Every New Beginning

"Nee-san, yes. But not onee-chan." Taylor said, as she started back for the house. She probably had hypothermia. She might die.

She drew up short, though, before reaching the door. She narrowed her eyes and thumped her palm into Mamouru's chest to stop him. "Hey. Flattered is great, but what I really want to hear is that you're gonna stop being a pussy. No more 'nobody likes me', blah blah. You're family, and kind of a prick sometimes, so we get to rough you up sometimes. But like I said... You're in now. I need you to carry your weight, because." She drew a breath and looked away at the ground. When she spoke again, her voice quavered, ever so slightly. "I really can't let her down."

When she looked at him, her deep blue eyes bore the unmistakable softness of vulnerability, but only for a moment. Then she threw the door open and shoved him back inside.

"Sorry, he followed me home." She announced.

Mamouru shook his head and smiled. "I can handle sometimes no problem. It gets a little annoying when it's ALL the time from EVERYONE. heh..." He added. "I've been carrying a lot more than that..." He managed before getting shoved through the door. He saw the look in Taylor's eyes. He hadn't let anyone down yet and he wasn't about to.

Like a waiting trap, Akashi sprung into action. She pulled both of them in and hugged them like she might never she them again. "You two!" She shouted as she squeezed with all her might. "I can't believe t! I said no one leaves!" She scolded Mamouru and squeezed in a way that turned her hug into a headlock. "And you!' She exclaimed and did the same to Taylor, dragging them into the house. "Running off like that in your pajamas! You'll catch the cold, Imouto-chan!" She huffed and let them both go while Johnny watched with a goofy grin on his face.

Akashi dusted herself off and looked at both of them, shaking her head. "Get to bed." She said with a smirk, pointing towards the bedroom. "If you don't, then I'll have to warm you up myself, Johnny-kun won't get to!"

"Hey man! I can keep her warm!" He said, chiming in with a laugh.

Mamouru bowed his head. "G-Gomen nasai, Taniaze-san. We won't be going anywhere for the rest of the night." He then flashed an apologetic look to Johnny and let out a sigh. a bed sounded really good right now, even if it was a strange one.

"Yes, onee-chan." Taylor said dutifully, with a grain of sarcasm that was subtle but unmistakable, and headed for the bedroom with Johnny in tow. She paused, though, as she passed Cassie. She looked at her for a moment before putting a hand on the back of her head and pulling her in to kiss her forehead. She smiled, and then gave her a rough shove on the shoulder with one hand.

"Good night, Bear."

"Good night, Bluebird."

Taylor gave her a look. Cassie had never called her that before, though Lukretia had, albeit in German. She thought nothing of it, though, and then she went straight to Akashi's room and dove under the covers.

Cassie looked around at the two remaining people, Akashi and Mamouru. With a bright eyed little smile, she bowed deeply to Akashi and then booped her nose with her finger.

Then she turned to Mamouru. She smiled, a little shy. "Good night, my protector." She said, and walked off to the guest room. A moment passed, and she appeared in the doorway again. "Wait, are you sleeping in here too?" She asked, a little apprehensively.

Akashi grinned proudly at Taylor's words. Even if it held some sass, it was good to hear and she considered it a small victory that Taylor was off to bed, event hough she had been hankering for it for a while. She yawned and bowed to Taylor and Johnny, Johnny yawning cause of Akashi's yawning as he pulled Taylor into bed and pressed himself close to her, quick to ease into a nearly unconscious state. He gave a soft, "I love you, babe." While he still had his faculties.

Mamouru watched the scene and smiled. He had to admit that he was feeling tired as well. When Cassie turned to him, his eyes widened and his cheeks flushed. "... you too, Cassie-cha.. er Cassie-san." He said and bowed to her.

Akashi bowed as well when Cassie did and giggled when her nose was poked. She smiled as Mamouru and Cassie said their goodnights and let out a soft sigh. She was about to speak to Mamouru when Cassie stepped back in. The sumo raised her eyebrow. "Uhh... Well..." She said smiling. "It's either Mamouru-kun or me and I'M A SNUGGLER!" She said with a wide grin. "Possibly more than that..." She nudged Mamouru. "You're probably safer with him, Cassie-san." She said with a nod.

Mamouru blushed. "Ahh... Cassie-san and I have shared a room before. It should be fine." He said and nodded, moving forward towards the guest room,looking to Cassie to see if it was ok with her as Akashi moved over to make sure everything was turned off and ready for bed time.

Mamouru slid into the guest room and looked at Cassie. "I hope it won't bother you, Cassie-san." He said as he moved towards the end of the room, away from the futon. "I'll just pile a blanket up right here. It's no trouble."

"Mamouru's fine." Cassie said quickly.

She went into the room with Mamouru and started busying herself with the blankets and pillows on the bed to alleviate some of the crushing awkwardness. She had no idea what to say or what she should be doing, but at least the pillows would be well situated.

"O-oh." She said, and looked at Mamouru trying to nest on the opposite end. One corner of her mouth drew back pensively. She didn't want to just throw him away like that, that didn't seem fair. They'd slept in the same room before, and with substantially less clothing by the end of it than they had now. She had changed into a white camisole and loose blue pants that tied at the waist while Mamouru and Taylor were outside.

She took a pair of glasses that she had hung on the waist of her pants and slipped them on. The were not-quite-black frames, soft rectangular lenses, that complimented her face very well, although she generally didn't wear them in front of people. She wore them all the time at home, especially when she spent long hours at the computer working for the AFW magazine. They were more cozy than her contacts, but only at home. She didn't know what effect she thought her glasses would have on Mamouru, maybe they'd keep him away or maybe it would be a step to get to know each other better.

"No..." She relented. "Why don't... why don't you sleep in the bed, but on top of the sheet and I'll sleep under it." She said. It made sense in her head. She could justify it. Her dad would kill her. "I don't want you to have to sleep on the floor, and I don't think you want me to, so... it'll be fine. I trust you." She said, and smiled.

While Cassie busied herself with pillows, Mamouru took off his over shirt and set it near him. Hehad wished he would have packed some more things so he would have been prepared for a sleepover but in this situation, it was probably best that he slept in his clothes. He let out a soft sigh and looked at Cassie as she slid some glasses on. Mamouru let a soft chuckle escape his lips. "Cassie-san..." He said warmly. I didn't know you wore glasses. You look very studious." He added with a nod. She did, she looked quite thoughtful with them on. It was a nice look.

He tilted his head as he heard her words and blushed. "Are you certain?' He said. 'It's.. no trouble really." But when she said she trusted him, he smiled. "Thank you... Cassie-san." he said with a smile as he stood up and moved over to the light and waited for Cassie to slip under the blankets before flicking them off and settling down next to her. He bumped her with his foot lightly and used that as a point to sit down before adjusting and settling into a rigid position as far from her as possible without being off the futon. A futile endeavor. He let out another sigh and tried his best not to relax. He didn't feel comfortable even though it was exactly where he wanted to be.

"Cassie-san." He said after a moment of silence. "Thank you for trusting me." He meant it. "It means a lot even though I probably don't deserve it." He stared up into the darkness as he thought about his words. "And, please...." He said. "When you're ready, when you're able to, please let us talk seriously about what you have planned for the future. If I am to continue managing you, then I will need to be more connected than I have been. You need to be more open with me." He smiled. "And don't worry, I won't try and get you to be a bad girl like before. It was never my intention to turn you into that, only to prove a point to you. I feel like you have gotten the missing piece... somewhere now. That pleases me."

"Yeah." Cassie said, laying on her back under the blankets and staring up at the ceiling. "Um... sorry."

She sighed. "Mamouru... it's not that I don't think you can control yourself. I trust you because I know you can. But... That means that the things you do that are bad are on purpose and that means that... part of you is bad, and, um...like, you're not a bad guy, but some things, are, and..." She let out an irritable growl that boiled over into something like an aggravated shout. "I am so tired of sounding like an idiot twelve year old! I am smart, and I'm an adult, and I just wish that I could sound like it and not come across like something from stupid My Little Pony. Do you know that I actually say the word gosh? Gosh. It's almost as bad as golly. Seriously!"

Her sudden rant wound down and she was left feeling some regret for having let it out. "S-sorry." She said, like a true Canadian. "What was I even saying?" She remembered, but she didn't much feel like talking about Mamouru's flaws anymore. "Sorry. Yeah, we'll talk. Let's do it soon. If not tomorrow, then some other day soon. I might be busy with Taylor for a little while, but she'll be busy with Johnny, so... yeah. We'll talk, but..." She hesitated. She thought about not saying it, but it came out anyway. "About my career."

In the silence that followed, she felt terribly aware of every movement and lack thereof in the bed. She felt paralyzed, like the slightest movement would upset the delicate balance of the moment and send them into something awful. She nearly held her breath.

When she did finally move, she scooted just a tiny bit closer to Mamouru and closed her eyes. Before long, she had turned onto her side with her back to Mamouru and was falling asleep.

Mamouru listened to Cassie as she spoke. He didn't turn his head to look at her. He just listened intently. She was right, he was a bad guy. He didn't apologize for being that way but... Cassie seemed to be the only one who thought that he actually had some good in him. And Mamouru definitely wanted to show her that there might be more good than bad. If Cassie was the only one who thought that, then so be it but it was important to him.

But he smiled at Cassie's words. Even her explanation of of how she was cute and wanted to be serious was cute. He doubted she could ever not be some kind of cute. Though he knew she could be serious as well. That was what he liked about her.

"Alright, Cassie-san." Mamouru said softly as Cassie turned. When he felt her shuffle, he let out a sigh. He smiled, relaxing a bit, heis tight shoulders falling backwards and his body just relaxing. He inhaled a deep breath and smiled. "Goodnight, Cassie-san." He said and stared up at the ceiling for about a half hour just lost in thought before he finally drifted off to sleep.