu blinked at her momentarily, before shaking his head and laughing.

They settled on the couch and started the anime. Sara soon learned that Osamu was not kidding about the anime being depressing. Nothing could exactly be happy about the world ending. Osamu was completely absorbed in the anime, taking small sips of his soup in between.

“Shuji can be a bastard, you know,” Sara commented. “I mean, one moment he’s all “I love you, Chise!” and the next he’s belittling her for apparently being weak. She’s the strongest weapon in the world - how does that make her weak?”

“Her spirit is weak,” Osamu answered quietly. “Chise knows what she is, and she hates it. Not to mention, Shuji is probably going through a lot of unhappy things. Friends he has grown up with are dropping like flies, he knows his surrounding towns and cities are being destroyed, and he has to face that eventually, Chise won’t be Chise anymore. It’s depressing. Sometimes your emotions can make your cruel, even if you don’t really want them to.”

Screw it.

Sara turned from her seat on the couch, twisting Osamu’s face to meet hers, and kissed him as hard as she could. It broke his concentration on the television, and he pulled away with one eyebrow raised in amusement. “What was that for?”

Calming her nerves, Sara rose from her place, turning, and straddled his lap. “Hi.”

Osamu swallowed, and suddenly looked nervous. “Um. . Hello?” He rested his hands on her waist, and pulled her closer, swallowing again. “Sara. . .what exactly are you doing?”

She gave him a look. “What does it look like I’m doing. You’re the genius - you figure it out.” She leaned down and made small kisses against his neck, smiling to herself when Osamu sighed and tipped his head back. Reaching between them, she grabbed the hem of his shirt and started to pull upward, only to be stopped as Osamu grabbed her wrist.

“Sara, stop.”

She did, leaning back to give him a confused look. “Stop? Why?”

“Because you don’t want this.”

A blink. “I don’t.”

“No. And if you keep on this track, this could lead to something. . . Unhealthy.”

Sara gave a small snort and rolled her eyes. “Odd. I’d always heard it was very healthy for you.”

Osamu gave her an exasperated look. “You know what I mean.”

“Just stop thinking about it,” Sara cut him off, crossing her arms over her chest. He opened his mouth to protest, and she pressed a finger against his lips. “I know what I’m doing. I know that this is spontaneous, but I also knew that when I came here tonight, there was a chance we might end up doing this. I’ve thought it over, and I want to. I realize that I don’t have to, I know that you’ll be careful, and yes, I am aware of the possibility I might get hurt. But I also know that if we don’t now, I’m going to lose my nerve. Have I answered all of your questions, or are you going to continue to prolong this further?”

Osamu didn’t move, and continued to stare at her as if she were out of her mind. Just as Sara felt ready to crawl into a hole, he moved. Slowly, he stood, and Sara had a brief moment to wrap her legs around his waist before she ended up on the floor. She tried to ignore her racing heartbeat and he carried her to the back part of the hallway - his room. Pressing her head against his chest, she was pleased to find that his heart was racing too. At least she wasn’t the only one who was nervous.

She was in his bed before she realized, and the knots in her stomach were becoming worse. Sara bit her lip, and watched as Osamu pulled his shirt over his head. His eyes caught hers, and concern flashed in his eyes. “Sara. . .”

“Don’t say it. I know. We don’t have to do this.”

Osamu opened his mouth to reply, and apparently thought better of it. Instead, he pulled her into a kiss, briefly pulling away to meet her eyes again. “Are you nervous?”

That made her laugh. “Can’t you hear my heart?”

That crooked smile was back. “Are you sure?” he whispered.

Swallowing her fears, Sara pushed a piece of hair from Osamu’s eyes, and nodded. “Yes.”

There wasn’t anything else that needed to be said.


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Author's Notes: I am actually very nervous about this chapter. I honestly couldn't really. . add something in that wasn't already in. I know that there is no graphic sex scene, and I apologize for that. It's not my style. Maybe on down the road. Heh, now i"m nervous .. I hope it is receieved well, because honestly, it turned out a little different than I was planning. This chapter was originally supposed to be about Osamu's outside family and introducing another new character. . . but after getting halfway through writing that, it just didn't fit. I can't introduce the new character until this happens. I do hope it hasn't turned you off from the story. With as simple as this chapter was, there are a few moments of forshadowing. Especially with a line of Osamu's. The story is getting darker, folks. You really have no idea how terrified I am of ending this story (although we're still a ways from the ending. . maybe six or seven chapters). Thanks for reading :D

P.S - I am considering changing the title to this story. If you have any suggestions, please leave them in your review!