Alexis silently fumed to herself as she walked in quick strides to place more distance between herself and Aster. How could he be so insensitive to not even understand just how much it hurt her to not even try to appear offended by those bimbos!? Was he embarrassed to admit to anyone that she was his girlfriend!? And then to find out just how many girls he had slept with before. Sure, she had assumed that he had had prior experience in that department. But to actually hear him confirm her suspicions so easily hurt more than she had thought it would. She couldn't help wondering if maybe all this with Aster and her had been a mistake to begin with… As much as she loved him, Alexis was still worried that it wasn't the same for Aster. He could like her enough to enjoy her company, but that didn't mean he could feel anything deeper. Either way, Alexis felt like she just needed some time away from Aster to cool down a bit and get her thoughts under control. And she didn't want to be anywhere near that mob of fans that ambushed him either.

As she started to feel a little calmer, Alexis finally stopped to notice her surroundings more…and realized that she had no idea just where the heck she was now. She couldn't be that far from Kaiba Land, but since she wasn't too familiar with the area around it itself, it was hard to tell whether she had taken a wrong turn. Otherwise, it would be as simple as turning back and heading in the opposite direction to get back. Right now, she looked to be on a more secluded street. It was set back a little from the road with a few residential homes and small stores scattered around. But there were also bigger-looking houses that looked more community-based.

Alexis was walking along a tall brick border surrounding one of the larger buildings when she heard a voice behind her. "Well, well. If it isn't the Queen of Obelisk Blue herself. Fancy meeting you here, Alexis." The male voice greeted her in an arrogant tone.

Alexis was surprised to see Harrington Rosewood standing behind her. He had been one of her more obsessive admirers last year at Duel Academy, even going so far as to challenging Jaden to a duel to "decide" which of them got to be her fiancée. Thankfully, he had given up on her after Jaden defeated him. Alexis had never liked Harrington's attitude and how he would talk about her as if she wasn't even there and just some prize to claim. So, she was quite glad that last year had been his last year at school too before he graduated. With that last thought though, Alexis realized what the buildings around her must be. They were probably sorority houses, one of which Harrington probably was from.

"Can't say I share the sentiment. I'm sorry, Harrington, but I'm busy now, so I don't have time for this." Alexis said sharply.

Harrington walked up to Alexis until he was standing in front of her, forcing her to look at him. "Oh, come on. Don't be like that. I've always been your biggest fan after all." He said with an exaggerated, hurt expression.

"Well, I don't want any fans, so this conversation is over now." Alexis said in irritation. She then turned away and started to leave.

Before Alexis could even take a few steps, Harrington grabbed her roughly by the arm and pushed her up against the brick wall. She didn't even have a chance to process what was happening before he had pinned both of her arms to the side, trapping her.

"You always were a little bitch that thought you were too good for anyone else!" Harrington hissed furiously. His face was close enough to Alexis' that she could smell his breath, and it reeked with alcohol.

"L-let me go!" Alexis managed to stammer. She tried to make herself sound in control, but the fear that had overtaken her just made her voice come out more as a frightened-sounding squeak more than anything else.

Harrington snickered cruelly. "I don't think so! It's time you started learning some respect. So, I am gonna have some fun with you whether you like it or not!" He said triumphantly.

Alexis felt like she was stuck in a nightmare. It didn't feel real, yet at the same time, the terror was all too present. She tried to will herself to fight back. To pull away, scream, something. But her body didn't seem to want to comply in any way. She wished desperately that she hadn't had that argument with Aster now. Heck, she even wished that she were back there right now in it instead. Compared to this, what had happened with Aster seemed trivial now. Who cared if he had acted a little flakey around some old one-night stands of his!? Aster would still never stoop to something like this. If only she had stayed and tried to talk things out with him instead of just blowing up like that… Then this wouldn't be happening at all right now.

Before Harrington could do anything else to Alexis, he was pulled away from Alexis and slammed roughly against the bricked wall. With a shock, Alexis saw that her savior was Aster, and he was looking angrier than she had ever seen him before.

"JUST WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING TO HER!?" Aster yelled furiously. The expression he wore looked absolutely murderous. If looks could kill, no doubt Harrington would have been dead and buried ten times over.

For a moment, Harrington looked taken by surprise, but he quickly regained his composure. "Oh, what's this? What happened to your little tennis pal, Alexis? Let me guess, you got bored with him since he wasn't up to your standards and decided you needed to aim higher?" He joked nastily to Alexis.

It took Alexis a moment to realize that the "tennis pal" Harrington was referring to was Jaden. She was appalled that a guy like this who just saw girls as trophies to be won would bring her down to the same level.

Before Alexis could even come up with a proper response to voice her outrage at Harrington's questions, he continued, this time directing his words at Aster. "Whatever. You already have enough girls waiting in line to suck your dick, Phoenix. So, step off and let me have this one." He sneered.

"Sorry, but I closed the line once I met Alexis. So, the only one who is going to be doing the stepping off is you, you scumbag." Aster said threateningly.

Harrington made a move to try to punch Aster, but he was too fast for him. Aster dodged quickly and retaliated with a sharp punch of his own to Harrington's stomach. Then, while he was still doubled over and wheezing, Aster grabbed his arm and pulled his hand back hard, causing a sick cracking noise.

Whimpering in pain, Harrington tried to pull away from Aster's grip to escape, only to be slammed up against the wall again.

"You're not playing Duel Monsters with Jaden Yuki; you're dealing with me! And I don't tolerate anyone messing with my girlfriend!" Aster said with a venomous edge in his voice.

Aster punched Harrington hard in the face, causing blood to spray out of his nose. Then, he delivered a swift drop-kick, knocking him to the ground.

"Heh. I guess I should have told you that you were going to be crawling off instead of stepping off." Aster said with an amused smirk as he looked down at the cowering form of Harrington, now curled up in a fetal position with his arms covering his head.

"Consider this as a warning from me. Because I can promise you that it will be much worse for you if you ever come near Alexis again. Now get out of my sight, you worthless piece of human garbage!" Aster said disgustedly. After giving Harrington one more light kick, he and Alexis watched him crawl away as quickly as he could.

Once Harrington was out of sight, Aster turned to Alexis in concern. "Alexis, are you alright!? Did he do anything to you!?" He asked worriedly.

"I- No. He was just there one minute and then before I knew it, I was cornered…" Alexis trailed off. She still felt as if she were in that moment.

Aster looked at Alexis sympathetically. She was obviously still traumatized. "I'm glad you're not hurt, at least." He said quietly.

"Aster, I'm sorry!" Alexis blurted out.

"Sorry? What for?" Aster asked gently.

"For everything I said back there. I shouldn't have just blown up at you like that! You didn't deserve that. If I had just taken the time to talk to you instead and hear your side of things too, this never would have happened in the first place! But instead, I ended up putting you through all of this and I'm just so stupid!" Alexis apologized agonizingly.

Aster placed his hands firmly on Alexis' shoulders, causing her to look straight at him. "That's not true at all, Alexis. Yes, we had a miscommunication in our relationship that led to an argument today. But that does not make what happened to you your fault, so don't ever think that even for a moment. If anything, it's my fault for not being more firm with those two to make my intentions clearer to you." He insisted.

"Either way, I'm still sorry. I just wish this hadn't happened at all…" Alexis said miserably.

"Look, it's obvious that there are still things we need to talk about. So, why don't we head back to my place now?" Aster suggested gently.

Alexis nodded silently in agreement to Aster's suggestion. Without another word, she let him take her by the hand and lead her away from the area.

Xxx

Once they were back at Aster's penthouse for the night, Aster wasted no time in getting Alexis settled comfortably on the living room sofa with a large, fluffy blanket while he made some tea for them. Then, once he had joined her, he started to talk.

"First off, I'm sorry about what happened today with those two at Kaiba Land. I admit it was embarrassing for me since I wasn't expecting that to happen. But I owe you an explanation all the same. So, now's your chance to ask me anything you want about who I spent time with before I met you." Aster offered seriously.

"To be honest, it wasn't so much the not knowing the specifics as it was that it was just hard to see proof of it right there in front of me to see. Believe me, Aster. I was new to all of this when we met. But even I know enough about sex to realize that you wouldn't have been able to make things go as smoothly as you did between us without having some past experience already. It just wasn't something I wanted to think about, so I always put it out of my mind. And then, once I started to like you a lot more, it got even harder to imagine. It was just us, and that was all I could see. So, I was upset today because I was forced to think of what you might have been like before then." Alexis explained.

"So, you're saying that you were upset to see evidence of a side of me that existed before we met because you're afraid that it could be real once you could picture it?" Aster asked carefully.

"No, that's not it exactly. Aster, you need to know that I do trust you in the end. I don't believe that you have been with anyone else since we started seeing each other, or that you want to. I think I was just…upset that that sort of destroyed the image I had somehow made of you before. It was just easier to go on not really thinking about you and other girls. I guess I should have brought it up before, but it was just too embarrassing. I was afraid you'd think I was insecure or suspicious of you." Alexis admitted.

"It's perfectly normal for you to feel uncomfortable about something like this, Alexis. If we had had a conversation about it earlier to get some closure, that whole situation today might not have been half as bad as it was. But it's not your fault. These things happen. For the future, however, please don't hesitate to talk to me about anything. I mean it." Aster insisted.

"Alright…" Alexis agreed slowly.

"So, are you sure there isn't anything else you want to know?" Aster pressed.

"Just one thing. All the girls you were with… Did you…like any of them? I mean, really like any of them. Even if it were only short enough to make you believe for just one minute that you could see yourself with them for more?" Alexis asked hesitantly. Even though she trusted Aster, she needed to hear him say whether he had ever had any kind of feelings for someone else, no matter how fleeting.

Aster took Alexis' hands firmly in his own. "No. It has always been you, Alexis. I never felt anything for any of those girls that I do for you. Yes, they were fun to talk with and I enjoyed their company. But once it was over, I didn't feel any desire to stay in contact with them." He said firmly.

For a minute, Alexis felt as if she had forgotten to breathe properly. What Aster had just said along with the intensity of his gaze made her heart feel like it was beating a million miles a minute. Her face heated up until she was sure that it had turned beet red.

He couldn't possibly mean… Alexis wondered in disbelief, not able to make herself even think the word to herself.

Before she could let herself dwell on the wonderful implication behind Aster's words anymore, Alexis thought of something else that brought her back down to reality.

"But if you weren't even interested in them, why did you end up sleeping with them at all!?" Alexis asked bluntly, struggling to understand.

Aster let out a weary sigh at Alexis' question. Of course, she wouldn't be able to understand this on her own. She was from a different world than him.

"It wasn't something I had exactly planned to happen from the beginning. You need to understand that things are different for me compared to others my age. I've been given a lot more freedom growing up, especially once I got into professional dueling. Even when I wasn't staying here by myself, I always had my own hotel rooms anywhere I went around the world for duels. Simply put, when I'm not dueling or running my schedule, I'm on my own without any kind of supervision. And that freedom can be taken advantage of in many different ways. The first time it happened, one of my fans found me after a duel and we struck up a conversation. But there's only so long you have for those to remain private when you're a celebrity. Going back to my room was the only logical choice for us to keep talking, so I didn't think anything of it. But then, one thing just led to another. And then whenever another chance came up that conveniently after that with others, I took it. I'm not proud of what I did, but in the end, I'm a man and it felt good to have a distraction so that I didn't have to dwell so much on other things. But that all changed when I met you." Aster explained.

"Well, when you put it like that… I guess it makes sense. I can't believe I didn't think of that before myself." Alexis admitted ruefully.

"Then I'm glad that we had this talk. How are you feeling now? A little better?" Aster asked gently.

"About that, yes. But I still can't believe what happened with Harrington. He was always a jerk back when he was still in school last year, but I never thought that he would have tried to go that far…" Alexis said sadly as the event came rushing back into her head. She felt as if she could still feel his hands pinning her arms roughly to her sides against the wall. The feelings of absolute fear and powerlessness threatening to overwhelm her once again.

Aster must have picked up on her emotions, because before she knew it, Alexis found herself in the warm embrace of his arms, cradled gently against his chest. She felt herself grow calmer as he gently stroked her hair.

"I know that this is awful for you, Alexis. But you're safe now and I won't let anything else happen to you again. I promise." Aster said soothingly.

"But that's just it! I shouldn't need you or anyone else to come save me! I should have been able to protect myself! Nothing even happened to me and I'm still scared! I'm weak!" Alexis said despairingly.

Aster gently cupped Alexis' chin in his hand so that her face was tilted towards him as he spoke. "Alexis, look at me. You were in a situation you weren't familiar with on your own with very little time to react. Lots of people would feel just the same as you did. And just because there wasn't a chance for anything else to happen to you-thank god-doesn't mean that it still can't be traumatizing all the same. You were scared because someone had control over you in that moment, and that would have remained either way. You are not weak, and this was not your fault, I promise you that." He insisted firmly and clearly, willing his words to reach her.

"Aster, I understand what you're trying to say. I just…can't make myself feel the same way. At least not now…" Alexis trailed off helplessly.

"I know… That is going to take time. But you needed to hear it all the same. I'm going to be with you the whole way, Alexis. I promise." Aster said softly, trying his best to sound reassuring.

"Aster… Thank you…" Alexis said quietly. She wanted him to know that despite everything, she was still grateful to have him by her side supporting her like this. She wanted to tell him the full extent of just how deep her feelings ran. But at the same time, she didn't trust herself in the emotional state she was in right now to risk going any further in their relationship.

"Anytime. Now, why don't we try to get some sleep?" Aster suggested gently.

Xxx

A little over an hour later, Aster lay awake in bed. Alexis had fallen asleep easily as soon as they went to bed and was now sleeping peacefully, curled up in his arms. But Aster couldn't bring himself to fall asleep yet. All he could think of was how horribly wrong the day had gone. It pained him to see Alexis suffering like this. If only he had just told her that some fans were approaching to convince her to get up and walk away with him as soon as he saw Nina and Katt. Then none of this would have happened. How could he have been so stupid!? Was he worrying too much about pleasing his fans? Whatever the case, Aster knew that he would have to be a lot more careful from now on.

Aster felt even worse when he thought back to his original plan for the day. Hidden inside his dresser drawer was the small box containing the gift he had bought for Alexis earlier today. While she had been using the rest room, he had slipped into one of the stores at Kaiba Land to purchase it. He had planned to give it to her at the end of the day. The gift that would go along perfectly to further emphasize the confession he had finally been ready to give to her. But now after what had happened to Alexis, the mood was ruined, and Aster was worried that it would just end up being too much for her to process right now. But he would wait until he knew she was ready to know how he felt…

Gently brushing the side of her face with just the tips of his fingers so as not to wake her, Aster leaned in closer to Alexis and whispered softly to her. "Alexis… I love you…"