(A.N./ Like my story "Stalker", this is another oneshot that I haven't had the guts to put up in a few months. It just seemed too cliche, so I avoided releasing it. But now, as my time to leave draws closer, I think that I should put it up just so I won't have to feel guilty that I didn't. I kind of like its fluffiness, too. This could also be considered a follow-up to "The King of Wishful Thinking", for all of you who have read it.

This little oneshot is dedicated to one of my best reviewers and avid supporters, Safia Bara. Since she dedicated something to me, I think it's only polite to dedicate this fluffy oneshot to her! I hope you like it, Safia-chan! That goes for everyone, too. Enjoy!)

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The small, black alarm clock on the side of Ichigo Momomiya's desk read 11:53 PM.

Eight minutes 'till midnight.

Ichigo was awake, sitting up in her bead and reading a book. She found that reading a book served calming. It made her tired quickly. Yet she couldn't seem to go to bed. Her eyes were strained, but not tired. She didn't feel the least bit relaxed. Her muscles were tight and rigid in her bed. She couldn't shake the thought out of her mind-- the thought that Masaya was visit from England tomorrow. She was so excited that she couldn't sleep. She couldn't even relax. She could barely breathe regularly.

He had been gone for so long. Or, so it seemed. In reality, he had only been gone two months. But to Ichigo, it seemed like a lifetime twice over. It was too long. She couldn't stand him being away at such a far away place for so long. It felt wrong. Yet him being away for so long had just built her anticipation for his return. She was even more grateful for his presence now. It was kind of like how being deprived of water makes you appreciate its existence and not take it for granted. The same went for Masaya and Ichigo's relationship. When he was gone, it only made Ichigo want him more and more to come back.

Seven minutes 'till midnight.

"Got to sleep…got to sleep…got to sleep…" Ichigo chanted to herself. She leant her head back sleepily, but discovered that her pillow had slipped down when her head collided with the hardwood headboard in a loud noise.

"Owww…" she groaned, rubbing the back of her head. "That was dumb."

A car on the residential street outside whizzed by. It sounded loud in the noiseless room. Ichigo leaned her head back…

…and it collided with the headboard. Again. Ichigo moaned.

"Trouble sleeping?"

Six minutes 'till midnight.

Ichigo sat stock-still, frozen on the spot. Her wide eyes stood fixed on the wall ahead. Slowly, deliberately, her cat ears rose out of her head and perked up at the tips. A few moments ticked by.

"Guess who."

Ichigo couldn't answer. She let her hands fall to her sides, then turned her head.

However, she didn't turn it fully before she felt two hands clasp over her eyes.

"Uh-uh. No peeking, Kitten. Guess."

"Why…why are you….here?"

"You haven't answered yet."

"Kish."

"Correct."

The hands over Ichigo's eyes now shifted a bit, tracing gently, delicately over Ichigo's face. His touch sent shivers down her spine. Her stomach suddenly felt tight, and she took in a gasp of air, swallowing it slowly. Kish's fingers felt their way down to her jawbone, and ran along the side until they reached her ears, where they scratched them tenderly.

"What…what are you doing here?" Ichigo asked in a monotone, trying to remain cool and coordinated while the one man--one alien-- who had tried to win her love not a year ago, tickled her cat ears. She was struggling the urge to purr. It was a tough battle.

Five minutes 'till midnight.

"What do you think I'm here for?" Kish asked. He took his hands off of Ichigo's face. She thought she was free of his touch until she felt his hands move to her shoulders, where he started to slide his hands down her slim arms. Of all the days to wear a spaghetti strap camisole. Ichigo shivered. Kish seemed to notice this, because he abruptly took his hands off.

"You cold?" he asked innocently. Now, Ichigo thought, I'm free of him. Yet that was not what happened. Kish quickly scooped Ichigo up in his arms and pulled her onto his lap, wrapping his arms around her. Ichigo gasped, taking in everything around her. It was all so recognizable. His scent. His breathing. His heartbeat. His warmth…he felt warm. She looked down to the arms wrapped securely around her waist. They bore the familiar white bandages.

"You still haven't answered my question," Kish murmured into Ichigo's hair. "What do you think I'm here for?" Ichigo hesitated.

"Me."

"Exactly right."

Four minutes 'till midnight.

Ichigo inhaled through her nose in one long breath. She took in his warming scent. It reminded her of something. Something fresh-smelling, but warming. Then, it came to her. Cinnamon.

Everything about him brought her in. Leaning her head into the crook of his neck, Ichigo laid her hands on his hands, one on either side of her. She shut her eyes. There, she began to breathe peacefully.

"You seem cozy," Kish remarked smugly.

"Enjoy it while you can," Ichigo muttered. "Masaya is coming back here from England tomorrow. You can't stick around."

"You still like him?"

"With all my heart." She paused. "I thought you wanted my happiness."

"I do. You seem happy here with me, too. This way, both of us can be happy."

"You're just making it harder on yourself, Kish," Ichigo advised. "If I were you, I would leave and forget all about me."

"Already tried that, Kitten. It doesn't seem to work…the 'forget all about Ichigo' part, that is."

Ichigo sighed. Letting her guard down, she began to purr. Kish laughed shortly and continued with scratching her cat ear.

"Kish, you do realize that I haven't seen you yet?"

"Neither have I seen your face. Though, I haven't changed much. Take my word for it." Ichigo straightened up from her position on Kish's lap and turned her head to look him in the eyes. She had almost forgotten how strong his gaze was. His smooth, pale skin shone a ghostly white in the moonlight, his golden eyes shining out at Ichigo like two bright lights in the dark. He was right. He hadn't changed much. The same went for Kish when he looked down at Ichigo. Except for her hair being a little longer, she hadn't changed either. Yet, for both individuals, their unchanged appearance seemed like a relief.

Three minutes 'till midnight.

"Still as cute as ever," Kish mused, brushing a stray strand of hair out of Ichigo's face. He smiled sadly and looked away, closing his eyes. Letting his hand drop from Ichigo's face, his other hand loosed from Ichigo's waist. Ichigo, a bit appalled and annoyed, hesitantly lifted a hand to Kish's face.

"Kish?" she asked, trying to meet his eyes. Her hand touched the skin next to his closed eye. She slowly brought it down his face, as he had done to her. His skin was so soft-- almost like a baby's. No wonder he bled easily, Ichigo thought.

"You said it yourself, Kitten," Kish said with a humorless chuckle. "I should probably just forget about you. Distract myself with someone else. Someone of my same species, at least." He smirked at this idea. Ichigo didn't seem to think this was funny.

"Kish, if you're going to-- whine like that, then you can go do it somewhere else where…where I'm not here to feel guilty about it," Ichigo mumbled, frowning.

"Well if it's making you feel guilty then it's working," Kish teased, his face brightening slightly. He cracked his eyes open and looked at Ichigo with a heart-wrenching half-smile. Ichigo's mouth opened, then closed.

Two minutes 'till midnight.

"D-don't look at me like that!" Ichigo exclaimed, squirming off of Kish's lap and onto the bed. She looked at Kish with a scared expression, like he was attacking her. "You don't belong here. Go home." A few moments of silence passed between the two.

Kish, lowering his eyes once more, sighed.

"Okay. See ya, Kitten." Ichigo watched, now more sad-looking than scared, as Kish unfolded his legs and sat up on the bed. Watching all of this, a weight began to grow on Ichigo's chest. It didn't feel right.

As he just began to disappear in a wisp of black shadow, Ichigo cried, "Wait!"

Kish froze. He hesitated, then lifted his eyes to Ichigo.

"Yes, Kitten?"

Ichigo bit her lip. Now what?

"Kish, I…I'm sorry," she murmured, "but Masaya--"

"It's alright," Kish cut in, his voice echoing a forced gentleness. "I understand. I'll just leave now. It's what's best for you."

One minute 'till midnight.

"No! That's not it! It's just…what about your happiness? Is it right to sacrifice yours for someone else's?" Ichigo cried, blurting out what was on her mind. Kish looked up at her in surprise.

"You care?"

"What?" Ichigo whispered questioningly.

"I thought you just accepted it as a gift-- the same as accepting the sacrifice of my life that day. A gift."

"But what about you? What's a gift to give if it leaves the giver broke? Would the person accepting the gift take it?"

"You did." Kish stated bluntly. "Besides, it's not like I have a choice. No matter what I do, I can't…I can't…" He struggled for words, his train of thought running off to a distant place.

"…have me." Ichigo finished grimly. She had begun to see.

"At least," Kish continued, finding his train of thought once more, "not without sacrificing your happiness. Then…I wouldn't be happy. It's an endless circle around. I can only be happy if you're with me and happy, and you can only be happy when you're without me." He groaned.

"I can't abandon my life here, Kish," Ichigo insisted.

"And I can't keep living without you there," Kish replied. "It's almost like you're part of my life, my soul. Something always seems missing when you're not there. Have we really grown that close?"

Ichigo looked down at her bed sheets, then up at Kish. He was looking back at her longingly, hanging his head like a deprived puppy. Something in Ichigo saw Kish, but saw Kish and saw him as being not the stupid, teasing, immature Kish, but the passionate, loving, caring Kish that would throw himself into death for her.

Midnight came.

At the stroke of midnight, that little part of Ichigo, the one that saw Kish as something different, sparked an idea in her, and planted a little seed in her heart.

"You're giving me that look again," Ichigo remarked with a smile. "I have an idea." Kish's face brightened.

"…and this idea is?" Ichigo crawled over next to Kish and took hold of one of his hands.

"You can come here, to my room, twice a month to talk with me-- as long as you're not caught. You can keep doing this until I move out or my family moves. That should give you enough time to grow bored of me and get too busy to visit. Then you can forget all about me. Okay?"

Kish smiled up at Ichigo lovingly.

"Right. Then I can forget." Ichigo nodded, also smiling. Kish leaned forward and leant his forehead up against Ichigo's, murmuring so his lips brushed against hers, "You know I can never forget this."

"We'll see," Ichigo whispered back.

They sealed the deal with a kiss.

The small, black alarm clock on the side of Ichigo Momomiya's desk read 12:01 AM.

One minute past midnight.

Ichigo was lying in the arms of her former sworn enemy, while he cradled her slowly and whispered sweet things in her ear.

It wasn't long after that she fell asleep.

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(A.N./ The fluff! If you don't have a cavity by now, I'm surprised. This could melt brains with its extreme sugary-ness.

Reviews are awesome!)