Author's Note: Hello everyone! First and foremost- a HUGE thank you to all the loyal readers and fans who have always supported my stories! I cannot thank you all enough. I would like to apologize for taking FOREVER to update this fic. While life always gives inspiration to writing, it's also true that it also gets in the way of writing! I don't want to make any promises when I will be able to update again but just know that I will not abandon my stories. You guys are honestly amazing and I hope you stick with this fic. Happy Holidays and Happy New Year everyone!

Chapter 15:Getting Together Is Hard To Do… When You're Domon and Rain

Who knew?

Who knew that beneath all the scowls, brooding behavior, and bad attitude, Domon Kasshu was a gentleman?

The world didn't.

Rain sure as heck didn't.

No, wait. That was a little unfair. Before, when they were children, Domon was every bit as gentlemanly as any other young boy could be.

But as an adult, Domon was every bit as rude, obnoxious, and callous as any other jerk could be! Even more so.

However, all of that seemed to float out of Rain's mind as they entered the core lander together.

Instead of taking the one seat for himself (and seriously why was there only one seat?! Oh, probably because a gundam was built to be piloted by only one person), as he usually did, Domon had, take note of this please, helped Rain into the seat before stepping behind her.

But before she could really examine the moment, Domon leaned forward, his chin practically resting on Rain's shoulder from behind as he gripped the controls that lay on the dashboard in front of Rain.

She couldn't help it. Her entire body stiffened, her cheeks burned red, her body instantly felt hot. He was just so close. Domon's warm breath fell lightly across Rain's neck, his cheek practically against hers as his muscular arms reached around her to get the core lander up and running.

As a few moments passed and Rain had not relaxed, Domon allowed himself a small smirk.

Sure he was showing off just a little. Perhaps he didn't need to lean forward over Rain's shoulder so much, or lightly brush his fingers up her bare arm when he pulled back from the controls. But hey, he was actually having fun.

Again, please take note, yes, Domon Kasshu, was having fun.

Finally, he decided that maybe he should lay off just a bit, because she did need to breathe after all. He didn't exactly plan on making a trip to the hospital as part of the agenda for today.

"Relax, you're so tense," he murmured into her ear, his warm breath causing her to give a yelp of surprise and jump slightly out of her seat.

Maybe that wasn't the best way to go about relaxing her.

"Sorry," she muttered, completely mortified as she felt Domon's smirk. Was he amused?! Was he making her uncomfortable on purpose?! The jerk!

Before she could voice her (now angry) thoughts, Domon pressed the controls and landed them atop a slight hill.

"Where are we?" Rain asked, all traces of anger replaced by curiosity.

But Domon didn't answer. Instead he opened the latch of the core lander and stepped out around her, surprising Rain yet again by extending his hand towards her.

Sitting in the seat of the core lander, Rain stared in awe at the man in front of her.

Not to say that Domon was some sort of brute or barbarian, but he usually didn't act like this with Rain.

At times Rain had seen him protect her. She had seen him become possessive. She had even hear him crack a few jokes here and there, complete with a smug smirk, of course.

But be so… caring…

That was new.

"Rain," he murmured, catching her attention as her blue eyes snapped up to his face.

A smirk played at his lips and one eyebrow was lifted in amusement as he held his hand out for her to take.

Rain blushed. Here he was, trying to be nice and polite by attempting to help her out of the core lander and all she had been doing was gaping at him like a fish out of water.

Quickly placing her small hand in his, she didn't allow herself to think about the funny flips her heart seemed to be doing.

At least until he had tugged a little too hard and she had ended up stumbling out of the core lander… right into Domon's arms.

Now her heart pounded against her chest. She was sure he could hear it and definitely feel it, what with their proximity and all. And if he couldn't, well, she wouldn't have to worry about it for too long because she was sure it was going to stop beating all together any moment now.

His arms had automatically caught her around the waist as she tripped. Rain's hands had ended up resting on his chest, she could feel the contours, every sinewy muscle. She had, of course, known that he was in amazing shape; he had always trained hard, even when he was younger and decided to leave with Master Asia. Plus, during the past year they spent together fighting in the Gundam Fight, he had picked her up a few times when it was necessary. Like the time she was unconscious after battling against Master Asia. Or the time she was unconscious after getting a fever. Or when she was sleeping after he rescued her from the Dark Gundam.

Come to think of it, she was unconscious or sleeping pretty much every time he had held her close. Hmm… perhaps she should enjoy this.

Of course that was a little difficult to do when their faces were inches apart.

Domon was just as surprised as Rain at their present position. His dark brown eyes were wide and his breathing uneven as his brain registered (slowly) that his hands now rested on Rain's hips.

Their breaths mingled and for a pregnant moment, the two seemed to lean their faces slightly closer.

Rain felt her eyes shutting themselves willingly as she let the feel of Domon's warm hands on her hips and his firm chest invade her thoughts. His eyes were fixated on her lips and she felt him tense further as he moved closer to her. Without a conscious thought, she found herself moving to him as well.

"Domon."

Without meaning to, Domon's name left her mouth in a breathy tone.

Upon hearing this, Domon froze completely, halting his advancing lips and released Rain, taking a few steps back and turning away from her completely. "Come on," he murmured as he walked ahead.

Rain stared at the red cloak billowing in the wind. What had just happened? She was sure he was going to kiss her… right?

Sighing deeply, Rain followed the stubborn man, all the while trying to persuade her treacherous heart that it was no big deal Domon Kasshu had not kissed her yet.

After walking for what seemed like forever, Rain's nerves were close to the edge. Kinda like the edge of the enormous cliff they seemed to be walking on! Argh seriously! What kind of man takes a woman on the edge of a cliff for a date! The only way she could see it becoming romantic was if there was the promise of a picnic further ahead. Both of them lying on the tall green grass, a light salty breeze from the ocean washing over them as they looked into each other eyes…

Of course there didn't seem to be the remote possibility of the scene ahead because Domon had not said a word to her since their almost kiss, Rain was sure his idea of a perfect day together really did include training and spending the day in complete and utter silence.

Lovely.

She didn't up early today to spend her day exercising with the King of Hearts! Exercising to Domon was probably equal to 20 miles of running, jumping off a few cliffs here and there, and training with his sword for hours straight.

With that thought, Rain gave an indignant snort, which happened to catch the attention of a certain dark-haired man.

Domon missed a step and stumbled for a moment before quickly resuming his pace. He turned his head and glanced quickly at the brown-haired woman behind him, hoping she didn't see his fumble. When she continued to trudge ahead, eyes glued to the ground, pout on her face, he allowed himself a sigh of relief. Sure he already felt like a complete idiot for not kissing her, no need to look like one too.

Fists clenched. Seriously, what was his problem? Why couldn't he just lean a little closer and press his lips to hers? He resisted the urge to slap himself. Throw a gundam at him any day and he could function; throw a girl at him and he's about as useful as George is at a strip club.

Ugh. No. Now he was getting mental images.

Thankfully, they had reached their destination soon enough.

"We're here," he murmured, turning around to face the beautiful brown-haired woman.

She blinked and stopped, staring at him before blushing and looking around her.

Rain froze. They were on top of a large cliff. Just in front of where Domon had stopped walking was where his attention was directed, the destination he wanted to bring Rain to.

"Take a look, Rain," Domon said again, his voice but a whisper against the wind. Rain had to strain her ears to hear him.

And she did just that. She took in the sight in front of her. She gazed at the collapsed buildings and destruction. At the barren earth with cracks and debris. At the lifelessness of the area in front of them.

Rain sank to her knees as Domon spoke again.

"The ruins from the 12th Gundam Fight. Master Asia taught me the Sekiha Tenkyoken move here right before my gundam fight with Kyoji- I mean Schwartz."

There was an uncomfortable silence that followed. That fight had been particularly hard for Domon and Rain. Not only did Domon had to fight against his trusted ally, Schwartz, who turned out to be none-other-than his brother Kyoji, but he had pushed Rain so far away that she joined Schwartz's team for that round.

He had nearly lost her then. And after the fight when Ulube had tried to use her body as a vessel for the Dark Gundam. And multiple times during the year they had spent together in the Gundam Fight.

He had nearly lost her so many times.

A light breeze shifted the air around them and Rain's hair lightly fluttered across her back. Domon watched in fascination as it danced with the wind before settling back again on her shoulders.

He stared at the back of her head as she sat there in the grass looking at the destruction from the gundam battle years ago.

He was positive her face would have shown sadness at the scene in front of them. She had such a large heart full of love for everyone, forgiveness for everyone, and faith for everyone.

He didn't deserve her. Domon was well aware of that much.

"Domon? You okay?"

Rain's voice broke through his reverie.

It hurt. It hurt so much to know that he had lost his brother, his mother, Schwartz, and Master Asia. Why had he lost so many? Why him?

And her. He had almost lost her too. So damn close to losing her to the monster he had lost his loved ones to.

Concerned blue eyes stared at him. She was staring at him questioningly. "Everything… okay?" Rain finished uneasily. She took a step towards him, her hand rising towards his cheek before she suddenly realized what she was doing. Her hand stopped in midair and she looked at him uneasily.

Domon gazed at her. Master Asia once told him the importance of living in the moment. Of using hardships for strength but knowing when to simply… enjoy life.

He had to remember that she was with him now. Now mattered. Now was the moment they finally had together.

Rain shifted on the balls of her feet. The distant look in Domon's eyes made it seem like he was million miles away. She knew that look anywhere because she had lived with it for almost the entirety of their year together until the end when he began to open up to her again. She didn't understand it. She didn't understand what he felt, the way he thought, the pain he lived with. Any of it.

Do you know him at all?

The question bothered her every moment. How could she know the pain and suffering he went through of having to lose his family, basically kill both his brother and master, and be betrayed by the people he thought he could trust.

Think someone like you could ever know him? You're not a fighter. You don't have a fighter's soul and heart!

Her conscious was relentless.

But she would try to understand him.

She loved him. She loved Domon so much she would do what she could for him. She would try to understand everything he went through. She would be there for him and show him a life of happiness. Show him everything life could offer them both.

She cleared her throat and finished her step forward before raising her hand and gently cupping his cheek. His eyes widened.

"Domon. Everything okay?"

It was her turn to be surprised when a warm hand covered her hand gently. "It will be now," he murmured as Rain's expression soften into a smile.

Yellow-green grass gently tickled Rain's legs. She was sitting in the knee-high grass, a slight breeze weaving through her brown hair.

Perfect. There was no other way to describe the moment.

A gentle breeze shifted through the grass that Rain sat in, with Domon sitting behind her, enveloping her in a loose embrace.

She smiled as she watched his hand absently played with a blade of grass against her arm. They hadn't said anything in a while but the silence was comfortable, both lost in their own thoughts.

But she knew they needed to talk about what happened while they were separated those few days at the end of the gundam fight. That was when everything started: when the truth came rolling out. Trust had been broken, lies were revealed, relationships were tested and through it all, Domon had emerged to save her.

Again. He saved her again.

Even if they were fighting or he was being a jerk or things were simply going horribly between the two of them, he was always there to save her. She couldn't say he was always there for her yet because that part was not true. He was not there when she was lonely; he was not there when she needed him to reassure her that they would stay together; he was not there when she wanted to know how he felt about her.

But she was determined to make that change. Rain wanted to have him open up to her. Although she knew undoubtedly he would have trust issues now more than ever, she was determined to make sure he knew she was always going to be there for him.

She just wanted to know that he would be there for her too. But now was the time to ask him to explain things to her. To let her in for once.

"Hey Domon," she murmured lightly.

His hand tracing her wrist with the grass blade stopped and he straightened up slightly behind her, alerting her that he was listening.

"Would you… can you tell me about what happened between you and Schwartz and you and Master Asia during the final battle?"

She felt his frame tighten up behind her as he shifted to move away from her. Not this time. Don't close yourself to me!

Before he could completely untangle himself from her, Rain turned from her sitting position and grasped his hand. His eyes widened in shock as Rain's cheeks reddened slightly with a blush.

"Please… just tell me. I want to know."

He turned his face away, his eyes closing. "It's not easy to hear-"

"-it's okay. I want to know," she repeated hastily.

A heavy sigh left his lips before he disentangled his hand from her grip and ran the hand through his midnight black hair in frustration. "It's also not easy to share."

Rain considered this for a moment. It was painful for him to share it. She wanted to know so badly what happened between his brother and his master but it hurt him to recount the details.

"Rain, listen, I want to tell you, I just-"

A soft finger pressed against his mouth gently and he looked at her in surprise. He was met with the beautiful sight of Rain smiling, her eyes looking at him with that look he only saw her look at him with. There was something special about that look.

"It's okay. You'll tell me when you're ready. After all, we have time together now, don't we, Domon?"

He considered that for a moment. No gundam fight was reining down on them, no pressure from the Neo-Japan team telling them how they had to win in order to save his father, no responsibility to avenge his family… there could finally be just him and her.

It was Rain's turn to be surprised as Domon leaned forward and enveloped her in an embrace. Chocolate brown eyes widened and then relaxed when she heard his next words.

"Yes. We have all the time in the world now, Rain."

She wondered if she was born a klutz or if this certain part of her personality only decided to grace her whenever Domon was around.

She was kind of hoping it was the first. At least then she could somewhat keep her dignity when he smirked at her and reply with something like "Hey, me tripping over everything is innate, not because of your proximity, your heat, your perfect looks and godly sculpted body…"

But that was not the case. Instead, Domon currently was chuckling as he held his hand out to help her after she not-so-gracefully tripped on the way into the core lander.

Truth be told, it was his fault anyway. He just had to park (or whatever it was that he did to keep the core-lander stationary!) the stupid thing over the water. To make matters worse, he just had to look completely gorgeous today.

Great. A girl couldn't win.

As she had begun to take a step towards the core lander, which was rocking slightly from the breeze over the water, Domon had suddenly become a gentleman and put his hand on the small of her back to balance her when Rain, in her honest shock, took a premature step hastily and ended up tripping forward into the core lander.

Yep, she was a regular Miss Neo-Universe with her gait.

After making sure she was okay, Domon had proceeded to smirk, causing Rain's cheeks to burn brightly in embarrassment and annoyance. Any bit of gentleman in him seemed to evaporate faster than George taking his shirt off with a few shots of alcohol.

A sight that she wouldn't mind seeing again per se but she also wouldn't mind seeing Domon in that position some day…

Not that it would happen with his alcohol tolerance. The man could practically be drunk and win gundam fight. She briefly wondered how he had become so tolerant…

"So have you always been this uncoordinated or is this just because you're so nervous around me?" he asked smugly.

Rain blushed harder. Arrogant jerk! "No! I've always been this uncoordinated, thank you very much!"

Domon's lips widened into a grin at hearing her response before he couldn't hold back his laughter and threw his head back and let the laughter take over him.

Oh that's just perfect, Rain, she thought to herself, furious with how easily she could sound like a complete fool in front of him. As she kneeled there in front of him, nursing the small bruise on her knee from her fall, she glared up at him and suddenly had an idea.

Domon was standing on the edge of the core lander, his form resting there comfortably because of his excellent balance but Rain was well aware it still required energy for him to be balancing on the small area the frame of the core lander provided. He had also mentioned that she should be careful getting into the core lander because the water was already deep and she would get soaked if she should miss her footing.

She didn't. Instead her footing caused her to slam her knee into the core lander. A job well done.

Domon's laughter was cut short as he felt Rain's soft hands suddenly on his shoulders. He looked down at the beautiful woman in front of him, her mischievous eyes watching him.

He felt the hair on his neck rise with goosebumps as Rain's fingers gently traced across the back of his neck, gently kneading the muscles in his upper back and neck. His eyes shut as a sigh left him.

"I have a question for you, Domon," she murmured huskily, her warm breath fanning his neck.

"Mhmm?" he hummed.

"Are you always this uncoordinated or are you just nervous around me?"

And with that, Domon suddenly found himself knocked off balance as Rain's small hands found themselves on his chest and she gave him and push backwards into the water.

Lucky for him, he was a gundam fighter. So when he toppled backwards, his quick reflexes had him reaching forward to grasp Rain's wrist.

The look of surprise was priceless on her face as she fell into the water with him.

He came up first laughing hysterically while Rain sputtered out water before proceeding to laugh with him.

"Neither one! But I'm starting to think there might be more to your clumsiness than just innate behavior!" He grinned as he sent a wave of sparkling water towards Rain.

She shrieked before tossing her arms in front of her while trying to keep afloat. "Okay! Okay! I give up!"

He smiled at her. She looked amazing, even while her hair was plastered on her face, her clothes soaked, her eyes shining with mock anger at him. How had he resisted her this entire year?

"You surrender?" He asked as he swam towards her, his eyes gazing at her strongly.

Water clung to his jet black hair as the sun shown down on both of them. Although Domon hadn't opened up to her about what had gone on during the Gundam Fight finals, she knew that they were getting closer and closer to each other. He was starting to truly trust her and she was falling hard for him all over again. And she didn't care.

Her heart had broken when she was a child because Domon had left.

And it had broken again when he had returned as a man. She couldn't stand the thought that she had once known a happy-go-lucky boy during her youth who had turned into such a surly, rude young man.

Not that she could blame him. Mother dead. Father in frozen state. And his beloved older brother to blame.

Her heart broke for those first few months when they were together. He was cruel and mean and all she wanted was for her crush to be back. She was so very excited when he had returned but as they say, disappointment is a hard pill to swallow.

Slowly but surely, Rain's heart had healed by the most likely and unlikely person in the entire world- Domon himself. Although he was hurtful in his comments and looked at her with such anger sometimes, when he smiled, and those times were so few and precious to Rain, she fell in love with him all over again.

But her heart had to break once more. And it had because of her own flesh and blood. When she found out her father was to blame for all of Domon's suffering and the end of his family, Rain couldn't take it. There were only two men in the entire world that she loved and to know that one had caused the pain of the other was too much.

So she had fled away from Domon in the hopes that she too wouldn't cause him any more hurt. But he had chased after her until she saw her own mistake: by being away from him, she was causing him the cruelest kind of pain.

And so they had returned together. Together at last.

Golden sunlight basking over him in the clear blue water, she said the only thing she could ever say to him. With a smile like that, she thought, there really was only one thing she could say to Domon Kasshu.

"To you, I always surrender."

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