CS: My sequel to Buried Beneath. I know, I know. I need to write one with a song title. But the whole one-shot is about the words "I love you," so there you go.

Gaomon: This is becoming quite popular.

Nel: You're turning into a celebratory, CS!

Envy: Not really, but we're certainly getting a crowd forming.

Dorumon: CS owns nothing but the baby-to-be. Peace out.

***Rapture Of Hearts: Three Simple Words***

Lightning can never recall a single moment when the Warrior said, "I love you."

But then again, she should be the one to talk, as she had never uttered those words either to him, and she was the more talkative of the two!

That one Night they shared changed everything for them, she could tell. By the way they interacted with one another, the way they said each other's names. There was something growing between them, and they both knew it. Lightning noticed he smiled more, and she realized she did, too. But they never vocalized it.

The sun was high in the sky when the Warrior returned home. Sweaty and bloody from fighting all the various monsters on Gran Pulse, the Warrior entered the house quietly. He was not sure Lightning was taking a nap or not, but his armor clanked noisily as he tried tip-toeing in. Lightning found herself smiling in amusement. Sometime ago, she would have felt disgusted by his attempt at silence. Now she found it . . . sweet and considerate, if even a little silly.

"Lightning?" he called. He must have arrived in the bedroom, not seeing her on the bed.

"I'm in the kitchen," she replied, wiping her hands with a towel. More clanking came, and the Warrior of Light, in all his dazzling splendor, appeared through the entrance. Dirt smeared his face, and his normally spotless blue and gold armor was dulled with mud and grim. He was about to take another step towards her when Lightning held up a hand. "Whoa, Smelly. First shower, then welcoming home."

"I was merely attempting to greet my wife," the Warrior said. There was a glint of mirth in his eyes, despite his rather calm façade. "It was a long, hard day, and I'm very sore. But my own wife," to this he adds a little tone to his almost monotone voice, sounding a bit hurt, "whose smiling face I've been waiting all day to see, calls me Smelly and tells to get a shower before greeting me?"

Lightning smirked darkly. "Exactly. So, clean up, then I'll pamper you." She picked up a clean towel, wet it in the running water and tossed it to the Warrior. He caught it expertly, but not without wincing slightly. Lightning guessed he most of overextended his wrist again. "Wash your armor, too. It wrecks like its owner."

The Warrior merely smiled and said, "Yes, dear," before leaving.

Once he was gone, Lightning turned back to the sink. A smile here, a hug there, gentle touching, even kissing her goodnight and before leaving. He would do all those things yet, and yet, he never once said, "I love you."

There was a time, she recalled, where perhaps he was close to stating those words. It was when the Warrior came home, to see Lightning piled with paperwork. As it was unsafe fighting while pregnant, she had resorted to helping with managing the daily activities of the reforming Guardian Corps, such as filing paperwork and other mediocre tasks. He appeared in front her, just standing there, kinda looking bashful, what with staring at his feet. Lightning looked up and asked him what the matter was.

He looked up, began to open his mouth, but then, a blush ran over his face, and he looked away, quickly responding that there was nothing wrong, merely asking how she's doing. But Lightning knew better. Since that special Night they shared, the two seemed to have some internal connection, gaining an ability to just feel what the other was feeling by their body language. Lightning could see something was making him nervous, but no matter how much she probed and pushed, he refused to give her the answer.

There was another time, too, when the Warrior called Lightning over. They were with friends, and the Warrior began to say, "I—" when Sazh interrupted by running in between the couple, chasing a half-grown chocobo chick. The two got further distracted from the current conversation when Hope and Serah joined in the chase, with Snow and Sazh's son laughing the whole way.

And then there was just two nights ago, where the two were lying in bed together. The Warrior began to converse with Lightning, as was now becoming a common practice since that Night, and then the conversation took an interesting turn.

"Did you ever love someone before?"

The question was strange to her ears, but Lightning gave it thought, thinking back to all her past interactions. Finally, she admitted, "I guess I felt some feelings toward Kain. But the whole betrayal thing kinda put us on shaky ground." She looked sadly at the ceiling. "I just wish I could apologize to him for being a jerk. What he did was wrong—stupid, even—but still, it was kinda immature of me to hold a grudge." She glanced at the Warrior lying besides. "And it was immature of me to dislike you for so long."

"Hmm, we all have our immature moments, I suppose." The Warrior looked up at the ceiling, silent. Shifting, not sure where to go, Lightning probed, "Did you ever love someone?"

"Do I?" he repeated. He blinked slowly, then looked back at the ceiling. "Yes, I do. I once loved Cosmos, but that is now the past. I have moved on."

"Hmm," was all Lightning said, closing her eyes. She bid him good night afterward, lying on her side and staring on the wall. Suddenly, she felt a pair of arms wrap around her gently. The child had kicked rather hard, making Lightning give a little gasp, and she heard the Warrior chuckle a little behind. His hand caressed her stomach, and the infant kicked again. Smiling slightly, she put her hand over his, and soon the two were asleep.

Now in the present, her hand fell down to her swollen belly. Nine months ago, the Warrior and she made what seemed like the biggest mistake. Three months ago, the Warrior began to break down the barrier between the two. Closing her eyes, she thought, remembering, Hechangedthephrasing.Iaskedifhedid,andhesaiddo.That'spresenttense.So,couldhe,maybe—didhe..?But there were not enough solid facts, too many could, maybe, did he.

And then there was the day after that special Night. The Warrior had gotten dressed, sword and shield at the ready, and was just about to leave for the day when Lightning stopped him. He turned to ask what the matter was when she placed a butterfly kiss on his cheek. His eyes went wide in surprise. He was about to speak when she said, "Come home safe, okay?"

The Warrior closed his mouth, nodding slowly. "Of course." He then leaned in and kissed her forehead delicately. "Take care of yourself."

Lightning didn't say anything, just nodded. The door then closed, and the Warrior was gone. Since then, whenever the Warrior had to leave, or even Lightning when she had to help with New Boddum's development, the farewells seemed to get longer, the waiting became harder, and a new feeling, an eagerness, to see him come home, started to arise. There was one time she recalled having wanted to run and greet him, but she had resisted the urge.

Now, thinking back, she wished she had gone with her urge.

Suddenly, the water stopped running. Lightning, however, wasn't paying attention, too deep in thought and memory to notice a figure departing from the bathroom.

"Lightning." The voice caused her to jump slightly, although she did manage to recompose herself quickly soon after. Craning her neck to look around, she saw the Warrior, now in a clean pair of pants and a shirt, gazing down at her. She patted the seat next to her. "Sit."

The Warrior obeyed, sitting down next to her. Lightning looked down at his wrist. It was slightly swollen and red, held stiffly at his side so as not to move it. Sighing, she got up, saying, "You need to take care of yourself better."

"What do you mean?"

Taking the bandages, Lightning glanced over her shoulder. "First of all, how many times do I end up having to patch you up?"

"I lost count," the Warrior admitted.

"Second of all," Lightning continued, unwinding some bandaging, "do you enjoy this treatment? Because there are other ways to play Doctor then actually getting yourself hurt."

"I get careless, I suppose," the Warrior stated, allowing his wife to lift his wrist up. He winced, but that was he hinted towards the pain, as she slowly wound his wrist tightly so it would not move. "Third of all," she concluded, "do you have ideas of a name?"

"A name?" The Warrior stopped flexing his fingers and stared into Lightning's blue eyes.

"Yeah," she said, sitting down. She gestured to her swollen belly. "We need to give this kid a name when it's born. We can't just call it the Baby of Light." Snorting, she rolled her eyes. "Of course, you might want to—"

"Crystal."

"Huh?" Lighting look at him, slightly baffled. He nodded. "Crystal if it's a girl, and for a boy . . ."

"If our baby's a girl, you want to name her Crystal?" Lightning shook her head. "Why on Gran Pulse would you pick that?"

"Because, it was our crystals that brought us close," the Warrior responded. "And," he reached out with his wounded hand and touched her abdomen, "it's this child that brought us together." He put special emphasis on the second us.

"I'll," she stuttered, "I'll think about it. We don't even know what gender the kid is."

Silence encased the couple, with the Warrior wrapping his arms her, and Lightning leaning into him, her breathe hot on his neck.

Finally, after the loom become too much to are, Lightning started to ask the question that has been plaguing her mind.

"Do you love me?"

The Warrior straightened, pushing Lightning back gently so he could look at her fully. "What?"

Her eyes narrowed. "Do you love me? It's a yes or no question."

Of course her harsh mannerism might have thrown anyone into a defensive position, but not the Warrior. He saw right through it. He lifted her chin up gently so their eyes made perfect contact. "I do," he said softly. "Do I not show it to you everyday, with all my actions, all my behaviors? Is it not obvious enough?"

Lightning pulled herself away, hugging herself. "Yeah, well, sometimes I need to hear the words coming from your mouth. And you better mean them. So I'll ask again." She looked at him with an almost pleading look. "Do you love me?"

The Warrior was silent. A lump formed in Lighting's throat. Maybe I was wrong, she thought. She groaned, standing. "This is a waste of time. I never should have even bothered."

"No, it wasn't." The Warrior stood up also. "Because, Lightning, I do love you."

"What?" Lightning whirled around, her eyes wide with hope. Her heart began to skip a happy beat as the Warrior repeated, "I love you, Lightning, and I am sorry I caused you this pain by not stating otherwise." He took a breathe before continuing, "I have never loved more than I love you, truly. And I am falling in love with you at the same time. The more time we spent together, the more I want to hold you close to me and whisper sweetness into your ear. I want to be with you forever, but only if you'll have me. Even then, I still believe my heart would belong to you, for I gave it willingly."

Lightning blinked, her only immediate response to his rather romantic pledge. Then slowly, she reached out and took his hands into hers. She looked at him, saw the blaze of the love he truly felt for her, for her only, and felt the same passion inside her own being. The words momentarily caught in her throat, she coughed, then with dry lips stated, "And I . . . I love you, too, Warrior of Light."

The brilliance in his eyes only intensified as he slowly approached, closing his eyes and touching his lips to hers. It was by no means passionate nor explicit, yet the simple action sealed the deal; the two shared the same feelings. When they broke apart, the two could only stare at each other. Finally, the silence grew too much for Lightning. She guided him back to the couch, where they sat, leaning against one another, eyes closed whilst enjoying the simple pleasure of being together.

Soon their stomachs called for them to prepare dinner, to which they did as they normally would, talking about how their days had been, what grievances they had to face, reflections to be made. Lightning particularly poked fun at the Warrior's wrist, after finding out he had merely sprained it when attempting to leap over a rock, shifting his weight incorrectly and causing him to take a rather comical fall.

"I wish I had been there," Lightning smirked. "You wouldn't hear the end of it."

"I'm not going to hear the end of it, now that you know," the Warrior stated, but the light in his eyes said he humorously took the joke.

"But why did you take that leap?" Lightning asked. "You weren't running from monsters, I'm assuming?"

The Warrior looked away, looking slightly embarrassed. "I was . . . Hrm, well, that is to say, I was merely trying to make good time returning home. I did not wish to worry you."

Lightning barked out a laugh. "So, wait, let me get this straight." She laughed again. "You were rushing back home just to see me sooner?"

"Well, yes." He looked at her. "Is it so wrong to want to see my wife sooner than later?"

Smirking, Lightning crossed her arms. "No, but you don't have to hurt yourself."

"Perhaps I do enjoy your treatments." The Warrior leaned over, a slight smile—a mischievous smile—curving his lips upward. "After all, you make an excellent medic."

"Maybe I do," Lightning joined in, her eyes glittering. "You certainly are a good patient."

The two laughed, and they continued in their activities. Finally, when it was time to retire, Lightning curled up against, as best as a nine-month pregnant woman could, the Warrior, feeling the heat escape his warm skin as he slowly breathed. The corner of his lips twitched upward, and he rested his chin on her head, gently caressing the base of her neck.

Peeking through one eyelid, Lightning murmured into the Warrior's chest, "I love you." The Warrior in turn gave a sigh before returning the words.

"I love you, too."

CS: Cue the long 'awww.'

AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

Gaomon: This is certainly better than your first one-shot.

Envy: Yeah, but you've got, like what? Ten more to finish.

Dorumon: Don't remind her, Envy. She's having a hard enough time maintaining As in college.

Firion: When am I gonna be in a fanfic?

Nel: I've been asking the same thing. Just be patient. It'll come.