Re-L was grappling with a feeling that she was not used to dealing with. Boredom. Observing Pino and Kristeva could only provide entertainment for so long. She would have much preferred to observe Vincent, for she had yet to find a suitable category to file him under, but he appeared to be just as bored as she was. No big loss. He did the same thing every day anyway. She would never learn anything more about him unless he was forced into an unusual situation.

An idea came to her regarding how to do that, but she quickly dismissed it as too humiliating. But then she recalled how last week he had finally caught her with his pillow. She was fairly certain she would never live that down. Oh well, it had been nice while it lasted.

So then another thought occurred to her: Why not? What did she have to lose? It wasn't like her dignity had recovered yet (or would for some time), so there was really no reason not to go through with it.

Her mind finally made up, Re-L stood and walked over to Vincent. Then, without any warning whatsoever, she kissed him. A second later, she pulled away and tried to gauge his reaction. It was a mixture of shock, confusion, embarrassment, and happiness. She had expected as much, but for some reason the result satisfied her all the same. Re-L walked back to where her diary sat and began writing about this event.

"Uhh…Re-L?" Vincent seemed to have recovered from his shock, but his nervousness was at an all-time high.

"What?"

"What was that about? And why are you writing about it in your diary?"

"Who said I was?"

"Well…It's…Um…Obvious."

"It's just…Boredom. I wanted to see how you would react to an unfamiliar situation."

"But…It's not unfamiliar. It happened once before, remember?"

Her pen stopped. "Close enough," she replied before continuing her writing.

"Why do you always have to wear clothes that are so hard to take off?" Vincent asked as he struggled to remove the dark outfit Re-L loved to wear.

"Because I like to see you squirm," she spat before kissing him again. Frustrated with his fumbling, she pulled off the shirt herself. One would expect him to have figured out how to do it by now. "There. Happy?"

"Very," he replied as he began trailing kisses down the soft flesh of her neck to her collarbone. Her breathing became more erratic. And then…Well, that was a new trick. It showed he was learning something, at least. The first time had been so awkward. Pleasurable, but awkward. Now he was confident enough to experiment. Experiments were good. Which reminded her…

"Wait," she gasped with as much control as she could muster. "I need to get something."

But he wouldn't, so she had to do her best to ignore the intimate touches and kisses he was giving her as she reached under the bed and pulled out…

"Handcuffs?"

"I've been saving them."

"For who?"

"This time? You. Next time, who knows?"

In truth, she had an ulterior motive for using the handcuffs. As long as she kept things kinky, she could keep fooling herself. She could pretend that what they had wasn't serious. That she wasn't…Feeling anything beyond mere desire. Even if her confused heart told her differently, as long as she kept up this game…

As she handcuffed Vincent to the bed, she kept trying to convince herself: 'It's just…Lust. Nothing more.'

If only she could make herself believe it.

Some time later, an exhausted Re-L collapsed onto Vincent's body. With the last of her strength, she removed the ruined remnants of the handcuffs from Vincent's hands. He had accidentally broken them halfway through, and the two of them had had a good laugh about that.

But now, as she laid in Vincent's arms, the only thing Re-L could think about was her earlier classification of their relationship. She knew damn well there was more to this than lust.

"I love you, Re-L." Once again, there Vincent was with his bad timing. She could always count on that particular sentence to distract her from whatever she happened to be thinking about.

"I love you too, Vincent."

It wasn't until she felt his heartbeat quicken that she realized what she had just said. It had come so naturally. Without thought. It wasn't out of habit, or out of a feeling of guilt. She had just…Said it. She had said it to him as if it was no big deal. As if she had said it to him a thousand times before.

"Re-L…Did you mean that?"

Her heart caught in her throat.

"I…Did. Oh my God, I do love you."

It was as if a light bulb had come on inside her head. All the mental walls she had constructed to hide this secret from herself were torn down in an instant. Her eyes were now wider than dinner plates.

Noting her stunned expression, Vincent laughed. "You mean you're only now realizing it?"

She stared at him, dumbfounded.

"Wow. And I thought I had a messed-up psyche."

"Shut up."

The two laid together in silence for a few minutes, until Re-L broke it with "So…What happens now?"

"What do you mean 'what happens now'?" Vincent asked, perplexed. "We go on as we have been. It's just…Love. Nothing has to change."

A smile played at Re-L's lips. "When did you get so wise?"

Her only answer was another one of those endearing smiles of his.

"But you're right," she continued. "Nothing's changed. After all, it's been like this for quite some time. We…No, I just never realized it. Thank you, Vincent. Thank you for waiting for me to come to my senses. Thank you…For not giving up."

"Are you two done yet? Pino and I are trying to re-enter sleep mode."

The two lovers winced as they recalled that Kristeva and Pino were on the Rabbit as well. And tonight's escapades hadn't exactly been…Silent. Blushing madly, the two decided to call it a night. After all, they had all the time in the world to talk about "mushy stuff". Right now, they needed some sleep. And there was no place more comfortable for each of them than the other's embrace.