"Tenshi-kun," Neko said softly. "I can hear your heartbeat." She drew a heart with her finger in the center of Tenshi's chest. "I think our hearts are beating together."
"That's very romantic of them. Sets just the right atmosphere," Tenshi pointed out.
"We'll have to thank them for that," Neko said only half-serious. "Arigatou, Tenshi-kun no kokoro," she whispered, drawing another heart with a halo over it.
"You know, you get incredibly cutesy when you're in a romantic mood," Tenshi kidded her.
"I think I'm drunk." Tenshi looked at her skeptically. There was no alcohol at this picnic. "Drunk off of my love for an angel," Neko sang.
"You must be. I've never seen you this silly."
"Be good. Or I'll tell my okaa-san that you got me drunk," Neko threatened with a giggle.
"Well, I'm sure Ryo-sama will quickly clear my good name. But who's going to clear yours?"
"For what?" The wind picked up and flew some hair into Neko's face, but she was too enthralled with Tenshi to pay it any mind.
Tenshi reached over and pushed the hair behind Neko's ear. "When I tell my okaa-san how you've managed to steal my heart," she replied adoringly.
"Well, I'm not giving it back."
Tenshi smiled. "Good, I'll just have to get payment for it in kisses."
"Mmm," Neko agreed. "With interest?"
"Oh, no question about it."
She and Neko kissed deep and passionately, as the wind took hold of Neko's hair once again. It flew before them as if creating a curtain sheltering their kiss before an invisible audience in the sea.
But soon Neko became aware of its sudden proximity to the flames and released Tenshi. She quickly gathered the wild strands together and tried to figure out how to put it up.
"Here." Tenshi held out a dark red handkerchief. "It's clean, I promise. You can use it to tie it up."
"Arigatou."
"Ne, Koneko?" Tenshi asked curiously. "Have you ever cut your hair?"
Neko lay back against Tenshi's shoulder. "No. I almost did once because Hoshi-chan suggested that I cut it after having guy-problems, but I decided not to."
"Hoshi, your artist best friend from Mercury?"
"You know, you don't get bonus points for remembering every detail I ever tell you about everything," Neko teased.
"I don't?" Tenshi pretended to pout at the revelation.
Neko couldn't ignore Tenshi's apparent distress, even knowing it was a ruse. "Well, maybe just a few," she reassured her.
"Well, I'm glad you didn't."
"Huh?" Neko tried to remember what they were talking about before the "bonus points" part of the conversation.
Tenshi ran her fingers through Neko's hair. "Cut your hair. It's so beautiful."
"Stop it."
She continued stroking Neko's hair. "You need to learn how to take a compliment," Tenshi scolded her gently with a small kiss on her temple.
"No, stop it!" Neko pushed herself away from Tenshi and stood up, facing away from Tenshi towards the ocean. She stared at it, torn between tending to her own discomfort and apologizing to Tenshi. It wasn't Tenshi's fault. Neko hadn't ever bothered to mention what had happened with Kaido, and she never planned to either. But the way Tenshi had just complimented her had just reminded her so much of the way he had.
Had she overreacted? She couldn't help her reaction to it. But now she just wanted Tenshi to say something. To come and sweep her in her arms and promise it would be okay.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Tenshi didn't understand. This wasn't Neko's usual bashful answer to a compliment. Something had deeply upset her. And Tenshi was afraid it was her.
She sat there, trying to wrap her mind around what she had done wrong. But nothing came to mind. She slowly got to her feet and approached Neko. "Koneko?" she asked cautiously. "Daijoubu ka?"
"Tenshi-kun!" Neko spun around and buried her face in Tenshi's shoulder. "Gomen nasai."
Tenshi put her arms around her. "Shh, it's okay. What happened?" Neko shook her head. Apparently it wasn't going to be as easy as that. "Koneko, look at me." Neko did. The flickering firelight reflected beautifully in her teary eyes. Tenshi wiped a tear from her cheek. "Hey, I can't avoid it if I don't know what it is I did wrong."
Neko's eyes darted from Tenshi's face to the fire, distancing herself from Tenshi again. She remained silent.
"I guess it'll have to be one of the seven great mysteries of Koneko then," Tenshi mumbled under her breath.
"What are the other six?" Neko asked softly, finally willing to look Tenshi in the eyes.
A hint of a smile played upon Tenshi's face. "You heard that, huh? Well, there's the mystery of� your beautiful smile." And just that easily, there it was! Having succeeded so well, Tenshi felt it was worth continuing. "And one really has to wonder how you manage to light up a room when you walk into it. And how you managed to be so talented in everything you do."
"Aw, cut it out," Neko said blushing. That was the modest answer Tenshi had come to expect from her.
As usual Tenshi paid no heed to her shy response. "Most of all, there's the great mystery of how a woman like you," she pulled Neko even closer to her, "could ever fall in love with someone like me."
"No mystery there." Neko emphasized the statement with a kiss. "Ne, what happened to the other two mysteries?"
Tenshi shrugged. "I'm sure that in the 17 years before I met you, you managed to produce a couple of mysteries that I have yet to find out about."
"Could be," Neko replied with secretive air.
"Ooh. Yippee, a challenge!" Tenshi's eyes sparkled with exhilaration. "Now, how can I find out all your secrets?"
"All my secrets? You're aiming a little high, aren't you?"
But Tenshi wasn't about to let the spirit of the conversation change. "Well, I supposed I could ask Mi-chan� though I guess she probably wouldn't volunteer any information that you're not willing to. In fact, she might be a bit suspicious that I'm snooping around. There's always Kimako and Gebriel-kun, but I doubt they'll be much help�. What's so funny?"
"You and Jian-kun both adopted 'Kimako' instead of 'Ki-chan' because you learned it from me," Neko explained with a giggle. "But you still call Chibi 'Gebriel-kun.'"
Tenshi flashed her a charming smile. "I think he's warming up to me. He's not as cynical about me as he used to be."
"Ah, don't worry about him. He just feels that his status as alpha Knight has been threatened by you."
"Well, he can have the title. As long as I'm your alpha Knight, I don't care." No real contest there. Tenshi was the only Knight that Neko would ever even consider. She was the only Knight who was female.
Tenshi replayed the scene and tried to figure out how they got on this subject. Oh yeah, she was trying to
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