Ryoji's eyes shot open. His heart pounded inside his chest and he was breathing as though he'd be running at full sprint. And that feeling that greeted him in the complete darkness was fear. There was no doubt. It was pure terror.

Confused and desperate to make sense of what had just happened, Ryoji sat up in bed and held his face in his hands, covering his eyes as if to shut the world out to try and calm himself down. It was almost like the way a child would cover his eyes so that monsters wouldn't attack him. Of course, there were no monsters in this world. The world inside him however…

"Ryoji…"

A quiet murmur at his side caught his attention and pulled him back into the outside world- a world where she lived in, and a world where he was able to share his life with her.

He slowly lowered himself back into bed and turned to her. He didn't say anything, afraid that he might wake her, but just her presence, just the sound of her steady, peaceful breathing reminded him of how much he loved her, how lucky he was to have her here with him, and how nothing would be able to rattle his heart to the point of breaking if he had her by his side.

"Ryoji…"

Ah. There it is again. He smiled gently as his heart slowed to a regular pace. He wondered if she was dreaming about him, and he wondered what kind of dream she was having. Her voice was weak, just above a whisper, but he could hear the love in her voice nonetheless. Every time she said his name, he could always hear the love in her voice. And it always elated him no matter how many times he'd heard it.

Ryoji shifted a bit on his side to get comfortable as his eyelids grew heavy again, but that was when Minako rolled over towards him, and, as if it were completely natural, completely instinctive, she nestled into his chest, still fast asleep.

Ryoji was surprised at first, but the feeling was quickly replaced by peace as he put his arm over her. It was peace there in his bed. She was the embodiment of that peace, and Ryoji hoped to hope itself that this happiness would never end.

He placed a tender kiss on her cheek before finally giving into sleep, but not before he heard the one thing that made him the happiest in the world.

"I love you, Ryoji…"