It started out as just a regular day, nothing unexpectedly unordinary. Chitoge threw a party to commemorate the end of the second year as high schoolers and all her friends came, even Marika, who had tendencies to get under Chitoge's skin and fester. Raku was there, too, playing the part of a loving boyfriend who selflessly helped her to keep her guests fed and entertained.

That was what she loved about him most, she thought. His kindness. His selflessness. Even at the beginning of their fake relationship, he'd done so much for her out of his innate decency despite her bitter and volatile behavior. She was probably the luckiest girl in the world, she thought as she watched him say goodnight to Kosaki-chan and shut the door softly behind her as the brunette left. Even if it wasn't a real romantic relationship between them. Even if he never fell in love with her. He still liked to be around her, she knew, and that was enough somehow.

"Thanks for helping out, Raku," Chitoge said as he leaned against the door and sighed.

He grinned at her and her heart flipped in her chest. Stupid Beansprout. "Sure. I can stay and help clean up if you want."

She narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously. "Why?"

Raku pushed away from the door and sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. "Well…the guys at home tend to be a little overdramatic at the end of every school year." He flashed back to previous years of his father's yakuza members sobbing with pride over Raku as he graduated each grade, and grimaced, sandwiching his hands together in a plea. "You'd actually be doing me a huge favor, Chitoge."

"Alright," she agreed, secretly thrilled that she'd get to spend alone time with him. "You can stay as long as you need."

His answering smile was brilliant and it almost made her mad. "Thanks! Where do you want me to start?"

She could hear the sound of some Beehive gang members in the kitchen, so she knew that they wouldn't have to worry about the mess in there. They'd deemed that area off-limits to Chitoge a long time ago, seeing as she had a habit of making things worse when the kitchen was involved. "We don't have to worry about the kitchen," she told Raku. "So you can start out here and I'll start with my room."

He nodded. "Mm. Okay." And then went to work.

There wasn't much of a mess in Chitoge's room, but she meticulously straightened out her bedspread and the knick knacks on her desk once all the snack bowls and blankets were cleaned up. There was a knock on the door and it slid open, Raku sticking his head in. "All done out there."

She gave him a thumbs up. "Thanks, Raku."

He shook his head. "Like I said, you're the one helping me out. I'm not looking forward to going home at all." He entered her room casually, his hands in his pockets as he kicked the door shut. Her heart fluttered a bit in her chest - foolishly, stupidly; being alone in her room was no different to him than being alone in any part of her house.

Chitoge sat on her bed. "Just because of the yakuza guys?"

He sat beside her and it was the first time she noticed his locket was not hiding behind his shirt. Unexpectedly, his face flushed red and she was bewildered as much as she was thrilled by the expression. He'd been so…easy with her lately, so open, so willing. She thought it was because they were just that comfortable with each other but his strange blushes suggested something else. That he was embarrassed. That he was exhilarated.

"Well, there was something else I was curious about," he blurted out. "Something I wanted to ask you."

She was amused. "You know you can ask me anything. We've been together for two years now. Why are you blushing?" She was laughing at him. Couldn't help it when she elbowed his shoulder and snickered into her hand. It was satisfying to see him squirm, she thought, especially since he never seemed to lose his cool around her anymore.

He pouted and dropped his gaze to her knees, which made her feel self-conscious. "Its…about your key."

It took a solid minute before she could find her voice, her laughter stopping short, her heart in her throat. "My key?" When he didn't respond, she placed her knuckles under his chin and slowly made him look at her. "What about my key?" Could he feel how she was trembling?

"I want to know," he finally said, and somehow this beansprout sounded strong and determined and she remembered again why she fell in love with him.

"I don't," she told him, a little too afraid. "Why do you want to try my key first? The last time we tried it broke your stupid locket! Do you really want that to happen again?"

He scowled at her, swatting away her fist by taking a hold of her wrist and - unexpectedly - holding onto it. "Tachibana already forced her key onto me," he said. "It didn't open the locket. Onodera is…she's different than you. Yui-nee is Yui-nee. Your key turned, don't you remember that? Don't you want to know?"

She shook her head violently and pulled her wrist away. "Why do you want to know?"

"Because it's been years since I've gotten to know about these keys. We only have one year left, and if this girl I met ten years ago is right here next to me, I want to know, before its too late. You know?"

Chitoge licked her lips, feeling her face become hot. "Are you…are you in love with her?"

He stared, as if trying to find the right words and then, "Maybe."

Really, that was all he had to say. She wanted him to love her. He was…well, Raku Ichijou was fresh flowers and apple pie and Sunday morning breakfast and white houses with blue shutters and home and everything. He was everything. Her heart was settled on him and she knew that he was not perfect but neither was she. She wanted this. Wanted him. Any chance, any reason, for him to love her was something she'd risk her steadfast feelings for.

She sighed like it was a big deal - no need to look desperate, she thought, though her trembling hands gave her away - and reached behind her neck to unclasp the silver chain her key was strung on.

"Fine but if it breaks your locket again don't go blaming me," she muttered, taking the key into her hand.

He rolled his eyes but ducked his head as he lifted the locket from around his neck and presented it toward her. The air became stifling with anticipation and anxiety. Chitoge felt light-headed, felt like time suddenly came to a airless halt as she stuck her key slowly into the keyhole of the locket. She couldn't breathe, couldn't even say something to break the heavy atmosphere pressing on them and her heart stopped altogether when the key turned.

Raku licked his lips and took a shaky breath. She screwed her eyes shut as she pulled on her key with unsure hands.

It didn't open.

She could tell, she felt how the locket stayed locked securely. Slowly, she allowed herself to open her eyes, willing herself to keep the tears at bay, praying that her voice would come out even and smooth when she opened her mouth to talk.

"Now we know," she said in a voice that was so unemotional it made her cringe. Too flat, she thought. For the first time, she looked to Raku and her despair came to a sudden halt when she saw the look of utter confusion on his face.

"I thought…" He met her gaze and her chest tightened. "I thought it was gonna be you."

Chitoge allowed a brave smile even as the tears welled up in her eyes. "Well, it's not."

He shook his head slowly as the heat rose into his cheeks again. "Chitoge, you're not listening. I wanted it to be you."

It was too much to process right away. Her mouth moved faster than her brain. She blinked at him as the tears began to roll down her warm, red face slowly, and then abruptly, "I love you." It was a reverent whisper, transparently sincere and heartfelt. Raku dropped the locket to the bed and then he was cupping her damp cheeks, his face a flustered mess, as he awkwardly placed his first kiss on her lips.

It was stupid. It made her cry harder, tears of undiluted happiness. She laughed against his mouth and he pulled away, looking wounded.

"What are you laughing at?" he asked defensively, eyebrows drawn in sharply over his blue eyes.

"You love me," she said warmly, tears still leaking from her eyes as she launched herself forward and threw her arms around him. There was still laughter in her voice. "You idiot moron!" He seemed frozen in shock as she buried her nose into his shoulder, grinning. "You stupid, stupid beansprout!"

Finally, he returned the embrace, wrapping his arms around her so securely it almost made it hard to breathe. He laughed, too, his breath hot against her ear as he leaned into her. "What the hell, Chitoge."

She couldn't stop smiling, or crying, really. It was a little embarrassing, but her heart was full and nothing else seemed to matter in this moment. She never wanted to pull away from him. "You suck at kissing, by the way."

He sounded outraged and defensive. "It was my first kiss, cut me some slack. Like you have any experience with kissing!"

She held him tighter. "You puckered up too much," she laughed, her voice muffled by his shoulder. "You looked like a fish." Raku groaned in embarrassment but he didn't let her go either. "Raku?" She bit her lip and sighed contentedly. "It was cute."